Tesla reported on Thursday that it produced almost 103,000 electric vehicles and delivered approximately 88,400 vehicles in the first quarter of 2020, beating expectations.
This was Tesla’s best ever first quarter performance. Analysts had expected about 79,900.
Tesla reported combined deliveries of 76,200 Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossovers and combined deliveries of 12,200 of the more expensive Model S sedans and Model X SUVs.
| Production | Deliveries | Subject to lease accounting | |
| Model S/X | 15,390 | 12,200 | 16% |
| Model 3/Y | 87,282 | 76,200 | 5% |
| Total | 102,672 | 88,400 | 7% |
Model Y production started in January and deliveries began in March, significantly ahead of schedule. However, the company did not break out numbers for sales or production of the cross-over SUV.
Additionally, Tesla’s Shanghai factory continued to achieve record levels of production, despite significant setbacks.
Tesla’s net income and cash flow results will be announced along with the rest of the financial performance when Palo Alto-based automaker announce Q1 earnings.
Tesla’s delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative, as it only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct. Final numbers could vary by up to 0.5% or more.
Tesla vehicle deliveries represent only one measure of the company’s financial performance and should not be relied on as an indicator of quarterly financial results, which depend on a variety of factors, including the cost of sales, foreign exchange movements and mix of directly leased vehicles.
