A new record for Tesla.
Tesla
The folks at Tesla are popping a champagne bottle or two today. The company announced its second-quarter vehicle delivery figures for the year, and the electric carmaker built and delivered over 200,000 EVs for the first time ever. The automaker’s final tally was 201,250 vehicles. Last quarter, the company delivered 185,000 vehicles.
Estimates for Q2 deliveries varied, according to CNBC, which had experts pegging the figure anywhere between 193,000 and 230,000 vehicles. CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter early Friday morning to congratulate the Tesla team for achieving the milestone, “despite many challenges.”
It’s likely the figure would’ve been even larger if the refreshed Model S and Model X EVs were rolling down the assembly line in greater numbers. Tesla ended production of both the flagship sedan and SUV earlier this year to retool and prepare for updated models. That includes the new Model S Plaid, which began production and deliveries just last month.
According to Tesla’s figures, it delivered 1,890 Model S and Model X vehicles, which left the vast majority of deliveries to the Model 3 and Model Y. The two more affordable EVs tallied 199,360 deliveries in Q2, despite multiple price increases throughout the year amid supplier difficulties. Total vehicles built in the quarter topped 206,421 cars.
Tesla deliveries are often used as a barometer for EV adoption in the US; the vast majority of electric car sales today are Tesla vehicles. Looking forward, the company plans to open a new production facility in Austin, Texas, to handle Model Y production and to launch the highly anticipated Cybertruck.