Tesla Deliveries Fall Just Short Of Musk's 500,000 Target For 2020

Tesla Inc delivered 499,550 vehicles in 2020, the company reported today.

What Happened: The total for 2020 was up from 367,500 in 2019, and topped off a year in which the company's share price rose 743%, according to Bloomberg.

The delivery count also beat Wall Street estimates of 481,261 vehicles, Reuters reported, using data from Refinitiv data.

The total count came just short of CEO Elon Musk's 500,000 goal for the year. But the results were nonetheless impressive. The fourth quarter delivery count of 180,570 was a new record for the company, Bloomberg reported.

So proud of the Tesla team for achieving this major milestone! At the start of Tesla, I thought we had (optimistically) a 10% chance of surviving at all. https://t.co/xCqTL5TGlE

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2021

Musk thanked his company in tweet today, saying, "At the start of Tesla, I thought we had (optimistically) a 10% chance of surviving at all."

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities wrote in a note on the announced results that "Musk & Co. basically hitting its 500k goal for the year is a major feather in the cap for the company and the bulls as Tesla saw robust Model 3 demand over the last 10 months despite the hurricane-like consumer headwinds seen globally in this COVID backdrop."

Ives pointed to the Model 3/Y as the strong point behind the results. Of the total deliveries, 161,650 were for the Model 3/Y.

"We also note that Model Y production in Giga 3 has begun, with deliveries expected to begin shortly throughout China."

The results are an "eye popping performance to finish the year," Ives said. With demand expected to increase in the electric vehicle industry, with strong help from China, Wedbush is maintaining a neutral rating on the stock. The firm has given it a base price target of $715 and a bull case remaining at $1,000.

2020 Push: Musk made a year-end push to hit the 500,000 target, reportedly encouraging workers in an email to "go all out to make it happen."

And prior to that, he reminded workers that while the company's stock has done well, the workforce cannot afford to get complacent. He said in an email on Dec. 1: "Investors are giving us a lot of credit for future profits, but if, at any point, they conclude that's not going to happen, our stock will immediately get crushed like a soufflé under a sledgehammer!"

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.