Tesla (NYSE:TSLA) shares dropped by -6% at Wednesday’s open after the company reported deliveries that were lower than analysts’ estimates.
TSLA – Daily Chart
The price of TSLA has hit resistance at the $264.95 level and that has blocked progress toward the higher target. The downtrend line comes back into play at $200.
Tesla reported 462,890 deliveries and 469,796 vehicles produced in Q3 2024, which was lower than analysts’ estimates. FactSet estimates had projected 463,310 deliveries for the quarter ending September 30.
Although Tesla doesn’t note “deliveries” in its financials, it is viewed as the closest metric to units sold and is a key figure for Wall Street ahead of each earnings report. A year ago, the company produced 435,059 deliveries and 430,488 vehicles produced, while last quarter it reported 443,956 deliveries. Growth has not picked up as expected at the company due to rising competition in China and falling sales in Europe.
Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter had been expecting a higher figure of 459,000 EVs for Q3 and 1.75 million for the year. Meanwhile, an analyst at Barclays had projected 470,000 units in Q3, citing global EV sales and stronger August data from China. “Our delivery estimate implies volume up ~6% sequentially and ~8% year-over-year,” Dan Levy said. “We believe a beat could drive further stock strength into Robotaxi Day”.
The disappointing results mean that the robotaxi event on October 10 will be a key factor in the path of Tesla shares for the rest of the year.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives expects sales and profitability to improve at Tesla. “Price cuts are mostly in the rearview mirror, removing a margin overhang…we believe gross margins should finally start to rebound in 3Q,” Ives said.
S&P Global Mobility data reported that Tesla had sold over 5,000 Cybertrucks in July, marking year-to-date sales of more than 17,000. Deutsche Bank sees Q3 sales at 13,500 units. Although the new vehicle is only 3% of total sales, the Cybertruck could impact whether Tesla meets its total delivery target.
