Tesla sales jump 83% from a year ago on tax credits, broader adoption

Tesla's second-quarter deliveries rose 83 per cent from a year ago after the company cut prices several times on its four electric vehicle models and buyers took advantage of US government tax credits.

The Austin, Texas, producer of EV, solar panels and batteries said Sunday that it sold a record 466,140 vehicles worldwide from April through June, nearly doubling the 254,695 it sold during the same period a year earlier. The vast majority of the sales were Tesla's popular Model 3 and Model Y versions.

But the price cuts, both for special orders and on existing inventory, raised questions from analysts who expect the cuts to reduce Tesla's profit margins when it announces second-quarter earnings on July 19.

Tesla's sales were better than Wall Street expectations. Analysts polled by data provider FactSet expected deliveries of 445,000 for the quarter.

The company produced 479,700 vehicles from April through June, about 13,000 more than it sold, indicating that inventories may be ...