Tesla says it sold a record 1.3 million cars last year

Tesla said on Monday it sold a record 1.3 million vehicles last year, but that number falls short of CEO Elon Musk’s pledge to increase the company’s sales by 50% almost every year.

The 2022 figure topped the previous record of 936,000 vehicles delivered in 2021, but still falls short of the 1.4 million vehicles needed to hit the company’s 50% growth target. Sales increased 40% year over year, while output increased 47% to 1.37 million.

Shortages that come despite a big year-end sales push include Rare US$7,500 discount on Models Y and 3the company’s best-selling models.

Tesla Inc., based in Austin, Texas, also has to deal with rising new coronavirus infections in China, cutting production at its Shanghai factory.

With an extra push from the United States, Tesla delivered more than 405,000 vehicles worldwide in the fourth quarter. But that missed Wall Street predictions. Analysts polled by data provider FactSet expect 427,000 deliveries from October to December and 1.33 million for the full year.

“Thank you to all of our customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and supporters who helped us achieve a great 2022 amid the severe COVID pandemic and supply chain related challenges throughout the year,” electricity transport and the solar panel company said Monday.

Tesla didn’t launch any new models last year, and it is facing increasing competition from established automakers and startups like Lucid and Rivian, which constantly introduce new types of electric vehicles.

But Musk has promised to start production of the long-awaited Cybertruck electric pickup this year. The company has also begun offering its electric pickups.

The price cuts, introduced in the last two weeks of the year, have raised questions about whether demand for Tesla products will falter as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to combat inflation.

That, along with Musk’s behavior after the $44 billion purchase of Twitter, helped to push Tesla stock down more than 65% last yearpushing Musk out of the top spot for the world’s richest person, according to Forbes.

The company’s share drop for the year, its worst ever, was more than three times the drop for the S&P 500, which fell 19.4%.

Musk wrote on Twitter on December 30 that the company’s long-term fundamentals are strong, but “short-term market frenzy” is unpredictable.

Some investors worry that Twitter has distracted Musk from the car Company. Last month, Musk said he plans to stay on as Twitter’s CEO until he finds someone willing to replace him in the job.

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