It has been reported that the annual sales of the California-based manufacturer increased by 36% after a final quarter that surpassed the expectations set by the analysts, delivering a total of 499,550 cars in 2020. The company, delivered a total of 180,570 electric vehicles from October to December, falling slightly short of the actual target set by Musk at the beginning of the year, before the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
As per credible sources, the coronavirus pandemic had resulted in the shutdown of Tesla’s Fremont US assembly plant in the spring, however, Musk urged his employees to raise the production in order to reach the target, and offered incentives in the last week which included free options of self-driving valued $10,000 on Tesla cars whose paperwork and delivery was concluded during the final days of December.
In spite of missing the target slightly, Tesla stated that the company had manufactured and delivered half a million vehicles, according to its most recent guidance, and Musk considers it as a “major milestone”. Elon also stated that he is proud of the Tesla team as it has achieved this major milestone when the company had speculated (optimistically) that it had a 10% chance of survival at all during these times.
For the record, the company manufactured over 509,000 cars in 2020 and reportedly, production of its Model Y SUV has also commenced in its Shanghai based plant in China, with deliveries anticipated to start shortly.
Further, Tesla’s share price, which increased eightfold in 2020, ended the year at over $705, securing a valuation of $669 billion for the company with 20% of this held by Musk himself, who is the second-richest man in the world. The company had acquired Toyota earlier in the year and became the most valuable carmaker across the globe and also, last month, it was placed on the prestigious S&P index and immediately became the sixth most valuable company listed on the index.
Source credit: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/03/tesla-almost-hits-500000-car-delivery-target-for-2020-despite-pandemic
