Tesla reports 1.31 million deliveries in 2022, growth of 40% over last year

Tesla just released its fourth quarter 2022 vehicle production and delivery report.

Here are the basic numbers.

Total deliveries Q4 2022: 405,278
Total production Q4 2022: 439,701
Total annual shipments 2022: 1.31 million
Total annual production 2022: 1.37 million

The deliveries are the closest approximation of sales disclosed by Tesla. These numbers represent a new record for the Elon Musk-led automaker and a 40% increase in deliveries during the year.

However, the fourth quarter numbers fell short of analysts’ expectations.

As of Dec. 31, 2022, Wall Street expected Tesla to report deliveries of about 427,000 for the final quarter of the year, according to a consensus of analyst forecasts compiled by FactSet. Estimates updated in December and included in the FactSet consensus ranged from 409,000 to 433,000.

Those newer estimates were in line with a company-compiled consensus released by Tesla Vice President of Investor Relations Martin Vieja. This consensus published by a researcher in the electric vehicle industry @TroyTeslike, said 24 sell-side analysts Tesla’s expected deliveries are about 417,957 on average for the quarter (and about 1.33 million deliveries for the full year).

Tesla started production at two new factories this year — in Austin, Texas, and Brandenburg, Germany — and increased production in Fremont, Calif., and in Shanghai, but did not disclose production quantities and deliveries by region.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, Tesla said shipments of its entry-level Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover totaled 388,131, while shipments of its higher-end Model S sedan and Model X SUV totaled 17,147.

In its third-quarter shareholder presentation, Tesla wrote: “Over a multi-year horizon, we expect to achieve 50% average annual growth in vehicle shipments. The rate of growth will depend on our equipment capacity, factory uptime, operational efficiency and supply chain capacity and stability.”

The period ending December 31, 2022 was marked by challenges for Tesla, including outbreaks of Covid in China, which caused the company to temporarily halt and reduce production at its Shanghai plant.

In the fourth quarter, Tesla also offered steep price cuts and other promotions in the U.S., China and elsewhere to boost demand, though that could put pressure on its margins.

In a recent email to Tesla staff, Elon Musk asked employees to “voluntarily” deliver as many cars to customers as possible before the end of 2022. In his email, Musk also encouraged employees not to be “disturbed” by what he characterized as “the madness of the stock market”.

Shares of Tesla has fallen more than 45% in the past six months.

In December, several analysts expressed concern about weakening demand for Tesla’s electric vehicles, which are relatively expensive compared to a growing number of hybrid and all-electric products from rivals.

Along with competitors ranging from industry veterans Ford and GM to start up RivianTesla is poised to reap the benefits of Biden’s Deflation Act this year, which includes incentives for domestic production and purchases of all-electric cars.

Retail shareholders and analysts attribute part of Tesla’s 2022 share price decline to the so-called “Twitter overhang.”

Musk sold billions of dollars worth of his Tesla holdings last year to finance a leveraged buyout of social media business Twitter. That deal closed at the end of October. Musk was appointed CEO of Twitter and caused controversy by making sweeping changes to the company and its social media platform.

Shares of Tesla started to rise again in the final days of December 2022, in anticipation of record deliveries for the fourth quarter and the full year.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct numbers for Model 3 and Y and Model S and X vehicle deliveries for the fourth quarter of 2022.