Tesla Tops Expectations, Delivers Record Vehicles In 1Q

Tesla announced that it shipped 184,800 electric vehicles in 1Q, which exceeded the previous record of 180,570 units achieved in the fourth quarter of 2020. Moreover, 1Q vehicle shipments came in well above analysts’ expectations of 177,822 units.

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Tesla’s (TSLA) 1Q deliveries also marked a 109% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s shipment of 88,400 electric cars.

Of the total, 182,780 were for the Model Y and Model 3, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 139.9%. However, deliveries for Model S and X declined 83.4% to 2,020 vehicles year-on-year. Total production during the quarter soared 75.6% year-over-year to 180,338 units. (See Tesla stock analysis on TipRanks).

Tesla revealed that its Model Y electric car has received strong a reception in China and is progressing well to achieve full production capacity. Notably, the company began producing Model Y for the first time at its China factory in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Following the quarterly production and delivery numbers, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and raised the price target to $1,000 (51.1% upside potential) from $950.

In a note to investors, Ives wrote, “In our opinion the 1Q delivery numbers released on Friday was a paradigm changer and shows that the pent-up demand globally for Tesla’s Model 3/Y is hitting its next stage of growth as part of a global green tidal wave underway. We now believe Tesla could exceed 850k deliveries for the year with 900k a stretch goal, despite the chip shortage and various supply chain issues lingering across the auto sector.”

Overall, the rest of the Street is sidelined on the stock, with a Hold consensus rating based on 10 Holds, 10 Buys and 7 Sells. The average analyst price target of $681.10 implies upside potential of about 2.9% to current levels. Shares have skyrocketed about 531.4% in one year.