Tesla's stock jumps as deliveries beat expectations by a wide margin

By Tomi Kilgore

Tesla's second-quarter deliveries beat expectations by the widest margin in more than two years

Shares of Tesla Inc. rose more than 9% Tuesday after the electric-vehicle giant surprised investors by reporting second-quarter deliveries that beat expectations.

It was the first beat in four quarters, and the margin of the beat was the widest since the fourth quarter of 2021, according to FactSet data.

The stock (TSLA) was on track for its highest close since Jan. 11. It was headed for a sixth straight gain, which would be the longest winning streak since the six-session stretch that ended July 18, 2023.

Tesla said it delivered 443,956 vehicles during the second quarter, down 4.7% from a year ago but 1.8% above the FactSet consensus of 436,000 vehicles.

Tesla said its second-quarter deliveries included 422,405 Model 3s and Model Ys.

It was "an encouraging outcome vs. expectations both on the demand and supply sides," Citi analyst Itay Michaeli said in a note Tuesday. "We continue to see scope for improving sentiment in Tesla shares ... as well as broader EV sentiment as compared with the negative sentiment we have seen over the past 6 months."

Just before the deliveries data was released, the stock was down 1.7% in premarket trading amid concerns that deliveries would miss expectations. The concerns were heightened after data released overnight showed that Tesla's sales of EVs in China in June tumbled 24% from a year ago and were down 2.2% from May, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.

The company also said Tuesday that it produced 410,831 EVs during the second quarter, down 14.3% from a year ago.

Heading into the release, Wall Street had broadly cut its expectations, Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro said. Tesla's "solid beat" was likely fueled by its revamped Model 3, Gengaro said in his note.

Tesla said it will report full second-quarter results on July 23, after the market close. The company has scheduled a call with analysts at 5:30 p.m. Eastern that day to discuss the results.

The company also has scheduled a "Robotaxi day" on Aug. 8. Baird analyst Ben Kallo said in a note Tuesday that he has fielded many questions from investors about the event.

"Several variables still remain such as how [Tesla] will charge for the service, vehicle uptime, costs associated with paying drivers for using their vehicles in the fleet, etc.," he said. "We expect [Tesla] will defer speaking on these and other details until the unveiling event."

Tesla's stock has been on a tear over the past couple of months. It has now rocketed 55.2% since it closed at a 15-month low of $142.05 on April 22.

It has rallied 32.3% over the past three months, compared with the 5% gain in the S&P 500 index SPX over the same period.

Claudia Assis contributed.

-Tomi Kilgore

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07-02-24 1108ET

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