NEW YORK: Shares of Tesla dropped early Monday as markets digested the latest production and sales figures for the high-flying electric car maker.
Global deliveries for Elon Musk’s auto company were 422,875 in the first quarter, according to figures released Sunday, up 36 percent from the year-ago period.
The results relate to a period in which Tesla undertook price cuts of up to 20 percent in Europe and the United States after similar moves last year in China.
Analysts offered a mixed appraisal of Tesla’s latest delivery numbers, with some pointing to estimates for an even larger 432,000 during the quarter.
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Tesla shares fell 3.4 percent to $200.39 early Monday.
CFRA Research’s Garrett Nelson called the deliveries a “mild disappointment.”
But Wedbush’s Dan Ives said the sales figures were “another positive step in a murky macro.”
The figure topped the estimate of analysts at JPMorgan Chase, who said Tesla’s price cuts had an unpredictable impact.
“We think it is safe to say Tesla both beat our own lower-end forecast while also missing higher-end expectations likely raised in the aftermath of aggressive price reductions,” said the JPMorgan note.
“We have been cautious about the profit impact of Tesla’s price cuts, writing that the lower prices are negative overall for Tesla,” the analysts added.
Tesla said it produced 440,808 vehicles during the first quarter, up 44 percent from the year-ago level.
General Motors and other automakers are expected to release their US sales figures later Monday.
The auto sales jobs market has been bolstered by a strong US labor market, offset somewhat by the hit on borrowing costs due to higher interest rates.
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