EV maker Tesla delivers, produces record vehicle volumes in Q3

Electric vehicle maker Tesla delivered and produced a record number of vehicles from its factories in the third quarter of 2022, it said in its Q3 update late Oct. 19.

Tesla delivered 343,830 vehicles in Q3, up 42.5% year on year and rising 35% from the previous quarter.

Of these, 325,158 were Model 3/Y units, climbing 40.1% year on year and up 36.3% from Q2.

The remaining 18,672 were Model S/X units, double the 9,275 sold a year ago and up 15.5% quarter on quarter.

For the January-September period, total deliveries were 908,573 units, climbing 44.8% on the year

Total Model 3/Y deliveries for the nine-month period were 859,015 units, up 39.9% year on year, while sales of Model S/X EVs totaled 49,558 units, 275.9% higher.

Tesla produced 365,923 EVs in Q3, up 53.9% on the year and 41.5% higher than Q2, which brought total production for the January-September period to 929,910 EVs, climbing 48.9% on the year.

Q3 Model 3/Y output jumped 51.2% on the year and 42.9% from Q2 to 345,988 units, bringing nine-month production to 879,346 EVs, up 43.3% year on year.

It produced 19.935 Model S/X units in Q3, 123% higher than a year ago and up 21.5% from Q2, while January-September output rose 348.2% to 50,564 units.

"While availability of components posed less of an issue in the quarter, vehicle transportation capacity during peak delivery period became increasingly challenging," Tesla said, adding that it was gradually shifting to a more even regional mix of deliveries and production.

Tesla previously said it expected new record production in the second half of 2022, with Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg producing more than 1,000 EVs/week and the Fremont in California and Shanghai plants also achieving their highest-ever production months and new growth.

Strong production rate uplift in Berlin

During the third quarter, Tesla said Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, which has an installed vehicle capacity of more than 250,000 Model Y vehicles/year, had produced more than 2,000 Model Y units in a single week using 2,170 cells, thanks to a strong production rate improvement toward the end of the quarter. It added that the facility's production rate was aligned with expectations.

In China, the Shanghai plant, which is able to produce more than 750,000 Model 3 and Y vehicles/year, achieved record production in Q3 and remained the company's main export hub, sending vehicles to North America, the EV maker said.

In the US, the company was increasing the production rate at Fremont by implementing solutions, while the Model Y production rate in Texas was increasing.

The company is able to produce 100,000 Model S and X units/year and 550,000 Model 3 and Y vehicles/year in California, as well as more than 250,000 Model Y vehicles/year in Texas.

"We remain focused on increasing vehicle production as quickly as possible, by increasing our weekly build rate in Fremont and Shanghai and progressing steadily through the production ramps in Berlin and Texas," it said.

Immediate challenges included logistics volatility and supply-chain bottlenecks, although Tesla said these were improving.

"We continue to believe that battery supply chain constraints will be the main limiting factor to EV market growth in the medium and long terms," the company said.

"Despite these challenges, we expect to continue to deliver every vehicle produced while maintaining strong operating margins," it added.

Tesla said it aimed to achieve 50% average annual growth in vehicle deliveries over multiple years, with the rate of growth to depend on its equipment capacity, factory uptime, operational efficiency and the capacity and stability of the supply chain.