Big miss as Tesla fails to ramp up electric car sales
ELON Musk’s electric car-maker Tesla disappointed investors last night after it reported a lower-than-expected 9,834 vehicles delivered in its fourth quarter due to a host of production issues.
The results revealed strong revenues which grew 12 per cent to $957m (£627.9m), but missed analyst’s expectations of $1.2bn, while it reported a loss of 13 cents a share compared to an expected 32 cent profit.
“Delivering those cars was physically impossible due to a combination of customers being on vacation, severe winter weather and shipping problems (with actual ships),” wrote chief executive Elon Musk in a letter to shareholders, adding that sales in China had missed expectations.
“Despite initial challenges in China, we remain convinced of the vast potential of this market,” added Musk.
The company expects to deliver about 55,000 cars globally in 2015, an increase of about 74 per cent, with the launch of its new Model X in the third quarter.
Shares fell 1.6 per cent yesterday to close at $212.8 and fell a further 3.2 per cent during after hours trading in reaction to the disappointing results.