After Elon Musk decided to lower the prices of Tesla electric cars, the company delivered a record number of cars in the first quarter of this year.
Tesla delivered 422,875 cars in the first three months of 2023, a 4% increase from the previous quarter. The company announced on Sunday that it also produced a record 441,000 cars during this period.
Compared to the first quarter of 2022, Tesla’s car production increased by 44%, and deliveries increased by 36%. However, this achievement is still lower than Tesla’s long-term goal of 50% annual growth rate.
Musk lowered Tesla car prices by up to 9% last month to boost sales in a more challenging economic environment and compete against traditional car manufacturers and electric car companies such as Rivian and Polestar.
At Tesla’s investor day in early March, Musk said, “People have a strong desire to have a Tesla, and the limiting factor is that they don’t have the ability to buy it.”
Tom Zhu, the executive responsible for Tesla’s global production and sales, believes that, “At the beginning of this year, we adjusted our prices. After that, we actually generated huge demand, which has really exceeded our production capacity. As Elon said, if you offer valuable products at an affordable price, you don’t have to worry about demand.”
Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said that the price reduction brought “huge dividends” to Tesla.
