For the longest time, electric car maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was an anomaly in the automotive manufacturing world because it would only release its unit delivery figures at the same as its quarterly earnings reports. This is a big deal for stock analysts because delivery numbers offer an accurate way to determine a car company’s actual unit sales. Well, last Friday Tesla finally joined the rest of the auto industry by releasing its delivery numbers ahead of its quarterly earnings report.
According to Tesla’s official statement regarding the move, the reason the company went ahead and broke its long-running tradition was to combat false information swirling about its delivery figures. According to rumors, the company shipped 9500 cars in the first quarter. While this still represents a nice leap from the same period last year, the official number is actually much higher. Tesla reports that it shipped 10,030 Model S units.
While impressive, it is an open question whether this surprise figure would be enough to turn Tesla stock’s fortunes around anytime soon. Tesla stock has been on a decline lately and it will probably take something more substantial than a 530 unit surprise to take the stock to a much higher and sustainable level. Regardless, you can’t help but admire how this electric car company has managed to leverage its tech appeal to generate a lot of attention for its shares. Considering how uncertain the automotive market can get, it can use all the help (and tricks) it needs. Still, this positive turn of events couldn’t have come too soon. After all, one of the reasons why Tesla stock declined earlier was due to to the fact that it missed delivery estimates.
