The Tesla Model S. Image via Tesla Motors
Despite their popularity among tech enthusiasts, Tesla’s electric vehicle (EV) range is struggling to turn that love into sales after the company’s fourth-quarter 2014 earnings show Tesla missed its sales target.
Tesla’s recent earnings report shows that despite building 12,000 cars during the fourth quarter of last year, the company lagged far behind this number in selling only 9,834 vehicles.
However, the company issued a statement clarifying its sales figures said that the lower sales figure does not represent the true figure, as a number of orders had been pushed out for the first quarter of 2015.
Tesla also said it had achieved its production target of 35,000 cars for 2015.
Poor international sales
According to Business Insider, the real problem for Tesla is selling its cars internationally, with the Chinese market highlighted as the most obvious example. Only 120 cars have been sold in the country in January, which is considerably lower than the 500-per-month average that is expected in a major market.
All of these factors have played into Tesla posting a share price drop of US$0.13 per share compared with previous analyst estimates which expected it to rise by US$0.33 per share.
In terms of total revenue, this saw Tesla’s expected revenues drop from US$1.22bn to the real figure of US$1.1bn.
The company is now holding out for the roll out of its next line of vehicles to boost revenue by the end of 2015.
