Tesla Inc delivered 17.9% fewer electric vehicles in the second quarter from the previous quarter, as China's COVID 19-related shutdown disrupted its production and supply chain.
Tesla, the world's biggest electric car maker, said on Saturday that it delivered 254,695 vehicles in the April to June period, compared with 310,048 vehicles in the preceding quarter, ending a nearly two-year-long run of record quarterly deliveries.
A resurgence in COVID-19 cases in China had forced Tesla to temporarily suspend production at its Shanghai factory and also affected suppliers' facilities in China.
Tesla is ramping up production at the Shanghai factory with the easing of the COVID-19 lockdown, which will help boost deliveries in the second half.
But Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk early in June told executives that he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy and needed to cut about 10% of staff at the electric car maker.
Musk has said demand for Tesla vehicles remains strong, but supply-chain challenges still remain.
In June, Tesla again hiked prices for some of its models in the United States and China after Musk had warned of significant inflationary pressure in raw materials and logistics.
June 2022 was the highest vehicle production month in the company's history, Tesla said in a news release.
Analysts had expected Tesla to report deliveries of 295,078 vehicles for the April to June period, according to Refinitiv data. Several analysts had slashed their estimates further to about 250,000 due to China's prolonged lockdown.
