Tesla to report rev-up in sales but roadblocks could lie ahead

Elon Musk’s Tesla will report an acceleration in car sales this week, but analysts will be keen to hear if issues including chip shortages could hold back future growth.

Tesla's third-quarter sales figures will be strong as it continues to benefit from booming global demand for EVs.

The US electric vehicle manufacturer has already flagged that it shipped an impressive 241,000 cars in the third quarter and will reveal its financial figures for the period on Wednesday.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the delivery update beat expectations and should bode well for its third-quarter results.

“Elon Musk is continuing to come up with the goods despite tough competition and supply chain headwinds, and the demand for EVs shows signs of accelerating in key markets,” she said.

However, Streeter also warned that there are potential stumbling blocks ahead, including the semi-conductor chip shortage which is continuing to impact on industries worldwide.

There is also a risk that charging infrastructure development in countries does not keep up with sales expectations going forward, and that Tesla could be affected by the economic growth slowdown in China.

“Tesla is keeping in the fast lane in terms of market share, particularly in the competitive Chinese market. But as concerns mount that growth in China is slipping, a knock in consumer confidence could push more prospective buyers into purchasing cheaper models than Tesla’s premium model S and Model X cars,” she said.

Tesla recently announced it is moving its HQ to Austin Texas, due to Californian house prices becoming unaffordable, and is building a new plant in Berlin.

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