Tesla’s vehicle production and delivery numbers for the fourth quarter of 2021 were announced on Sunday, and both numbers ran far ahead of analysts’ expectations.
In the quarter, the Austin, Texas-based company achieved production of more than 305,000 vehicles and deliveries of 308,600 vehicles, notching new records according to the company's statement. In full-year 2021, Tesla delivered over 936,000 vehicles.
Analysts had anticipated Tesla deliveries of 267,000 in the fourth quarter and 897,000 for all of 2021, according to FactSet. The stronger-than-expected numbers have pushed the stock up by more than 10%, and some expect the trend to continue even higher in the months to come.
“Our delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative, as we only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct,” the statement read. “Final numbers could vary by up to 0.5% or more.”
Deliveries of electric vehicles spiked by a whopping 71% compared with the prior-year period. For the full year, deliveries were approximately 936,000, up by an impressive 87%. In 2020, the company delivered 500,000 units.
Tesla manufactured 305,840 vehicles in the fourth quarter out of its two main facilities in Fremont, California and Shanghai, China. Run-rate annual capacity reached over 1.2 million units in those locations.
Executives indicated that the company will launch two more assembly facilities early this year in Austin, Texas and Berlin, Germany.
“It’s tough to call the direction of a stock over any day or weekly period. But fourth quarter results look solid,” reported Barron's Daily. “Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called the result a ‘trophy case quarter’ for the company adding in a Sunday report ‘with the chip shortage a major overhang on the auto space and logistical issues globally these delivery numbers were jaw dropping.’”
Wall Street veterans are projecting that Tesla will deliver roughly 1.4 million vehicles this year. If they are right, it would mean a 50% increase over 2021, which matches the growth projections already put out by Tesla’s top executives.
Tesla stock gained 50% in 2021, Barron’s noted, beating the 27% and 19% comparable returns of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, respectively. It was a solid result, though nowhere near Tesla stock’s massive 743% gain in 2020.
“The company now dominates battery electric vehicle sales in the U.S. and much of the world,” noted cnbc.com. “But it is expected to lose overall market share as competitors bring out fully electric models of their own. Tesla’s sales are still expected to rise with overall electric vehicle demand, which is partly driven by climate regulation.”
The lingering shortage of chips has slowed many car makers’ production. During 2021, Tesla developed proprietary software to help alleviate the effects of the shortage. Despite the slowdown, however, Tesla’s value exceeded $1 trillion in October after rental car company Hertz (HTZ, Financial) added 100,000 Teslas to its fleet.
