Tesla shares were down about 4% Wednesday morning after the company posted its third-quarter delivery numbers. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
Tesla’s quarterly vehicle deliveries rose for the first time this year, giving the company some welcomed good news after a bumpy road that nonetheless left investors underwhelmed. 
Tesla shares, which were trading at around $248.50 late Wednesday morning, were down about 4% after the company posted its third-quarter delivery numbers that showed a 6.4% increase over the same quarter last year. Elon Musk’s electric car company delivered 462,890 vehicles in the last three months, as price cuts and offers of free charging for new owners drove sales. The results were more or less in line with analysts’ expectations. .
The increase in deliveries, could mark a turning point for a company that has struggled this year.
Tesla sales fell early in 2024 amid an increasingly competitive electric vehicle market, in which newer companies such as Rivian established themselves and gave buyers more model options at varying price points. Musk’s company got a boost this quarter, however, from a Chinese government incentive program that encouraged drivers to trade in older vehicles for electric models.
The deliveries were “good and a step in the right direction,” wrote Dan Ives of Wedbush. Ives cautioned there would be pressure on the company’s stock because investors had been hoping for even better.
“Overall, this is a clear improvement from the first half and we believe getting in the range of 1.8 million for the year is still the key and important bogey,” Ives said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
