Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) produced 40% more vehicles in the third quarter compared with last year but delivery numbers still fell short of analysts’ forecasts.
The electric vehicle (EV) maker said it made 365,923 vehicles between July and September and delivered 343,830 vehicles.
But analysts had predicted that deliveries, which are its closest approximation of sales, would hit approximately 364,660, according to estimates by FactSet-owned Street Account.
Tesla said 19,935 of the vehicles produced in the three-month period were the higher-priced Model S and X cars, while the company made 345,988 of the more sought-after Model 3 and Y vehicles.
Total production in the third quarter of 2021 was 258,580.
The world’s most popular EV had to temporarily suspend production in July at its Shanghai factory to upgrade the plant but operations were fully running again by August, according to China Passenger Car Association data.
August was a record month for production at Tesla's Fremont factory, while its relatively new hub in Texas produced 1,000 cars per week for seven consecutive days, CNBC reported.
In September, executives told employees at the Nevada Gigafactory it had hit fresh production records and applauded the widespread hard work.
At the end of Q2, the company run by the world's richest man, laid off a whole artificial intelligence office and made other slashes to its workforce, with Musk insisting all employees had to work at Tesla offices for a minimum of 40 hours a week.
Those who were not dismissed or did not resign said over-crowded conditions during Q3 made it much harder to work to usual efficiency at many of its facilities.