Tesla’s strong deliveries were expected: Morgan Stanley

Bloomberg

Tesla Inc. shares dropped as much as 3.7 percent after the company reported third-quarter delivery and production figures that analysts described as solid, yet firmly within expectations.
“Even bears expected an unusually strong third-quarter delivery result given extraordinary measures to produce, sell and deliver units,” according to Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas.
Tesla shares closed down 3.1 percent, after gaining more than 17 percent after Elon Musk reached a settlement with the SEC that removes him as chairman but permits him to stay on as the CEO.
Tesla reported deliveries of 83,500 vehicles, including 55,840 Model 3 sedans. The automaker produced 53,239 Model 3s during the period. Jonas noted the Model 3 mix “skewed extremely high-end with production of dual motor exceeding single motor and nearly 100 percent of production dual motor over last few weeks.”
RBC analyst Joseph Spak said gross margins for the quarter could be solid, as Tesla said deliveries were limited to higher-priced variants. “Bears may interpret this commentary that Tesla has gone through higher-end US Model 3 demand,” Spak added.