Tesla said its passenger-vehicle backlog reached a four-year high in the third quarter, while separately identifying battery availability as a constraint on auto output as CEO Elon Musk described demand as outpacing production.
At the Oct. 21 earnings webcast, Musk said customers were seeking Tesla vehicles faster than the company could build them. He named Full Self-Driving (FSD) as the strongest factor behind interest, but gave no estimate of its contribution or the size of the demand-production gap. Tesla's quarterly update said the passenger-vehicle backlog at Sept. 30 exceeded any level seen in the previous four years.
Tesla reported $28.046 billion in revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30. It produced 464,391 vehicles and delivered 486,532, according to the company’s quarterly update and production release. Tesla also said battery availability was limiting its ability to increase auto volumes, but did not quantify the constraint’s effect.
Tesla's update says FSD requires drivers to actively supervise the system and does not make a vehicle autonomous.
Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's director of AI, said the company plans to bring its Cybercab-based Robotaxi service to Dallas in November after beginning rides in Austin on Sept. 3. Tesla reported close to two million miles of unsupervised Robotaxi travel by the end of the quarter. Elluswamy said the company intends to extend the software to more cities, with Model Y vehicles also operating as Robotaxis. The webcast named November as the target but gave no launch day or initial service area for Dallas.
