Elon Musk: We've made 1 million Tesla electric cars
Tesla CEO Elon Musk today announced that the company has made its millionth Tesla electric car, some 12 years after it released the Roadster for consumers.
Musk posted a photo of a red Model Y Tesla on Twitter announcing the milestone along with a group shot of the Tesla Factory workers responsible for manufacturing it. Musk's announcement was first reported by Electrek.
Congratulations Tesla team on making our 1,000,000th car!! pic.twitter.com/5M99a9LLQi
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2020
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The Model Y will be Tesla's fourth electric car line, following the Model S, Model X, and the cheaper Model 3, which made up most of its production and deliveries in Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings report.
Tesla reported that it produced 17,933 Model S and X vehicles in the quarter and delivered 19,450. It produced 86,958 Model 3 vehicles and delivered 92,550. It delivered 367,500 vehicles for the full year.
Tesla is expecting deliveries in 2020 to exceed 500,000 units and for production to outstrip deliveries thanks to Model 3 production in Shanghai and Model Y production in Fremont, California. Model Y production in Shanghai is scheduled for 2021.
Tesla says its Model 3 and Model Y production capacity in Fremont is 400,000 units per year, while its Shanghai factory can produce 150,000 Model 3 cars per year.
It's also developing new facilities in Berlin to manufacture Model 3 and Model Y electric cars, which should start rolling out in 2021.
Musk today suggested the Berlin Gigafactory should have a "mega rave cave" under the facility with an "epic sound systems & woofers the size of a car".
Tesla should have a mega rave cave under the Berlin Gigafatory
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2020
Given Musk's taste for audacious publicity stunts, there's a chance he could build a Tesla underground club in a nod to Berlin's rave culture.
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Musk posted the one million Tesla production milestone a few hours after Tesla shares fell 13.6% to $608 per share as investors fretted over oil output increases announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia this week. The prospect of cheaper petrol over the long term could dampen enthusiasm for electric vehicles in general.
The other major concern is the impact of the COVID-19 virus on Tesla's Shanghai plant, which the Chinese government ordered to be shut for 10 days from 29 January.