Photo: Steve Jurvetson via Wikimedia
After very promising results in the first three quarters, Tesla got a little cocky and decided to set a high delivery goal for the last three months of the year. It set out a target of 80,000 vehicles sold, one it eventually fell short of.
And it's not like it didn't try. By announcing the end of the unlimited free access to the Supercharger for all cars sold after December 31, 2016, Tesla was essentually urging people who were planning to buy a Model S or Model X in the future to do it sooner. The company has since extended the period by two more weeks (until January 15)
However, it wasn't the lack of interest from the public that pulled Tesla back, but its seemingly never-ending troubles with manufacturing and suppliers. The introduction of the Autopilot 2.0 hardware on all cars built after October should have been another incentive to drive sales forward, but the new components caused delays for 2,750 cars instead.
All-in-all, the Palo Alto company only managed to deliver 76,230 units last year, missing the self-imposed target by 3,770 vehicles - which account for almost five percent of the predicted number of 80.000. The final quarter was responsible for 2,800 of those 3,770 deliveries, with the 22,200 units that reached their owners in the last three months of last year failing to meet the objective of 25,000 vehicles.
Even so, over 76,000 cars sold is a good result for Tesla, but the real worry is what these problems spell for the brand's future. Considering what initially happened with the Model X as well, Tesla doesn't look like it can withstand the challenges posed by a mass market product right now. Sure, Elon Musk will say that's rubbish, but he also said Tesla would sell 80,000 cars last year, and it didn't.
Brian Johnson, an analyst at Barclays Plc, isn't too optimistical either. “There is a high risk of execution missteps, a challenged track record on meeting timelines, cost challenges, and potential impact from an otherwise full plate of initiatives in ’17,” he said, quoted by Auto News. He also went on to predict the Musk's company won't make any Model 3 deliveries in 2017, as promised.
It's true that setting the bar high is a good way to keep employees motivated, but when it comes to the relationship with the public, perhaps a more realistic approach would be more beneficial for Tesla. After all, you don't want to get stamped as a company that never holds its promises.
However, it wasn't the lack of interest from the public that pulled Tesla back, but its seemingly never-ending troubles with manufacturing and suppliers. The introduction of the Autopilot 2.0 hardware on all cars built after October should have been another incentive to drive sales forward, but the new components caused delays for 2,750 cars instead.
All-in-all, the Palo Alto company only managed to deliver 76,230 units last year, missing the self-imposed target by 3,770 vehicles - which account for almost five percent of the predicted number of 80.000. The final quarter was responsible for 2,800 of those 3,770 deliveries, with the 22,200 units that reached their owners in the last three months of last year failing to meet the objective of 25,000 vehicles.
Even so, over 76,000 cars sold is a good result for Tesla, but the real worry is what these problems spell for the brand's future. Considering what initially happened with the Model X as well, Tesla doesn't look like it can withstand the challenges posed by a mass market product right now. Sure, Elon Musk will say that's rubbish, but he also said Tesla would sell 80,000 cars last year, and it didn't.
Brian Johnson, an analyst at Barclays Plc, isn't too optimistical either. “There is a high risk of execution missteps, a challenged track record on meeting timelines, cost challenges, and potential impact from an otherwise full plate of initiatives in ’17,” he said, quoted by Auto News. He also went on to predict the Musk's company won't make any Model 3 deliveries in 2017, as promised.
It's true that setting the bar high is a good way to keep employees motivated, but when it comes to the relationship with the public, perhaps a more realistic approach would be more beneficial for Tesla. After all, you don't want to get stamped as a company that never holds its promises.
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