Tesla delivered fewer vehicles than expected during the fourth quarter of 2022, despite breaking a quarterly production record.
Elon Musk’s beleaguered company delivered 405,278 vehicles during the December quarter, less than the 420,760 that Wall Street analysts predicted.
Musk had previously flagged an “epic” end to 2022, including his goal to expand vehicle deliveries by 50 per cent year-on-year, which the company also fell short of.
As with a number of major companies in the technology sector, lockdowns in China saw production there lowered, while Tesla also slashed prices by US$7,500 in the US to incentivise buyers hit with rising interest rates and inflationary concerns.
Musk’s split attention has cost Tesla dearly, with shares dropping 65 per cent throughout 2022, with a 37 per cent plummet in December alone.
Toni Sacconaghi, a Bernstein analyst, warned Tesla is facing “a significant demand problem.”
“We believe Tesla will need to either reduce its growth targets, and run its factories below capacity, or sustain and potentially increase recent price cuts globally, pressuring margins,” she wrote in a note.
Musk will no doubt be forced to explain his company’s flagging fortunes at Tesla’s investor day on March 1, which it will livestream, “with the option for some of our institutional and retail investors to attend in person”.