Tesla misses deliveries
Tesla fell short of Q1 delivery expectations, reporting 358,023 vehicles delivered versus analyst consensus of roughly 365,645–372,160, and the stock slipped about 3% on the news. (358,023 deliveries vs. consensus 365,645–372,160; stock down ~3%) (electrek.co) (cnbc.com). Production outpaced deliveries by over 50,000 vehicles — creating potential inventory pressure — energy storage deployments also dropped from prior records, and Tesla will publish full Q1 financials on April 22. (production > deliveries by ~50,000; energy storage fell; full financials due April 22) (electrek.co) (cnbc.com).
Tesla ended the quarter with a meaningful pileup of unsold cars — it built more vehicles than it was able to hand over to customers, so tens of thousands of finished Teslas are now sitting as inventory rather than being counted as sales. (ir.tesla.com) Almost all of that extra stock comes from the Model 3 and Model Y lines: Tesla produced far more 3/Y units than it delivered, which means the overhang is concentrated in its volume cars rather than in the higher-end S/X models. (electrek.co) Tesla’s energy business also cooled: the company deployed 8.8 GWh of battery storage this quarter — 8.8 gigawatt‑hours, a unit that measures how much battery capacity was installed — versus a record 14.2 GWh in the prior quarter, a roughly 38% quarter‑over‑quarter decline. (ir.tesla.com) (cnbc.com) Wall Street will get the full financial picture on April 22, when Tesla publishes its first‑quarter results and holds a management webcast and Q&A at 4:30 p.m. Central / 5:30 p.m. Eastern — that report will show whether the built inventory and the storage slowdown translate into weaker revenue or margin pressure. (morningstar.com) The quarter also shows how Tesla is trimming its lineup: the company has halted production of Model S and Model X and appears to be selling down remaining inventory of those cars while the Model 3/Y mix drives most of current volumes; at the same time, deliveries of the newer Cybertruck remain small relative to the 3/Y mass-market models. (cnbc.com) (electrek.co)
