On Saturday, electric vehicle company, Tesla, announced that it delivered 499,550 electric cars in 2020, a considerable figure that is just 450 off the company’s target of 500,000 car delivery for 2020. The high figure can be attributed to an end of the year increase in sales which saw Tesla delivering about 41,000 more electric cars in Q4 than it did in Q3.
The Chief Executive Officer of Tesla, Elon Musk, estimated during one of the company’s yearly shareholder meeting that he expected Tesla to deliver an average number of cars between 477,750 and 514,500 cars for 2020. Musk gave his estimate before the COVID-19 pandemic began and despite the pandemic’s effects on economies around the world, Tesla almost hit the target.
Tesla set a record for its highest delivery of cars after delivering 139,300 cars in the third quarter of 2020. The record was easily broken during the fourth quarter, according to Tesla’s fourth-quarter reports. Tesla announced, on Saturday, that between October and December, it delivered 180,570 cars, totaling a 36% annual sales increase for the California-based company.
A survey published two days before Tesla reported its fourth-quarter sales, pegged the company’s total Q4 delivery at 174,000. Some analysts also predicted a smaller delivery report from Tesla, with some experts estimating that Tesla delivered about 151,000 cars while others estimated the company’s total Q4 delivery to be about 184,000, CNBC writes.
Tesla had to shut down its Fremont US plant for some time in 2020, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but the CEO encouraged the members of the Tesla team to increase production to meet up with the company’s target. Another thing that helped Tesla meet up with the target was announcing some incentives to encourage more people to buy Tesla cars.
Last week, the company announced that it will include a free self-driving option for Tesla car owners who complete their vehicle paperwork and delivery before the end of 2020. The self-driving option usually costs around $10,000 (£7,300). In a Saturday tweet, Musk announced that the company was able to meet up with its target despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m so proud of the Tesla team for the achievement of this major milestone,” Musk stated in his tweet. “When we started Tesla, I assumed that we had only a 10% chance of survival, and that was me being optimistic about our chances.”
Tesla also announced that it produced over 509,000 cars in 2020 and that its Shanghai plant has commenced the production of the company’s Model Y SUV which it will be delivering soon.
Overall, 2020 was a good year for Tesla with the company’s shares increasing by eightfold. At the end of 2020, Tesla’s shares were valued at $705 apiece, increasing the company’s worth to $669 billion. The company joined the S&P index, this year and surpassed Toyota as the world’s most valuable car manufacturer.
Source: theguardian.com
