Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) delivered 83,500 vehicle during the third quarter, beating Wall Street analysts' expectations and about 80% higher than all of its deliveries for 2017.
The electric car company produced 55,840 of its Model 3 sedans, slightly higher than what CEO Elon Musk had previously promised investors.
Tesla previously set a goal of producing between 50,000 and 55,000 Model 3 sedans during the quarter. Heading into the report, expectations were that the company had exceeded that goal. The Model 3 is Tesla's mid-size electric sedan, and the car that is meant to turn Tesla into a mass manufacturer of electric vehicles.
CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly said he expects the company to be profitable in the third quarter. Tesla has had only two profitable quarters since it went public in 2010.
Musk recently reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over charges of fraud resulting from comments he made about taking Tesla private. Under the terms of the settlement, Musk and Tesla will pay fines of $20 million each, and Musk will step down for at least three years as chairman.
"With production stabilized," says Tuesday morning’s news release, "delivery and outbound vehicle logistics were our main challenges during Q3. We made many improvements to these processes throughout the quarter, and plan to make further improvements in Q4 so that we can scale successfully.
"As part of this effort, we plan to continue to expand direct deliveries to customers at their home or office, a service we launched in Q3 to improve customer convenience."
Tesla shares retreated $1.14 to $309.56
