Before 2020, Tesla had never turned a profit. As the year ended, the electric car builder was not just profitable – it was selling cars at a pace that rivals more established makes.
Tesla hoped to sell 500,000 vehicles in 2020 and nearly did. The upstart automaker delivered 499,550 vehicles last year – 36 percent more than it did one year before. The numbers include a huge fourth quarter, in which over 180,000 new Teslas found their way to new owners. The company offered two rare incentives as the year came to a close, though we don’t yet know what impact they had on the numbers.
Most automakers have not yet reported fourth-quarter sales. But Tesla’s performance appears remarkably solid. It’s nearly the sales numbers of Honda and Hyundai/Kia, which came in around 220,000 each for the quarter.
For car shoppers, the news is evidence that Tesla has found stability in a market where new automakers rarely survive long. We’re not sure whether to expect incentives to become a regular practice at Tesla. It operates on a different business model than most of its rivals, directly owning its own dealerships. This unique structure means that the usual calculations automakers use to determine when to offer discounts and enticements don’t apply.
