Tesla delivered 254,695 electric vehicles in the second quarter of 2022

Tesla just released its vehicle production and delivery figures for the second quarter of 2022. Here are the key numbers:

• Total deliveries Q2 2022: 254,695
• Total production Q2 2022: 258,580

The delivery numbers, which are the closest approximation of sales reported by Tesla, fell well short of analysts’ expectations.

According to a consensus compiled by Street Account, owned by FactSet, analysts expected deliveries of 256,520 vehicles in the quarter, which was marked by Covid restrictions, supply chain snarls, shortages of semiconductor chips and other parts.

Last year, Tesla delivered 201,250 vehicles in the second quarter, the first time it delivered more than 200,000 units in a three-month period. In the first quarter of 2022, Tesla delivered 310,048 vehicles.

Today’s shipment numbers represent sales growth of 26.5% year over year and a sequential decline of 17.9% for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle venture.

The company has soft guidance for around 50% average annual growth, long-term, depending on production capacity and other factors.

In Tesla’s first-quarter shareholder filing, the company said: “We plan to increase our production capacity as quickly as possible. Over a multi-year horizon, we expect to achieve 50% average annual growth in vehicle deliveries.”

In China this quarter, Tesla had to close or allow only partial operations at its Shanghai factory for weeks due to public health orders related to Covid. (FactSet noted that some analysts’ forecasts were off the StreetAccount consensus if they didn’t factor in the Shanghai factory shutdown.)

Other supply chain issues, exacerbated by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, also affected Tesla and the broader auto industry during the quarter.

Separately, Tesla is grappling with high costs to build and start production at new factories in Austin, Texas and near Berlin in addition to its plants in Fremont, California and Shanghai. CEO Elon Musk has publicly complained that the new factories are costing Tesla billions but have yet to make enough vehicles and batteries to justify their costs.

As startups and legacy automakers offer more new electric vehicles, Tesla’s share of the global and domestic EV market is expected to decline but remain significant.