Tesla was reported to have delivered around 90,650 vehicles by the end of the second quarter of 2020 and caused its shares to skyrocket nearly 9% to US$1,219.02[AU$1754.47] on Thursday’s premarket trading.
According to CNBC, the company has exceeded all expert expectations and has fared much better than its competitors during the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Numerous analysts and experts estimated Tesla to deliver anywhere between 72,000 to 83,000 units in the second quarter.
But the 90,650 number has smashed all these estimates, dropping only by 4.8% from last year’s second-quarter figures.
This is despite the fact that vehicle sales around the globe nearly ground to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on businesses, travel, and the economy as a whole.
A look at the competition
The carmaker’s competitors like Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, and Toyota Motor, all reported a drop of more than 30% in sales during the second quarter, due to the coronavirus.
Most experts agree that Tesla’s performance during the global pandemic was not just due to its production numbers, but also its operating expenses.
Cleantechnica reports that analysts have studied the Tesla Q1 2020 update, and crunched the available numbers.
The general consensus is that a combination of reduced pay for its US-based and foreign employees, and furloughing its factory employees unable to work from home resulted in significant savings.
The amount of money saved is said to be anywhere between $74 million to $103 million.
The numbers say it all
Despite these adjustments, Tesla has reported that it has produced 82,272 vehicles, 75,496 of which were of the Model 3 and Model Y variant, and 6,326 were of the Model S and Model X vehicles.
Tesla did not disclose the exact number of units produced in the Shanghai Gigafactory, opting instead to simply report a combined delivery number of 80,050 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, and 10,600 Model S and Model X vehicles.
In addition, the company reduced its vehicle prices in China and North America to maintain the demand for their vehicles during the pandemic.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was reported to have sent out a congratulatory email to his employees worldwide. The email praised the employees’ “amazing” work “[…]in such difficult times,” and the CEO seemed to be pleased with the result.
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