Tesla delivers record 201,250 vehicles in second quarter of 2021

New figures fall short of analysts' expectations of about 202,800 vehicle deliveries

Electric vehicle maker Tesla delivered 201,250 cars in the second quarter of this year, falling slightly short of analysts’ expectations.

Analysts had predicted the company would deliver about 202,800 vehicles in the three months to June 30, estimates compiled by FactSet showed.

“Congrats Tesla Team on over 201,250 cars built and delivered in Q2, despite many challenges!” Tesla’s billionaire chief executive Elon Musk said on Twitter.

The world's biggest EV company also beat its previous record of 184,800 deliveries in the first quarter of this year.

The company, which is facing a shortage of chips that has hit the automotive industry worldwide, aims to deliver more than 750,000 cars this year. Its stock was at one point up almost 1.3 per cent at $680.08 per share on Friday before paring gains. The company's shares have climbed more than 180 per cent in the past 12 months.

“Our teams have done an outstanding job navigating through global supply chain and logistics challenges,” the company said in a statement on Friday.

During the earnings call in April, Mr Musk admitted that supply chain issues were likely to remain a challenge for Tesla this year. Citing a global chip shortage, he said the company was facing “some of the most difficult supply chain challenges".

Tesla has geared production towards its cheaper vehicles — Model 3 saloons priced from $33,690 and Model Y sports utility vehicles from $45,690 — to meet its sales target for 2021.

In the second quarter, it sold 199,360 units of Model 3s and Model Ys. It delivered only 1,890 units of its more expensive Model S saloons and Model X SUVs, which are priced from $75,000, in three months to June 30.

In the first quarter of this year, the California-based company’s net profit surged to $438 million, which was more than 27 times the $16m earned in the same period a year ago. It was the seventh straight profitable quarter for the EV maker.

The interior of Tesla Model 3. Reuters

Global sales of EVs accelerated last year, rising 43 per cent to more than 3.2 million, Swedish data company EV-volumes.com said.

Tesla sold the most electric cars, delivering about 500,000 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen.