Tesla (TSLA) delivered a record 1.31 million electric vehicles in 2022, up 40% from the previous year.
However, despite the strong annual performance, Tesla’s fourth quarter deliveries missed Wall Street expectations.
In the final quarter of 2022, Tesla delivered 405,278 electric vehicles. Wall Street had been forecasting deliveries of 427,000 for Q4, according to data from FactSet.
Tesla began production at two new assembly plants in 2022 – in Austin, Texas and Brandenburg, Germany. The company also increased production in Fremont, California and in Shanghai, China.
The fourth quarter of 2022 was a challenging one for Tesla as it included COVID-19 outbreaks in China that caused the company to reduce production at its Shanghai factory.
Tesla is offering price discounts and other promotions in the U.S., Canada, and China to help boost sales, even though doing so could pressure its margins.
Shares of Tesla have plunged more than 45% over the last six months and ended 2022 down 69% at $123.18 U.S. per share.
Analysts have expressed concern about weakening demand for Tesla’s electric vehicles, which are relatively expensive compared with an increasing number of hybrid and fully electric products from competing automakers.
Analysts and shareholders have also raised concerns with the amount of focus Tesla chief executive officer (CEO) Elon Musk is giving to social media company Twitter, which he purchased at the end of October 2022 for $44 billion U.S.
Musk recently indicated that he plans to step down as Twitter’s CEO so that he can return his focus to running Tesla.
