Tesla closes in on another deliveries record after price cuts

afr.com:

Tesla shares have soared more than 110 per cent this year. In the coming days, one number will be much more important to investors: How many cars did the company deliver in the latest quarter?

The world’s biggest electric-vehicle maker slashed prices across the model lineup to defend its market position against competitors trying to lure away customers with newer models. Likely this weekend, Tesla will give a glimpse of how well its strategy is working.

Tesla’s discounting dates back to late last year, when inflation and rising interest rates started to weigh on consumers. AP

Analysts anticipate the Elon Musk-led manufacturer to report sales of around 448,350 cars during the last three months, up 6 per cent from the first quarter of the year.

While Tesla will retain the top spot for global battery-electric vehicle deliveries, the company will need to pick up the pace slightly to sell through the 1.8 million to 2 million vehicles it’s planning to produce this year.

Tesla made and delivered more than 1.3 million cars worldwide last year and remains the dominant EV maker in the US. But in China — its No. 2 market — the company has fallen well behind BYD Co, which has a much fresher lineup and increasingly global ambitions.

The ascent of the Berkshire Hathaway-backed manufacturer has drawn the attention of Musk, who tweeted last month about a Bloomberg TV clip showing him laughing dismissively about BYD’s vehicles in 2011.

“That was many years ago,” Musk wrote. “Their cars are highly competitive these days.”

Tesla’s discounting dates back to late last year, when inflation and rising interest rates started to weigh on consumers. The company slashed prices first in China, then in the US and Europe.

While Tesla has repeatedly