Tesla posts stronger-than-expected quarterly deliveries

Tesla beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter deliveries on Friday, as sales in Europe recovered from last year’s slump and made up for weaker demand in the electric-vehicle maker’s two biggest markets, the U.S. and China.

Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company rose nearly 2% in premarket trading. Through last close, the stock had fallen more than 21% so far this year.

The rebound in Europe partially offset the hit to demand from the loss of U.S. tax incentives last year and tougher competition in China.

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The company delivered 486,532 vehicles in the July-September period, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 456,896 vehicles, according to data compiled by Visible Alpha.

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The figures suggest Tesla’s core car business may be leveling off after two straight years of falling annual sales. It needs to deliver at least 311,448 vehicles in the fourth quarter to avert a third straight annual decline in deliveries.

Demand looked strong going into the quarter as finance chief Vaibhav Taneja said in July Tesla “exited Q2 with our largest order backlog since 2023.”

After last year’s slump in Europe – partly due to backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s politics – EU registrations rose by about two-thirds through August. In France, the Model Y became the best-selling car of any type, the first time a Tesla has topped that ranking.

Exports from Tesla’s Shanghai factory nearly doubled in July and August.

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Analysts expect the slow rollout of the company’s Full Self-Driving software in Europe to help sales further as FSD is now approved in eight countries.

Investors, though, have increasingly looked past quarterly deliveries as Musk shifts Tesla’s focus toward AI, self-driving cars, humanoid robots and energy.

Tesla’s robotaxi service now runs without a safety supervisor inside the car in Texas and Florida. Last month, the company added its purpose-built Cybercab to its existing robotaxi service in Austin.

The company produced 464,391 vehicles during the third quarter, below estimates of 486,761 vehicles.