Tesla delivers 499,550 vehicles in 2020, falls just 50 short of target

Tesla delivered a record number of cars worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2020, but fell just shy of a goal for 500,000 units for the full year.

The electric-car maker delivered 180,570 vehicles in the last three months of the year, eclipsing its prior all-time high of 139,300 in the third quarter of 2020 while increasing 36 from 367,500 deliveries in 2019. The company has been ramping up output of its mass market models to meet rising global demand for battery-powered cars.

The Palo Alto, California-based company said in a statement on Saturday its delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative and final numbers could vary by up to 0.5% or more.

The quarterly delivery figure is widely seen as a barometer of demand for both Tesla’s vehicles and consumer interest in electric vehicles worldwide. The result capped a remarkable year for Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and his company, which joined the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index on December 21 after posting five consecutive quarters of profit.