Tesla deliveries set record

Tesla Inc shares opened at new highs after the electric-car maker reported a new record for quarterly deliveries of 112,000 units in the final three months of 2019.
The electric-vehicle maker handed over 92,550 Model 3 and 19,450 Model S and Model X electric vehicles in the fourth quarter, according to a statement, eclipsing its previous total best of 97,000 set in the prior three months. Tesla delivered 367,500 vehicles total in all of 2019, topping the low end of its forecast for at least 360,000.
The results add to the momentum Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk ended last year with following a surprise quarterly profit reported in late October. To stay on a roll, Tesla will have to overcome the ceasing of federal tax credits for its vehicles in the US and less-generous support from the Netherlands, which generated huge demand with tax incentives that expired at year-end.
Tesla shares climbed as much as 5.5% to $454 shortly after the start of regular trading. The stock rose 26% in 2019.
Tesla delivered about 7,000 more cars than it produced in the quarter, meaning the automaker managed to reduce inventory. The Palo Alto, California-based company hasn’t scheduled a date yet for the release of fourth-quarter earnings.
The outlook for government incentives to support burgeoning electric-vehicle demand is positive in parts of the world, including Germany, where Musk has announced Tesla will build its next factory. And while policymakers in China have mulled further reducing subsidies, a new plant Tesla has built near Shanghai is making Model 3s assembled there eligible for handouts, and locally built sedans will be exempt from a purchase tax.
International deliveries of the Model 3 sedan began in early 2019 and became a significant source of sales over the course of the year.
While Tesla doesn’t release a breakdown of deliveries by region or country, the company disclosed in October that revenue in the US plummeted by almost 40% in the third quarter from the year-earlier period. That drop more than offset growth in other geographies.
In the Netherlands, 12,062 Model 3s were registered in December alone, according to Kentekenradar, which publishes daily Dutch fleet data updates. That’s more than double the car’s previous best month in September.

Great Lengths
US buyers were still eligible for $1,875 federal tax credits for the last six months of 2019. While that perk went to zero as of January 1, some state incentives are still available.
Tesla went to great lengths to help some customers take delivery of their car in time to get the tax credit.
Customers flocked to Tesla’s factory and delivery hub in Fremont, California, on New Year’s Eve to take delivery of their cars, with many staying past midnight to complete paperwork.
Tesla has said that China could become the biggest market for Model 3s, which are now being assembled at the factory near Shanghai. Prospects for growth in the market helped buoy the stock leading up to the company handing over the first locally made sedans to 15 of its own employees on December 30.
The plant has assembled just short of 1,000 cars for sale to customers and demonstrated an ability to make more than 3,000 a week, excluding local battery-pack production that began late last month, according to the company. Heading into Tesla’s report, analysts were divided over where the carmaker’s deliveries are headed next.
Analyst Jeffrey Osborne predicted fourth-quarter Model 3 deliveries would drop both sequentially and from the year-earlier period when excluding the Netherlands and China.
The average price target for Tesla shares is $301.83, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Tesla cuts starting price for China-made Model 3 by 9%
Bloomberg

Tesla Inc cut the starting price of its China-built Model 3 sedans by 9%, as it steps up efforts to lure customers in the world’s biggest electric-vehicle market after opening a
factory on the outskirts of Shanghai.
The price was lowered to 323,800 yuan ($46,500) from 355,800 yuan. After subsidies from the Chinese government, prices start from 299,050 yuan, Tesla’s website showed. That puts the cars closer to some produced by domestic EV makers, such as Xpeng Motor’s latest P7 sedan, which starts at 240,000 yuan. NIO Inc’s electrified SUVs start from as high as 358,000 yuan.
California-based Tesla, which handed over the first of its Chinese-made cars to 15 employees on December 30, will start delivering local models to the public on January 7, it said on its official WeChat account. That’s just one year after breaking ground at the Shanghai plant, Tesla’s first factory outside the US.
“This price cut shows Tesla’s confidence in cost control and determination in rapidly expanding its market share,” said Yale Zhang, managing director of Autoforesight, a Shanghai-based consultancy.
Elon Musk’s company is also lowering the cost of optional extras, from body colour to high-performance wheels. Home-charging services aren’t included, and cost an extra 8,000 yuan.