Tesla reports record Q1 deliveries as price cuts boost demand

Tesla slashed prices both here and abroad in early January

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Tesla (TSLA) on Sunday reported first-quarter delivery and production numbers that topped estimates, indicating price cuts it initiated across the globe are boosting demand.

For the quarter, Tesla delivered 422,875 vehicles globally, which is an all-time record for the EV maker. That figure barely topped street estimates —as complied by Bloomberg —of slightly over 421K deliveries. Tesla also produced 440,808 cars for the quarter, easily topping estimates of 432.5K vehicles. While Tesla doesn’t break out sales by region, global sales of the Model 3 and Model Y SUV surged, following price cuts for both vehicles both in the U.S. and abroad.

Tesla cut prices in China first, in early January with the Chinese-made Model 3 falling by 13.5%, and the Model Y cut by 10%. Tesla then cut prices in the U.S., with the Model 3 RWD falling by 6.4%, and the Model Y Long range dropping by nearly 20%. Sales in the U.S. were given an even bigger boost when the IRS in early January allowed all versions of the Model Y to fall under the $80,000 MSRP price limit for tax credit eligibility. It had been reported since then that production wait time for the Model Y pushed out considerably after the IRS ruling.

Returning to deliveries, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during the company’s Q4 earnings call that he expected Tesla to deliver 1.8 million vehicles for the year, and if there aren’t any production hiccups, that 2 million deliveries would be achievable. The company also indicated its highly-anticipated Cybertruck would enter production in the back half of 2023.

Finally, Tesla said in its delivery report that it would post first-quarter financial results after the market close on Wednesday, April 19th, with the investor call scheduled for 5:30p ET on the same day.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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