Tesla posts stronger-than-expected quarterly deliveries
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Tesla shares rose nearly 2 per cent in pre-market trading.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in Q3, beating analyst estimates and showing a recovery in European sales despite weaker demand in the US and China.
- European demand surged, with Tesla's Model Y becoming France's best-selling car, and exports from Shanghai nearly doubled in July and August.
- Tesla is shifting focus to AI, self-driving cars, and robots, launching robotaxi services without safety drivers in Texas and Florida, despite production slightly below estimates.
AI generated
Tesla beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter deliveries on Oct 2, as sales in Europe recovered from a slump in 2025 and made up for weaker demand in the electric-vehicle maker’s two biggest markets, the US and China.
Shares of the Austin, Texas-based company rose nearly 2 per cent in pre-market trading. Through last close, the stock had fallen more than 21 per cent so far in 2026.
The rebound in Europe partially offset the hit to demand from the loss of US tax incentives in 2025 and tougher competition in China.
The company delivered 486,532 vehicles in the July-September period, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 456,896 vehicles, according to data compiled by Visible Alpha.
The figures suggest Tesla’s core car business may be levelling off after two straight years of falling annual sales. It needs to deliver at least 311,448 vehicles in the fourth quarter to avert a third straight annual decline in deliveries.
Demand looked strong going into the quarter, as finance chief Vaibhav Taneja said in July that Tesla “exited Q2 with our largest order backlog since 2023”.
After the slump in Europe in 2025 – partly due to backlash against chief executive officer Elon Musk’s politics – EU registrations rose by about two-thirds through August. In France, the Model Y became the best-selling car of any type, the first time a Tesla has topped that ranking.
Exports from Tesla’s Shanghai factory nearly doubled in July and August.
Analysts expect the slow roll-out of the company’s full self-driving (FSD) software in Europe to help sales further as FSD is now approved in eight countries.
Investors, though, have increasingly looked past quarterly deliveries as Musk shifts Tesla’s focus towards AI, self-driving cars, humanoid robots and energy.
Tesla’s robotaxi service now runs without a safety supervisor inside the car in Texas and Florida. In September, the company added its purpose-built Cybercab to its existing robotaxi service in Austin.
The company produced 464,391 vehicles during the third quarter, below estimates of 486,761 vehicles. REUTERS