Tesla missed its first-quarter shipment forecast on Sunday as a grim economic outlook and increased competition outweigh efforts by electric-car makers to boost demand by cutting prices.
According to Refinitiv data, Tesla has delivered 422,875 vehicles. That’s a record for an automaker, but it falls short of analyst expectations of 438,000.
Investors are eyeing CEO Elon Musk’s bet, saying lower prices could stimulate sales and make up for lower profits due to lower margins.
Tesla’s shipments were up 4% from the previous quarter and up 36% from a year ago.
Martin Viecha, Tesla’s head of investor relations, tweeted: “Continued first quarter growth.
The automaker produced 440,808 cars in the first three months of the year, producing more cars than it delivered.
Tesla increased shipments of its flagship Model 3/Model Y vehicles by 6% from the previous quarter. However, deliveries of the more expensive Model X/Model S fell by 38%.
In January, Tesla sparked a price war after missing Wall Street shipment forecasts for 2022, slashing prices by up to 20% globally.
Musk warned that the prospect of a recession and rising interest rates meant automakers could cut prices to sustain growth at the expense of profits. Said Price cuts stoked demand.
The stock remains more than 50% below its November 2021 peak, but has surged more than 68% this year in hopes of winning the price war Tesla has started.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram and Urvi Dugar from Bangalore, Hyunjoo Jin from San Francisco; Editing by Will Dunham, Lisa Shumaker, Bill Berkrot)
