Jul 2 reported on the number of electric vehicles produced and sold in the second quarter of 2022 – during April-June, a total of 254,695 vehicles were shipped to customers, which is 18% less than the result of the first quarter. This report marks the end of a nearly two-year streak of record quarterly sales for Elon Musk’s company, largely due to the long shutdown of the Giga Shanghai plant in Shanghai due to the coronavirus outbreak.
So far, demand for Tesla electric vehicles has remained consistently high and Elon Musk’s company set new sales records quarterly despite the global chip shortage and the general decline in production. However, the recent shutdown of the Giga Shanghai plant hit business hard — the 22-day shutdown of the Tesla factory in Shanghai due to quarantine restrictions due to the spread of COVID-19 turned out to be the longest since the start of production at the end of 2019 and resulted in a reduction in production by more than than 50 (according to Reuters based on Tesla production plans). And, of course, this affected the results of the quarter.
The volume of Tesla vehicles manufactured and delivered to customers in the second quarter of 2022
Cars Number of cars produced, units Number of cars delivered to customers, units Share of cars purchased on lease, % Model S/X 16,411 16,162 12 Model 3/G 242,169 238,533 3
together
258 580
254 695
four
The more affordable Model 3 and Model Y still make up the bulk of the sales structure, sharing one platform – 238,533 units, or 93.7% of the total. At the same time, 16,162 premium Model S/X units were sold in the quarter.
Tesla sales dynamics by quarters since 2020.
China has played a crucial role in the company’s rise to the status of one of the most valuable automakers in the world. Elon Musk’s company recently held the title of the most valuable public company in the automotive market, but due to inflation in the US, Tesla shares have significantly lost value since the beginning of the year, along with the shares of the “big five” IT companies FAANG. Tesla previously reported that the Shanghai plant produced 484,100 vehicles in 2021. It is expected that by the end of 2022, Giga Shanghai, the largest in terms of capacity, will produce about 800 thousand cars. It was previously reported that after the launch of the second Giga Shanghai (most likely this will happen at the end of 2023), the total capacity of Tesla factories in China will be 1.5 million cars per year.
Dynamics of production of Tesla cars – by quarters since 2020.
During a conference call with investors following the first quarter, when Tesla first received more than $ 3 billion in net profit, CEO Elon Musk expressed hope that Tesla will ship customers 1.5 million cars in 2022. This coincides with the preliminary estimates of industry observers.
In March-April, Tesla opened two new factories with an interval of two weeks – the first European Giga Berlin-Brandenburg and another one in the US Giga Texas. Both have already begun mass production of the Model Y compact crossover, and now the automaker is gradually increasing production rates. Moreover, Giga Texas releases Model Y with a new design and 4680 elements of its own design (the battery pack is part of the body structure connecting the front and rear of the bottom). Theoretically, these two new plants could offset the decline in production in China. At the end of June, Elon Musk in an interview declaredthat these factories are now “burning billions of dollars” due to battery shortages and disruptions in supplies from China, so everything will depend on how quickly Tesla can solve problematic issues.
Currently, Tesla, like other global brands, is experiencing significant inflationary pressure in raw materials and logistics, which negatively affects the pricing policy. Last month, Tesla once again raised prices for its entire line of electric vehicles – the “long-range” configurations rose the most, throwing $6,000 up to the preliminary price. At the same time, Elon Musk confirmed the reduction in staff amid a lawsuit for illegal exemption from ex-workers.
A full financial report with all the details, as always, will be published only at the end of the month. But since the third quarter of 2019, Tesla has remained consistently profitable and continues to break records – we’ll see if Elon Musk’s company manages to compensate for this significant decline in sales with higher prices and lower operating costs.