The third quarter of 2021 was, as usual, another best quarter ever for Tesla. The company produced over 237,000 and sold (globally) more than 241,000 electric cars, while at the same time achieved an outstanding profitability result.
The final sales numbers are slightly higher than in the preliminary report (the production numbers have not changed).
“The third quarter of 2021 was a record quarter in many respects. We achieved our best-ever net income, operating profit and gross profit. Additionally, we reached an operating margin of 14.6%, exceeding our medium-term guidance of “operating margin in low-teens”.”
“Perhaps more impressively, this level of profitability was achieved while our ASP2decreased by 6% YoY in Q3 due to continued mix shift towards lower-priced vehicles. Our operating margin reached an all-time high as we continue to reduce cost at a higher rate than declines in ASP.”
“EV demand continues to go through a structural shift. We believe the more vehicles we have on the road,the more Tesla owners are able tospread the word about the benefits of EVs.”
*ASP = average selling price
Let’s take a look at the details and then check out the outlook.
Quarterly results
- Total production: 237,823 (up 64% year-over-year)
- Model 3/Y production: 228,882 (up 79% year-over-year)
- Model S/X production: 8,941 (down 47% year-over-year)
- Total deliveries: 241,391 (up 73% year-over-year)
- Model 3/Y deliveries: 232,102 (up 87% year-over-year)
- Model S/X deliveries: 9,289 (down 39% year-over-year)
As we can see, the global vehicle inventory (days of supply) further decreased to just 6 days. That’s a clear sign that there is tremendous demand for Tesla cars.
So far this year, Tesla has sold over 600,000 electric cars, while in the past 12 months it was over 800,000.
Another look:
The 12-month rolling deliveries are now above 800,000:
96% of Tesla’s sales are Model 3 and Model Y. The company doesn’t break sales between the individual models.
The Model S/X deliveries increased compared to the previous quarter.
Cumulatively, Tesla sold over 2 million electric cars, including over 500,000 Model S/X and over 1.5 million Model 3/Model Y.
Tesla expects that the long-term average annual growth of vehicle deliveries will be at around 50%:
“We plan to grow our manufacturing capacity as quickly as possible. Over a multi-year horizon, we expect to achieve 50% average annual growth in vehicle deliveries. The rate of growth will depend on our equipment capacity, operational efficiency and the capacity and stability of the supply chain.”
In 2020, the company sold about 500,000 electric cars, which means that the base for 2021 is significantly more than 750,000.
So far this year, the company already sold over 627,000 and is on track to sell more than 900,000 this year. Taking into consideration high demand and ongoing expansion of manufacturing capacity, it might be more.
