Record Deliveries Are Overshadowed By Tesla's Logistical challenges

In spite of its record deliveries, Tesla on Sunday reported lower-than-expected sales of electric vehicles in the third quarter due to logistical challenges.

Tesla delivered 343,830 electric vehicles, a record for the most valuable automaker in the world, but fewer than the 359,162 analysts had anticipated, per Refinitiv. 241,300 Tesla units were delivered the previous year.

The most recent deliveries fell short of Tesla's 365,923 vehicle production, which is unusual for the automaker as its deliveries have frequently exceeded or been comparable to production in recent quarters.

Tesla stated in a statement that “Historically, our delivery volumes have skewed towards the end of each quarter due to regional batch building of cars,” Tesla said in a statement. “As our production volumes continue to grow, it is becoming increasingly challenging to secure vehicle transportation capacity and at a reasonable cost during these peak logistics weeks.”

The announcement of the findings coincided with mounting worries about the state of the world economy, which could reduce consumer demand for expensive goods, and last week's losses in technology companies like Apple and Tesla.

“The economy around the edges is still having a negative impact for Tesla that’s mostly logistical. But I think there is some demand (issues) sprinkled in there,”  After learning about the delivery numbers, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told a news agency.

“There is a dark cloud over the auto sector. And Tesla is not immune.”

Ford Motor Company announced last month that deliveries had been delayed due to part shortages and that inflation-related expenses would be $1 billion higher than anticipated in the third quarter.

According to internal plans seen by news agency, Tesla set an ambitious goal to build about 495,000 Model Y and Model 3 vehicles in the fourth quarter of this year.

With Elon Musk himself informing top managers in June that he had a  “super bad feeling” about the economy and expected to make employee cuts, the company's production goals are set against the backdrop of an increasingly bleak forecast for global growth.