Tesla hits record deliveries despite chip shortage

Electric carmaker Tesla posted record vehicle deliveries for the second quarter as the firm handled the worldwide semiconductor shortage through sales of its cheaper models.

The results were in line with analyst expectations, as the firm cooed the supply crisis better than many of its more established rivals.

However chief executive Elon Musk has warned of challenges of securing chips and raw materials.

Tesla delivered 201,250 vehicles in total during the second quarter. Analysts had expected Tesla to deliver 200,258 vehicles, according to Refinitiv data.

“It was a solid quarter to volume wise, but I view it as a modest disappointment,” Garrett Nelson, an equity analyst at CFRA Research, said.

The investor response was muted, with shares in the automaker up just 0.2 per cent so far today.

“Overall, the bulls are breathing a sigh of relief with these delivery numbers,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.

The deliveries of its Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossovers, its two lower priced variants, accounted for 99 per cent of its deliveries, offsetting a drop in deliveries of higher-end Model S and X vehicles.

“Our teams have done an outstanding job navigating through global supply chain and logistics challenges,” Tesla said.

Tesla has been raising prices for its vehicles in recent months, which its billionaire boss, Elon Musk, blamed in May on “major supply chain price pressure”, especially raw materials.

He also said in early June that “Our biggest challenge is supply chain, especially microcontroller chips. Never seen anything like it.”

Brokerage RBC said, “Worst may be over for Tesla” for chip shortage, but added that potential margin impact from broad supply chain tightness could persist through the year.