Tesla Delivers 358,000 Vehicles in Q1
Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to keep up-to-the-second on breaking news in the electric vehicle and clean energy space, as well as which stocks in these sectors that the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.From the hotly-debated high-flier Tesla, Wall Street's newest darling Rivian, traditional-stalwarts turned EV-upstarts GMand Fordto the numerous SPAC-deal makers that have come public in this red-hot space, The Fly has you covered with "Charged," a weekly recap of the top stories and expert calls in the sector.Clickto check out Tesla's recent Media Buzz Sentiment as measured by TipRanks.TESLA DELIVERIES:Last week, Tesla stated, "In the first quarter, we produced over 408,000 vehicles, delivered over 358,000 vehicles and deployed 8.8 GWh of energy storage products." Tesla will post its financial results for the first quarter of 2026 after market close on Wednesday, April 22, the company noted.Wedbush noted Tesla Q1 delivery numbers came in slightly below the company's consensus delivery estimate. The firm says Europe remains a significant headwind, with Tesla still navigating a difficult regulatory environment for FSD approval and regional sales unlikely to rebound until regulators give the green light, something Wedbush believes will happen in the first half of 2026. China, by contrast, was a bright spot, with deliveries in the first two months of 2026 up 35% year-over-year. While the delivery numbers were quite underwhelming, this was not a shock to the firm given the current EV backdrop across geographies as the company shifts gears to focus more on its AI strategy. Wedbush has an Outperform rating on the shares with a price target of $600.RIVIAN DELIVERIES:On April 2, Rivian Automotive also announced production and delivery totals for the quarter ending March 31. The company produced 10,236 vehicles at its manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois and delivered 10,365 vehicles during the same period. Production and delivery results for the quarter are in line with Rivian's outlook. Rivian is also reaffirming its 2026 delivery range guidance of 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles.UPGRADE ON VALUATION:DA Davidson upgraded Rivian to Neutral from Underperform with an unchanged price target of $14. The firm cited valuation for the upgrade following the stock's recent selloff. Much of the recent pullback is related to a "mixed-at-best investor reaction" to the pricing of early R2 trims, which is 55% higher than expected for some consumers, DA Davidson told investors. The firm believes this "not-insignificant gap" is one of the risks Rivian faces in delivering 20,000-25,000 R2 units this year.NIO DELIVERIES:Nioannounced its March and first quarter 2026 delivery results. The company delivered 35,486 vehicles in March, representing an increase of 136% year-over-year. The deliveries consisted of 22,490 vehicles from the company's smart electric vehicle brand Nio, 6,877 vehicles from the company's smart electric vehicle brand Onvo, and 6,119 vehicles from the company's small smart electric car brand Firefly. The company delivered 83,465 vehicles in the first quarter, representing an increase of 98.3% year-over-year. Cumulative deliveries reached 1,081,057 as of March 31.LI AUTO DELIVERIES:Li Autoannounced that it delivered 41,053 vehicles in March. As of March 31, Li Auto's cumulative deliveries reached 1,635,357. With the production bottleneck resolved, Li i6 monthly deliveries surpassed 24,000 units in March. The new Li L9 is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2026. As of March 31, the company had 517 retail stores in 160 cities, 552 servicing centers and Li Auto-authorized servicing shops operating in 223 cities. The company also had 4,057 super charging stations in operation equipped with 22,439 charging stalls in China.XPENG DELIVERIES:XPengannounced its vehicle delivery results for March and the first quarter of 2026. In March, XPeng delivered a total of 27,415 vehicles, representing an 80% increase over the prior month. In the first quarter, XPeng delivered 62,682 vehicles. On March 25, XPeng introduced a three-year strategy for Latin America and officially entered the Mexican market, marking a major milestone in its global expansion. Under this strategy, the company plans to launch both pure electric and range-extended electric models in 2027, laying the groundwork for broader market coverage and targeting a leading position in the region by 2028.