Elon Musk took a break its SNL preparation Monday to welcome the call on Tesla’s first quarter 2021 investor earnings and brief reporters who had agreed to the start of the company’s stellar year.
Following his strong year of EV sales throughout 2020 – and despite COVID-19 quarantines of the year – Tesla posted yet another quarter record vehicle sales to start 2021. “We have reached our highest level of vehicle production and deliveries, the company said in its quarterly investor appeal. do more Model S or X during this period (although deliveries to existing order holders continued).
“Over the past two quarters, we’ve shipped about a quarter of a million Model 3s,” Musk said on the call. “That translates to annualized rates of half a million per year. We think the Model Y will be the best-selling car or vehicle in the world – probably next year.”
Tesla also claims that, compared to public sales figures for the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes E-Class, the Model 3 was the best-selling premium sedan in the world in the first quarter of 2021. “This shows that a electric vehicle can be a category leader and outperform its gasoline-powered counterparts, ”the company noted.
In addition, Tesla managed to reduce the price of vehicles sold in the first quarter by a significant margin compared to a few years ago. “In 2017, when we started production of the Model 3, our fleet-wide average cost per vehicle was around $ 84,000,” Tesla revealed in its investor relations brief. “Due to the launch of new products and new factories and the reduced mix of Model S and Model X, our average cost fell to less than $ 38,000 per vehicle in the first quarter.”
Musk also had a few choice words regarding the recent fatal autopilot crash in Houston, Texas who killed two motorists. “It was really just extremely deceptive media practices, where it was claimed to be an automatic pilot, completely bogus. These journalists should be ashamed of themselves,” he said without proof. Two people lost their lives in this wreckage, which is still under investigation by federal transportation authorities. But don’t worry, Musk will probably be back to the publication of dogecoin announcements later tonight since it’s not like he’s the one who’ll never see his family again so who cares.
Tesla is also continuing its push into the home energy supply market with is solar panels / home battery systems. The company announced earlier this week that potential customers should opt for a PowerWall battery system if they wish to acquire the company’s solar panels. “I think long term,” Musk said. “People will think of Tesla as much as an AI, robotics company, as we are an automotive company or an energy company.”
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