In a nutshell: Tesla registered its first consecutive decline in vehicle deliveries in more than two years during the second quarter, but it was not due to a lack of demand. The Covid-related shutdowns in China and parts shortages were the main factors behind the 18% decline in the second quarter.
The giant of electric vehicles said on the weekend it delivered 254,695 vehicles in the period April to June. While it represents a 26% increase from the 201,250 vehicles delivered in the second quarter of 2021, that figure for the previous quarter (Q1 2022) was 310,048.
At the start of the second quarter, Wall Street analysts had expected 350,000 deliveries from Tesla, though that number was revised after Elon Musk said it would move closer to Q1 levels and factored in the impact of China’s shutdowns.
Tesla’s Shanghai factory was responsible for about half of the company’s production last year, but a resurgence in cases combined with China’s zero-tolerance approach to outbreaks caused production to be temporarily suspended at the factory and those of its suppliers. It led Tesla to increase production at its Freemont, California plant to try to make up for the shortfall.
Tesla said the Covid-related/delivery issues eased toward the end of the quarter, producing the highest monthly production volume in the company’s history in June.
The world’s largest EV company has been making headlines more than usual lately. Musk said he wanted to cut a percentage of the company’s jobs — a move that has led to lawsuits — because of his “super bad feeling” about the economy. The price of his vehicles rose by $6,000, and workers returning to the Freemont factory after Musk’s demands found that there weren’t enough desks or parking spaces.
