Tesla makes record deliveries in 2020, just 450 units shy of Elon Musk's target

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that his electric vehicle-making company fell just shy of delivering its global target of half a million vehicles after the company’s only plant in the United States was shut amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As the carmaker announced that it delivered 499,550 vehicles during 2020, more than the Wall Street estimates of 481,261 vehicles as per the data by Refinitiv, Musk hailed it as a “major milestone”. However, the annual numbers were reportedly 450 units less than Musk’s ambitious target for the year 2020.

Roughly in 2019, Tesla delivered 367,500 in the year. In 2020, Silicon valley carmaker’s entry-level Model 3 and its crossover Model Y made up for nearly 86 per of all its delivered. As per reports, there was a balanced split between the luxury Model S sedan and the Model X SUV. Previously, Tesla made the record of delivering 139,300 vehicles in just the third quarter of 2020. Even amid the pandemic, Tesla stock soared more than 700% in 2020. But, the company will reportedly be facing a difficult task of introducing more vehicle models along with inaugurating factories in Germany and Texas.

In a statement, Tesla said, "Thank you to all of our customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and supporters who helped us achieve another great year."

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Tesla in India by 2021

While Tesla roadster is achieving milestones in space, SpaceX CEO hinted at company’s India debut in reply to a post with a photograph of a T-shirt with the message ‘India wants Tesla’. Saying it would be in 2021 “for sure," Elon Musk’s tweet had broken the internet at the time with people saying they “can’t keep calm”. Musk even said “thanks for waiting”. Tesla CEO’s announcement came especially when India's auto sector that was already reeling from a slowdown in demand last year, has been further hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and carmakers are seeking government support to push sales.

Recently, even the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari confirmed that Elon Musk's Tesla Motors will enter India in 2021. Gadkari said that the American electric car major is set to start its operations in India next year, adding that the company would also look at setting up a manufacturing unit based on demand.

"American auto major Tesla will have its distribution facility (sale centres) for its cars in India from next year and considering the demand it would look into setting up of manufacturing here. India has the potential to become the largest EV (electric vehicle) producer in the world in the next five years," Gadkari told PTI.

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