Today’s the day! Tesla (NASDAQ:$TSLA) will be making the first deliveries of the Model 3 vehicle. And by tonight – 11:45 p.m. ET to be exact – 30 lucky drivers will be handed the keys to the most-anticipated car of 2017.
However, there are reasons not to get too caught up in the Model 3 hype, and they are all justifiable. So without further adieu, let’s examine those reasons.
First and foremost, Tesla’s stock has been fluctuating over the past month. It took quite the beating after pessimistic analyst notes, news of disappointing deliveries, and let’s not forget when the Model S failed to achieve a top crash rating.
Regardless of those headwinds, the company’s stock is up by nearly 33% over the past 6 months. This can be blamed on the fact that expectations for the Model 3 are extremely high.
On July 2, CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter (NYSE:$TWTR) to discuss some guidance for Model 3 production, tweeting that there would be 30 finished in July, 100 in August, roughly 1,500 in September and then a whopping 20,000 in December.
That said, this doesn’t seem to be in line with what Musk was telling investors in 2016 when he stated: Tesla will “aim to produce 100,000 to 200,000 Model 3s in the second half of [2017].”
In Musk’s defense, his did warn investors that his numbers were a bit out there and that they were designed to push workers, but nonetheless, his expectations were still extremely off. Based on Musk’s latest tweets, output in the second half of the year will miss his estimates last year by two thirds.
Plus, it’s been a year since Tesla gave updates on the number of deposits for the Model 3 vehicle. How many orders are there really, Mr. Musk?
In addition, Tesla’s delivery track record has been less than impressive. In fact, Tesla produced more vehicles than it sold for six quarters. Not only that but sales were flat for the past three. Regardless, Tesla is continuing to struggle to meet delivery goals on certain models.
With all of this information available to the public, one has to be wondering whether Elon Musk will follow through on his promises.
Despite Tesla bulls betting on the long term, it’s worth keeping your expectations in check to prevent yourself from getting blindsided.
Featured Image: twitter
