Tesla sales jump 83% from a year ago as tax credits drive sales

Tesla’s second-quarter deliveries rose 83% from a year ago after the company cut prices several times on its four electric vehicle models and buyers took advantage of U.S. government tax credits.

The Austin, Texas, producer of EV, solar panels and batteries said Sunday that it sold a record 466,140 vehicles worldwide from April through June, nearly doubling the 254,695 it sold during the same period a year earlier. The vast majority of the sales were Tesla’s popular Model 3 and Model Y versions.

But the price cuts, both for special orders and on existing inventory, raised questions from analysts who expect the cuts to reduce Tesla’s profit margins when it announces second-quarter earnings on July 19.

Tesla’s sales were better than Wall Street expectations. Analysts polled by data provider FactSet expected deliveries of 445,000 for the quarter.

The company produced 479,700 vehicles from April through June, about 13,000 more than it sold, indicating that inventories may be building.

The second-quarter sales bring Tesla to nearly 900,000 vehicles for the first half of this year. The company sold 422,875 vehicles from January through March.

CEO Elon Musk has predicted that sales will grow about 50% per year for the near future. To reach that number for the full year, the company would have to sell 1.97 million vehicles. Analysts expect Tesla to fall a little short, delivering 1.82 million vehicles for the year. MDT/AP