Tesla has achieved record deliveries for the first quarter of the year, despite being heavily impacted by supply-chain disruptions and Covid-induced factory shutdowns.
The American electric vehicle manufacturer delivered a total of 310,048 cars worldwide in the first quarter of 2022 – an increase of 68% year on year.
Around 295,324 of the overall delivery figure consisted of the Tesla Model 3 saloon and the Tesla Model Y SUV. The remaining 14,724 units were sales of the larger Tesla Model S saloon and Tesla Model X SUV.
“This was an exceptionally difficult quarter, due to supply-chain interruptions and China's zero-Covid policy,” company boss Elon Musk tweeted. “Outstanding work by the Tesla team and key suppliers saved the day.”
Tesla’s Shanghai factory has been impacted particularly hard. It was shut down completely on 28 March because a two-stage lockdown has been imposed in areas of the city where Covid cases have since surged.
The rising number of cases in the Chinese city has also led to the cancellation of the Shanghai motor show.
Tesla was due to restart production on Monday 4 April, but production plans have since been cancelled Reuters has reported, as most of Shanghai is still under strict lockdown.
The Shanghai factory is increasingly important to Tesla’s production. In October last year, Musk claimed it has overtaken the production output of the Fremont factory in California, US.
Tesla will publish its full financial results for the first quarter of 2022 on Wednesday 20 April, when its management holds its usual question-and-answer session.
Tesla hopes its sales will grow by 50% in 2022.
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These electric car things will never take off. Hydrogen is the answer. What happens when all those batteries explode after two years?
etc
Good for Tesla.