Tesla Stock Surges 13% as a Record 308k Cars Delivered in Q4

In Q4 2021, Tesla overcame significant supply chain disruptions and a semiconductor shortage with a record EV delivery. Is the pace of production sustainable – for all models expected to be delivered in 2022?

Tesla Delivers Record Car Numbers in Q4 2021

According to Tesla’s Q4 2021 Vehicle Production & Deliveries report, 2021 was the biggest year for Tesla yet. The EV company delivered a total of 936,172 cars, of which 308,600 were delivered in the last quarter. Compared to 2020’s 499,550 deliveries, Tesla closed 2021 with an 87% EV increase.

Tesla’s most popular model is still Model Y, which is also the best-selling electric vehicle in North America. However, Tesla’s Model Y has undergone eight price increases in 2021. It started the year at $51,200 but ended it with $58,990 for Model Y Long Range and $63,990 for Model Y Performance.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, framed the company’s near-one million milestone as the beginning of a new era.

The Roaring 20s is a reference to the post-World War I recession from 1918 to 1921. The rest of the decade was marked by exuberant Jazz culture, night-clubbing, and an increase in economic growth manifested by a doubling of the nation’s wealth.

The mass production of goods was the main driver of this prosperity, ushering in consumerist culture and making new lifestyles possible. Unfortunately, it all came to a screeching halt when the stock market crashed in October 1929, losing 90% of its value. This marked the Great Depression that lasted up until the end of World War II.

This week, the stock market received Tesla’s Q4 report with a positive sentiment. TSLA notched a 13.53% price increase on January 3rd, opening at $1,148.50 and closing at $1,199.78.

Much like Apple, Tesla’s stock relies on the cultural weight of branding. Tesla has it in spades due to Elon Musk’s involvement in the SpaceX program along with a massive Twitter following that he sometimes uses for crypto speculation. However, what happens if there is an affordable EV on the market, below the $30k price threshold?

General Motors set the roadmap to invest $35 billion in EVs up until 2025, introducing 20 new EVs by 2023. Yet, in November’s LA auto show, GM failed to show up with a single new electric model. Further, it appears that Tesla has a head start with its traditional overseas EV competition – Japan’s Toyota and Nissan.

In the mean time, innovations come and go, such as the Daymak Avvenire’ EV that acts as a full blockchain node and wallet.

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Tesla’s Success Even More Significant When Contextualized

When global COVID-19 induced lockdowns suspended manufacturing, they crashed the just-in-time (JIT) management system. Although efficient because it minimizes the time a product exchanges hands from a supplier to a customer, that same efficiency means that JIT lacks redundancy. In a nutshell, this is the story of the ongoing global computer chip shortage.

Both crypto miners and gamers have familiarized themselves with the unprecedented chip shortage, as GPU prices soared up to 304% over their MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) tag.

Due to heavier emphasis on electronics for the last few decades, the auto-industry suffers the same fate. Consulting firm AlixPartners estimated the chip shortage will cost the automotive industry around $210 billion in revenue for 2021. By the same token, consumer price index (CPI) for used cars and trucks has surged by 31.9% year-to-year.

Likewise, the price of new cars jumped by 12.5%, a price surge not seen since April 1975, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Therefore, Tesla’s 87% increase in deliveries is a reflection of both high demand and its highly automated giga-factories starting to pay off.

Whether this trajectory can be sustained moving into 2022 is uncertain. Nonetheless, there is hardly any Western government left that hasn’t yet announced the wind down of gas-powered vehicles.

Tesla’s EV Offering in 2022

While Tesla’s cheapest Model 3/Y lineup comprised the bulk of deliveries in 2021, the same cannot be said of its super-luxury offering. Deliveries for the top of the line Model S, at $94,990, and Model X, at $104,990, have dropped by 56% compared to 2020.

In 2021, 24,964 Model S/X were delivered vs. 2020’s 57,039. This minor setback can be attributed to the upcoming Spring revamp of the high-end models in the form of Plaid variants.

Namely, the Model S Plaid, set at $130k, is supposed to have significantly better cold weather performance due to a new radiator twice the size of the old version. Likewise, Model S Plaid will have 1,020 hp compared to previous 670 hp, and running on a tri-motor platform which is an upgrade from the dual-motor all-wheel drive platform.

Lastly, 2022 will see the launch of an outlier. So far, all of Tesla’s EVs have been sedans. This will change with the production of the Cybertruck, a pick-up EV set to be available in late 2022.

Initially, the sci-fi SUV was supposed to launch in late 2021, but the timetable was scrapped because of supply chain disruptions. Although Tesla’s Berlin and Austin giga-factories are coming on-line in 2022, we are yet to see how they will handle the ever-increasing demand for computer chips.

How do you think Tesla will fare in 2022? Will 2021’s trends continue? Let us know in the comments below.