New energy vehicles win all! Tesla delivered 936,000 vehicles last year, up 87% year-on-year

On January 2, local time in the United States, Tesla's official website announced the delivery of the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2021. Backed by increased production in China, Tesla withstood a global chip shortage, with record car deliveries in the fourth quarter far exceeding expectations from Wall Street analysts.

It was also the sixth consecutive quarter in which the company posted record sales. Tesla delivered 308,600 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of about 70% year-on-year and nearly 30% from the record deliveries in the previous quarter; Tesla delivered 936,000 vehicles in 2021, an increase of 87% over 2020; and vehicle production in the fourth quarter was 305,840 units, of which the fourth quarter Model S and Model X deliveries were 11,750 units, and the Model 3 and Model Y deliveries were 296,850 units.

At Tesla's 2021 annual shareholder meeting, Musk complained that there were problems in the supply chain this year, and it was difficult to get enough microchips and other components. But Musk said Tesla has never lowered its production forecasts with suppliers to support its rapid growth plans, which have helped it weather the chip shortage crisis.

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, Tesla increased car deliveries by increasing production at its first overseas factory in Shanghai and making technical modifications to its cars produced in Fremont, California, completely abandoning certain parts. In addition, Tesla designed a number of chips in-house and reprogrammed the software to use chips that were less scarce.

Notably, Tesla announced in May last year that it would remove radar sensors from Model 3 and Model Y cars manufactured for North American customers. These vehicles now rely on camera-based vision systems to support Tesla's driver assistance features, such as traffic-adjusted cruise control or automatic lane keeping.

In addition, in October 2021, Tesla's market value exceeded $1 trillion for the first time, surpassing the market capitalization of several automakers such as General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Stellantis, and BMW combined.

On December 31, 2021, Tesla's stock price closed at $1,056.78, up from just under $700 at the end of 2020. The stock's rally was driven by higher sales and profits. In the third quarter, the company made a profit of $1.6 billion, more than double its full-year 2020 earnings in its first earnings year.

Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Lin Lishuang