Now that the drama between Elon Musk and the SEC is firmly behind us, it’s as good a time as any to focus on how Tesla’s production numbers have increased dramatically over the last few weeks. Following word that Tesla was on track to meet its Model 3 production numbers for the September quarter, the electric automaker on Tuesday confirmed that it manufactured a record number of vehicles over the last three-month period.
Specifically, Tesla during the September quarter said that it manufactured 80,142 vehicles. Breaking things down further, Tesla during the recent quarter manufactured 53,239 Model 3 vehicles. To put that figure into context, Tesla notes that the figure is nearly double the Model 3 production figures the company saw during the recent June quarter. Meanwhile, Model S and Model X production checked in at 26,903 units, a figure which was just a tad higher than the previous quarter.
Delivery wise, Tesla during the September quarter delivered 83,500 vehicles to buyers. And driving home just how fast Tesla has managed to improve production and its delivery rate, the company notes that during the third quarter alone, “we delivered more than 80% of the vehicles that we delivered in all of 2017, and we delivered about twice as many Model 3s as we did in all previous quarters combined.”
No matter how you look at it, Tesla appears to have had a stellar quarter, Elon Musk’s peculiar antics on Twitter notwithstanding.
On another note, it remains to be seen when the entry-level $35,000 Model 3 will be made available to prospective buyers. As it stands now, Tesla is prioritizing more premium models as the company is still keen on generating as much cash as possible.
“Shipping the min cost Model 3 right now would cause Tesla to lose money and die,” Musk said on Twitter about 5 months ago. “Need 3 to 6 months after 5k/wk to ship $35k Tesla & live.”
Looking out even further ahead, Musk this past August suggested that a $25,000 version of the Model 3 might be possible in three years.
