What Chip Shortage? Tesla Posts Strong Q2 Sales Results

As many automakers struggle to find semiconductor chips for their high tech vehicles, Tesla Inc. clearly has the issue taken care of as its second-quarter sales pass the 200,000-unit mark.

“In the second quarter, we produced and delivered over 200,000 vehicles,” the company said in a statement. “Our teams have done an outstanding job navigating through global supply chain and logistics challenges.”

For many car companies, the second quarter’s been difficult as it relates to keeping a steady supply of the chips. Tesla did have a short shutdown in February due to the problem, but since then has been churning out vehicles steadily, especially during the most recent quarter.

The company produced 204,081 Model 3 or Model Ys last quarter, a massive increased when compared with the year-ago period’s 75,946 vehicles. While pushing out its most popular vehicles — Model Y being the company’s biggest seller — it put the freshened 2021 Model S and Model X on the road during the quarter. It moved

Chip problems

The company did have a production hiccup in the first quarter of last year due to chip problems, but has since not had a problem. CEO Elon Musk said the semiconductor problem was causing some companies to behave impulsively.

“Our biggest challenge is supply chain, especially microcontroller chips. Never seen anything like it,” he tweeted June 2. “Fear of running out is causing every company to overorder — like the toilet paper shortage, but at epic scale. That said, it’s obv not a long-term issue.”

However, it doesn’t mean Tesla hasn’t been part of the sales rush. The Financial Times reported Tesla held discussions with chip makers to pay in advance, including offering deposits on high-volume orders. The company reportedly explored the idea of buying a plant to build its own chips.