Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has apparently sold its entire second-quarter production capacity already, suggesting that demand for the company’s vehicles is through the roof. With almost two months left in the quarter, it means Tesla will be falling further and further behind in deliveries.
Q1 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Tesla Sells Through Entire Capacity
Sources reportedly told Electrek that Tesla told employees that it had already sold out its entire second-quarter production capacity and is building its backlog into the third quarter. The tech blog expected the Model S and Model X production capacity to sell out because the automaker is only just now starting to produce the refreshed versions of those vehicles. Production on both vehicles has been delayed due to issues with the process.
However, production capacity for the Model 3 and Model Y is sold out even though it is still ramping up. On the first-quarter earnings call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said they were seeing strong demand.
"We've seen a real shift in customer perception of electric vehicles, and our demand is the best we've ever seen," he said.
He added that the first quarter usually brings a reduction in demand, but this year, they saw an "increase in demand that exceeded the normal seasonal reduction in demand in Q1."
How Many Vehicles Will Tesla Deliver?
The automaker produced a record 180,338 vehicles during the first quarter, and capacity should be a bit higher in the second quarter. Tesla has been increasing capacity gradually over the last few years, so the big question now will be how many of those vehicles it will be able to deliver before the end of the second quarter.
The main contributors of the increased production in the current quarter are expected to be the restart of Model S production and increasing production of the Model Y in Shanghai and Fremont, Calif.
Tesla To Build A Database In China
In other Tesla news, the automaker announced plans to develop a database for vehicle owners in China. According to Bloomberg, the database will include data collected by their vehicles. Tesla hopes to clear up concerns in China about how much and what kind of data is being generated by its vehicles in the country.
However, it did not say what kind of information would be available or whether vehicle owners will have to pay to access it. Sources told Bloomberg last month that Tesla faced government scrutiny in China over concerns about whether the cameras on its vehicles could be used for spying. In response, Chinese regulators could require data collected from a car's external cameras to be stored in China.
Tesla is part of the Entrepreneur Index, which tracks 60 of the largest publicly traded companies managed by their founders or their founders' families.
