Tesla Tops 2013 Goal With 6,900 Model S Sales in Fourth Quarter
Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), the maker of high-end electric cars, delivered 6,900 Model S sedans in the fourth quarter, lifting full year sales of the premium vehicle beyond the company’s target.
The quarterly figure is “about 20 percent above our previous guidance,” Jerome Guillen, Tesla’s head of global sales, said today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. There are now more than 25,000 units of Model S on the road today, he said, including those sold in Europe.
Sales of the battery-powered Model S, priced from about $70,000, totaled 22,450 last year, based on figures previously released by the Palo Alto, California-based carmaker. The company had said it aimed to sell 21,500 in 2013. Tesla revenues for the year will exceed forecasts by 20 percent, the company said separately in a statement.
Tesla, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, posted its first profit in 2013’s first quarter, aided by sales of environmental credits to other automakers. That triggered a surge in Tesla shares last year, with its market value more than quadrupling.
Tesla rose 6.7 percent to $148.66 at 12:30 p.m. New York time.