Tesla Inc. Investors are confident that automaker Covid-19 lockdown could give the Shanghai factory strength from the hurdles of continuous shutdowns, at least based on crypto-token trading which indicates that its shares will rise on Monday.
The electric-vehicle maker said Saturday it delivered a record 310,048 cars worldwide in the first quarter, about 900 vehicles more than the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. The sign was confirmed despite the supply-chain disruption caused by Covid-19 infection rates and a maze of regulations around the world to prevent the spread of the disease.
Complications escalated on Sunday with the wording that Tesla’s factory in Shanghai would be closed on Monday, according to a memo from an email company reviewed by Bloomberg. Tesla told employees to stay home and obey community orders in the Chinese city, whose 25 million residents are in lockdown in stages. Production at the plant has been intermittently halted since mid-March.
For now, investors are betting on CEO Elon Musk’s efforts to build more cars, a new factory has just opened in Berlin and a second set will open on April 7 in Austin, Texas – the fourth in total. Tesla Crypto Token on FTX Exchange at 2:45 p.m. Was trading at 14 1,141.55. In New York on Sunday, the Nasdaq closed at 5.3% above Friday’s close of 0 1,084.59.
Musk said on Twitter that it was an “exceptionally difficult quarter” and praised Tesla workers and suppliers.
Tesla’s distribution was “better than feared” due to supply chain problems, Wadebush analysts led by Dan Ives wrote in a note. “We believe that approximately 20k-25k units have been pushed from 1Q to 2Q due to logistics and factory issues which makes this underlying demand number look strong with strong projections for the rest of 2022.”
The US and China are Tesla’s largest markets, and the best-selling models were the 3 sedan and the Y crossover. Tesla makes 3 and Y models, as well as older models S sedans and X crossovers in Fremont, California. Shanghai produces 3 and Y models, while Berlin has recently started delivering Ys.
The Model 3 now represents 1 out of every 4 luxury sedans sold in the US and is the fourth largest luxury sedan sold in China, Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter said in a note.
Luxury sedans from European automakers such as BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz AG and Audi were “once untouchable” in China, an “impressive achievement”, Potter said, adding that he still considers Tesla “significantly heavier”.