Over 300,000 Teslas delivered in first months of 2022 as carmaker announces record numbers

Electric car maker Tesla has announced a record number of deliveries of vehicles in the first three months of 2022, despite an “exceptionally difficult” situation caused by supply chain issues and rising COVID-19 cases in China, a key production hub for the company.

In a press statement released over the weekend, the world’s most valuable automobile maker said it delivered 310,048 vehicles in the first quarter of the year, representing an increase of almost 70 per cent over the same period in 2021, when it delivered 184,800.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk took to Twitter to congratulate the company’s team and key suppliers, saying their “outstanding work … saved the day”.

This was an *exceptionally* difficult quarter due to supply chain interruptions & China zero Covid policy.

Outstanding work by Tesla team & key suppliers saved the day.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2022

He said it was an “exceptionally difficult quarter due to supply chain interruptions and China zero COVID policy”.

The statement also revealed the company’s production numbers, showing that it produced 305,407 vehicles over the quarter.

The vast majority of vehicles produced and delivered were of the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y, with the Model S and Model X making up just over 14,000 of the figures.

Tesla, which reported a record $5.5 billion (€5 bn) profit last year, will be sharing its financial results with investors on 20th April.

COVID rages on in China

China’s strict response to the pandemic has seen entire cities and regions ordered to enter lockdown, shuttering several factories, included those of car manufacturers like Toyota and Volkswagen.

Tesla’s high volume car manufacturing plant in Shanghai, which it terms a “giga factory”, has also reportedly been shut down, and plans to resume operations on Monday (today) do not seem to have progressed.

Shanghai, which has a population of 26 million and is the world’s busiest shipping port, as well as a major financial and manufacturing hub, was ordered into lockdown on 28th March. It registered over 8,000 positive cases on Saturday 2nd April.

The situation in China’s most populated city has produced a strong response from authorities, with the Red Army sending over 2,000 medical personnel and other provinces and cities contributing over 10,000 healthcare workers to embark on a massive drive to test every person in Shanghai.

The initiative is seen as a test of China’s COVID elimination strategy, which is based on testing, tracing and quarantining all positive cases and their close contacts.