Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter, beating Wall Street estimates for a second straight quarter even as the figure fell short of last year's record. Shares rose about 2% on the news, though the stock remains down 21% for the year as investors focus on the company's robotics and energy businesses rather than car sales.
Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter, topping the roughly 461,100 deliveries Wall Street analysts had expected, according to a StreetAccount consensus. Shares of the automaker climbed about 2% following the report.
Deliveries top estimates but trail last year's record
The quarter marks the second in a row in which Tesla beat Street forecasts, and it was the company's best three-month stretch for sales so far this year. Even so, deliveries fell about 2% from the 497,099 vehicles Tesla delivered a year earlier, when buyers rushed to use a federal EV tax credit before it expired. Deliveries did climb from the second quarter's 480,126 units.
Model Y and Model 3 carry the quarter
Tesla's entry-level Model 3 and best-selling Model Y SUV accounted for 98% of total deliveries. The company also delivered 8,295 "other vehicles," a category made up mostly of the Cybertruck. Tesla produced 464,391 vehicles during the quarter, below the delivery total.
Energy storage grows as robotaxi push continues
Tesla also said it deployed 13.7 gigawatt-hours of energy storage products, including its Megapack and Megablock systems, up from 12.5 GWh a year earlier. The company began adding the Cybercab, a pedal-free robotaxi, to its fleet in September, and is preparing to start production of its Optimus humanoid robot before year-end.
Despite the delivery beat, Tesla's stock remains down 21% for the year, trailing every other megacap tech peer. UBS analyst Joseph Spak noted that investor focus has shifted away from vehicle sales toward Tesla's broader AI and robotics ambitions. Some investors are also watching for a potential merger with Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has eclipsed Tesla's market cap since its public listing in June. Tesla is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Oct. 21.
Sources: CNBC, MarketWatch, Business Insider
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