Tesla's Growth Slows in Q1 as It Built Way More Cars Than It Sold

• Tesla has released preliminary figures for the first quarter of 2024, with the company producing 433,371 total vehicles but only delivering 386,810.
• Those results represent a notable decline in volume, and the actual deliveries fall well short of Q1 projections that reportedly averaged around 457,000.
• Tesla claims the poor results are partly due to ramping up production of the updated Model 3 at its Fremont, California, factory and partly because of factory shutdowns abroad.

Tesla is currently struggling to sell cars, at least through the first quarter of this year. The company today released preliminary figures regarding the amount of vehicles it has produced and delivered through March 31, 2024. The results speak for themselves: 433,371 total cars were produced but only 386,810 were delivered.

While Tesla doesn't break out individual models, it does list the combined figures for the Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV as well as «other models,» which include the bigger Model S sedan and Model X SUV. In Q1 2024, Tesla built 412,376 Model 3/Y but only sold 369,783; the other models accounted for 20,995 that were built and 17,027 that were delivered.

The latest quarterly delivery results are not only a lot lower than the same period in 2023; they're also far short of projections. The latter were all over the place, but on average analysts projected Tesla's Q1 deliveries to be around 457,000, as reported by CNBC. Last year during the first quarter, the electric-car maker also produced more vehicles than it sold, but by a much smaller margin (440,808 total built, 422,875 sold).

According to Tesla, the decline in volume through the beginning of 2024 could be attributed to multiple factors. Along with disruptions to some of its foreign factories, the company blames the disappointing first-quarter results on production ramp-up for the new Model 3 that's being built at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California.

Tesla say it will release the financial results for Q1 2024 after the market closes on Tuesday, April 23.

Eric StaffordSenior Editor

Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car