Last quarter, Tesla created a furore after the American startup-unicorn registered a healthy profit. Subsequent to further improvement on its production and sales numbers, Tesla has announced a price cut on its models to compensate for the vanishing subsidies on EV sales.
With 99,394 Model S and Model X cars sold in the calendar year 2018, Tesla missed its target by a whisker while the 1.45 lakh Model 3s sold in 2018 are well short of it. Despite not meeting the targets, Tesla had registered a profit in the last quarter and Wall Street will certainly be waiting to see if Elon Musk manages to stay away from the red for two quarters in a row.
Speaking of quarterly sales, while the overall production was up by 8 per cent, Tesla sold 13 per cent more cars in Q4. Surprisingly, according to the report, more than three-quarters of the buyers in this quarter are new bookings while the $35,000 Model 3 is yet to see the light of the day.
The tax rebate for electric cars has begun tapering as the promotional policy for EV adoption nears its end and with almost $2,000 reduction in tax rebate, Tesla has decided to absorb the loss rather than pass it on to its customers. This will certainly affect the profitability in Q1 2019, but Tesla should be able to make up for the numbers with increased production and sales not only in the US but also in the new markets of Europe and China.
