Gary Zhou 
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) released its third quarter vehicle delivery and production report during the weekend. As per the report, the company delivered 343,830 vehicles in Q3 2022, about 5% lower than the consensus estimate of about 364,000 vehicles.
But while the EV maker’s third-quarter vehicle delivery results missed estimates, Tesla’s production numbers were in line with expectations, with 365,923 cars produced. In its report, Tesla explained that its lower-than-expected delivery figures were due to a transition in its quarterly strategy.
“As our production volumes continue to grow, it is becoming increasingly challenging to secure vehicle transportation capacity and at a reasonable cost during these peak logistics weeks. In Q3, we began transitioning to a more even regional mix of vehicle builds each week, which led to an increase in cars in transit at the end of the quarter. These cars have been ordered and will be delivered to customers upon arrival at their destination,” Tesla noted.
While Tesla’s Q3 numbers unsurprisingly resulted in volatility in TSLA stock on Monday, UBS has maintained its optimistic stance on the electric vehicle maker, reiterating his “Buy” rating on TSLA stock. UBS analyst Patrick Hummel noted that Tesla is best positioned for a more balanced market, and the company is better positioned than its rivals if it needs to adjust its vehicles’ prices.
“With ~30% auto gross margin, we think Tesla is better positioned than anyone else to adjust pricing downwards if needed while defending strong margins and generating further economies of scale. For Q3, the ~20k shortfall in deliveries could imply that Tesla remains below the 30% auto gross margin (ex credits) level that we would have expected on our higher delivery estimate,” Hummel wrote in a note.
Tesla has maintained that it is aiming to grow its vehicle deliveries by about 50% this year despite the Covid-related challenges that the company faced in China during the second quarter. For the company to accomplish this goal, Tesla would have to deliver well north of 400,000 vehicles in Q4 2022, effectively ending the year on a strong note.
As of writing, Tesla stock is trading up 4.11% at $252.36 per share.
