Automakers' third-quarter production and delivery results are in, with positive signs for Rivian, less so for Tesla—but on an entirely different scale.
Tesla production and deliveries were down versus the previous quarter. The automaker said it produced over 430,000 vehicles and delivered over 435,000. Despite the lower-performing quarter, Tesla claims that it's still on track for the 1.8 million vehicles targeted for 2023. And it hit a milestone five million cumulative sales this quarter.
Over the past quarter, Tesla dropped the price of the Model S and Model X, which made up a small fraction of its sales. Combined production of the two models totaled 13,688 units in Q3, with 15,985 deliveries. In comparison, Tesla said it produced 416,800 Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossovers, with combined deliveries of those models reaching 419,074 units.
Tesla Model 3 (Europe-market refresh)
Tesla last month rolled out an updated Model 3 in the European market, but hasn't yet confirmed it for the U.S. It's likely to make it here eventually, though, with an updated Model Y following.
Meanwhile, the next-most-prolific U.S.-based EV maker Rivian reported 16,304 vehicles produced and 15,564 delivered, the latter a 23% increase over the previous quarter, Marco Batra, Rivian vice president of commercial operations, said in a statement. The company specifically pointed to efforts to increase deliveries, which have been lagging the numbers of vehicles produced.
2023 Rivian R1S
Rivian claims it is on track to achieve annual production of 52,000 vehicles, as discussed in previous guidance.
Over this past quarter, Rivian also started deliveries of the R1S and R1T Dual-Motor trucks. Both the R1S SUV and R1T pickup truck are EPA-rated at up to 352 miles with this powertrain and the standard Large pack.
Rivian is continuing to add variants that will likely sweeten the sales numbers for the current quarter. As of this week, R1T trucks offering up to 410 miles with the Max pack are being delivered, and R1S versions with that pack and up to 400 miles of range are coming this fall. Green Car Reports recently compared the Quad-Motor trucks vs. Dual-Motor counterparts and saw the latter as the better-value option.
