Tesla beat estimates for fourth-quarter deliveries on Tuesday, according to its production and deliveries report for 2023.
Elon Musk's electric vehicle company delivered a record 484,507 vehicles between October and December and hit its 2023 target of 1.8 million, supported by federal tax credits included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Tesla had pushed to hand over more Model 3 electric cars before the tax incentives on some variants of the compact sedan expired in the New Year.
Analysts polled by the London Stock Exchange Group had said the end of tax incentives would bring sales forward into the fourth quarter and impact deliveries in 2024. They predicted Tesla would deliver 473,253 units by the end of the year, but the company beat expectations.
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The rear-wheel drive and long-range variants of Tesla's Model 3 compact sedan no longer have federal tax credits of $7,500 this year as updated requirements on battery material sourcing kick in, under the IRA.
Fourth-quarter deliveries were about 11% higher than the third quarter, during which upgrades to assembly lines to make the updated Model 3 mass-market sedan hurt some production.
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Tesla also delivered 461,538 Model 3 cars and Model Y sports utility vehicles and handed over about 23,000 units of its other models, the report said.
The new and much-hyped Cybertruck model is expected to make up only a small number of deliveries this year. Tesla said the three versions of its electric pickup truck will sell at $60,990, $79,990 and $99,990, respectively, a high price that reflects short-term difficulties in production.
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Musk said in October his company aims to manufacture about a quarter of a million Cybertruck units in 2025.
He explained that "there will be enormous challenges in reaching volume production with the Cybertruck and then in making a Cybertruck cash flow position."
"This is simply normal when you’ve got a product with a lot of new technology or for any new vehicle program, but especially for one that is as different and advanced as the Cybertruck. You will have some problems proportionate to how many new things you’re trying to solve at scale. So, I just want to emphasize that one," he said. "I think this is potentially our best product ever."
Tesla's report said it expects to deliver 2.2 million vehicles in 2024, an increase of nearly 22%, but slower than the 38% growth seen in 2023.
Tesla will report its fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 24 after markets close.
Fox Business' Aislinn Murphy and Reuters contributed to this report.
