Palo Alto, CA – Tesla today reported its third-quarter vehicle production and delivery results for 2023. The electric vehicle maker produced 430,488 vehicles and delivered 435,059 vehicles during the July-September period.
While production and deliveries were up significantly on a year-over-year basis, they declined sequentially from the second quarter. Production fell 10% quarter-over-quarter, while deliveries were down 6.6% compared to Q2 2023.
Tesla attributed the sequential declines to “planned downtimes for factory upgrades” during Q3. The company has been investing heavily to expand production capacity at its factories in Fremont, Shanghai, and Berlin. These upgrades led to some temporary shutdowns that impacted overall production volumes last quarter.
Despite the sequential declines, Tesla’s Q3 production and delivery figures still represent solid growth versus last year. Production was up 25% year-over-year, while deliveries grew 26.5% compared to Q3 2022.
Breaking down the results by model, the mass market Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV continued to dominate. Combined deliveries of these two models totaled 419,074, accounting for 93% of Tesla’s total deliveries. Deliveries of the higher priced Model S sedan and Model X SUV experienced a 14% year-over-year decline, totaling just 15,985 vehicles.
By region, Tesla’s largest market last quarter was China, which accounted for 142,704 deliveries. This was followed by North America with 138,278 deliveries and Europe with 93,077.
Tesla stated that the factory upgrades implemented in Q3 will help boost production efficiency and capacity going forward. The company expects to increase output in Q4 and remains on track to meet its full-year production target of around 1.8 million vehicles.
However, Tesla faces headwinds including supply chain issues, high inflation, and the potential for a recession. Despite these challenges, today’s results indicate the company continues to lead the electric vehicle market. Investors will be watching closely to see if Tesla can deliver on its ambitious growth plans in coming quarters.
