Sometimes it seems that there is no stopping Elon Musk or Tesla. The company and the entrepreneur have proven that by delivering record cars recently among growing global challenges. According to data shared by the American electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla has delivered 310,048 cars across the globe in the first quarter of 2022. It's a YoY increase of 68% and a truly remarkable feat at times when the auto industry is facing huge challenges like COVID-19 related restrictions and supply chain issues.
Mentioning this feat in a tweet, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote, "This was an exceptionally difficult quarter, due to supply-chain interruptions and China's zero-Covid policy. Outstanding work by the Tesla team and key suppliers saved the day."
Of the 310,048 cars sold by the company,
about 295,324 were Tesla Model 3 saloon and Tesla Model Y SUVs. The rest of the
14,724 units were of Tesla Model S saloon and Tesla Model X SUV. Musk has
previously stated that the Model Y was part of the company's plan to reach a
wider market. The vehicle was launched in 2019 and had a longer range per
charge compared to the Model 3 launched in 2017.
Tesla will be publishing the full financial
results for the first quarter of this year on Wednesday, April 20. 2022. At
that time, the company's management will also hold a question and answer
session, which it usually does.
Elon Musk has high hopes for Tesla. In
January this year, he stated that he expected the company to grow by over 50%
even though the company had been facing severe supply chain issues at that
time.
One of the key challenges Tesla is facing
and will probably face in the future too is that the Shanghai factory of
electric carmaker has been impacted by the new wave of COVID-19 in China. The
factory was completely shut down on March 28 as the surge of COVID-19 cases led
the government to impose a two-stage lockdown. Tesla expected to restart
production on April 4, 2022, but the production plans were canceled as most
Chinese cities are still under lockdown.
The Shanghai factory is crucial for Tesla's
production. In October 2021, Musk claimed that that factory had overtaken the
production of the Fremont factory that's located in California, USA. In
addition to producing the vehicles, the company also produces lithium-ion
batteries, which power a wide array of vehicles.
At the time of writing this article, Tesla
hadn't responded to a request for comment regarding the shutdown of the
Shanghai factory.
In addition to factory shutdowns, the
Chinese city has also canceled the Shanghai motor show that had been planned
for some time.
Tesla isn't the only car manufacturer that the
Shanghai lockdowns have impacted. Businesses like Volkswagen have also had to
cut down their operations due to the current situation in Shanghai.
Shanghai
is also a hub for the manufacturing of semiconductors and electronics. It's
also the world's busiest shipping port.
Sources:
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/business-dealership%2C-sales-and-marketing/tesla-delivers-record-310048-cars-q1-amid-global
https://www.bolnews.com/technology/2022/04/despite-many-challenges-tesla-delivers-record-number-of-cars/
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/tesla-delivers-record-number-cars-032804024.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADWd_llHlVXkt9-IicHqghaMwnjaM1nzbZ2HCNLqayx55lbW2azhNtZax9oYPtsYLWsnr5IprFuHJQaG3kizAXXiLOGOLLiUNPyNXerx1OT-MBjMVgY5c3BeRnD9Jn0_FeQOT2lmdGE7meKG7zR3iZk0v7VuQfEj7nxI9RBu-ONV