Tesla reports record quarterly deliveries as factories ramps up

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc on Friday said it delivered 139,300 vehicles in the third quarter, a new quarterly record for the electric carmaker as it is ramping up production at its California and Shanghai factories and working to build two additional plants.

The company slightly beat Wall Street estimates for deliveries of 134,720 vehicles, driven by higher demand for its mass-produced Model 3 sedans.

Tesla delivered 124,100 units of its new Model Y sport utility vehicle and Model 3 vehicles in the period as U.S. production recovered after being suspended from the end of March to early May due to the COVID-19 lockdown. That was below expectations of 128,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles combined.

Its total production in the quarter rose 76% to 145,036 vehicles compared with the previous three-month period.

The delivery push has been supported by Tesla’s new Shanghai factory, the only plant currently producing vehicles outside the company’s main factory in California. Tesla began delivering Model 3s from its Shanghai factory in December and has said it aims to produce 150,000 Model 3 sedans in the factory per year. and later 250,000 vehicles a year.

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru and Tina Bellon in New York: Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Arun Koyyur and Steve Orlofsky)