A record quarter for Tesla is not as fast as it seems.
Tesla announced Saturday morning that it delivered 180,570 cars worldwide during the fourth quarter, setting a new company record. That brings the 2020 total to 500,000, in line with the company’s latest guidelines. The company also said it would soon begin delivering customers its China-made Model Y crossover vehicle.
While hitting the guide is certainly good news, it hardly represents an imposing operational feat that should dazzle Wall Street. For starters, meeting operating forecasts is a common occurrence for most members of the S&P 500, to which Tesla was added last month.
And investors shouldn’t forget that chief executive Elon Musk once claimed in 2016 that Tesla would sell one million cars by 2020. Since he made that claim, Tesla’s shares have multiplied nearly fifteenfold. . Last year also came and went without Mr Musk’s promise of a million fully autonomous “robotaxis” on the roads coming to fruition by the end of 2020.