Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) is charging ahead once more, with shares breaking the $450 barrier after the opening bell on Friday. TSLA shares’ new highs come on the heels of the company’s blockbuster fourth quarter and full-year delivery and production report, which reflected new milestones and records for the electric car maker.
In Q4 2019, Tesla delivered a whopping 112,000 vehicles to customers in the United States and other territories. This number is comprised of over 92,000 Model 3s, proving once more that the car is seeing wide adoption among car buyers across the globe. The Model S and X, Tesla’s flagship vehicles which are somewhat getting long in the tooth, still ended the fourth quarter with over 19,000 deliveries.
But more importantly, Tesla also met the lower end of its full-year 2019 guidance, which the company estimated at 360,000 and 400,000 vehicles. Over the course of the year, Tesla was able to deliver around 367,500 vehicles worldwide. That’s 50% more than the company’s deliveries in 2018. To give even more perspective, Tesla has sold more cars in 2019 than the past two years combined.
Amidst these impressive results, TSLA stock started the day strong at $436.92 per share, before rising to as much as $454.00 per share. Tesla stock has pretty much leveled out at the $445+ level as of writing, resulting in the company hitting a market cap of $81 billion. These are all new records for the electric car maker.
Tesla shares have experienced steep drops and meteoric rises in 2019. After falling to two-year lows following a loss in Q2, Tesla experienced an impressive recovery with the release of its Q3 results. Since then, Tesla has been in an upward trend, running up 84.6% in the past three months and 43.3% in the past 12 months. In comparison, the S&P 500 has gained 11.9% in the past three months and 33.1% in the past year.
For now, all eyes will be on Tesla’s upcoming earnings report. With the company reaching its guidance for 2019 and ending the year on a powerful note, Tesla is carrying a lot of momentum. If Tesla ends up meeting, or perhaps even exceeding expectations in its Q4 earnings, then the rise in TSLA stock may very well just be starting.
As of writing, Tesla stock is trading +4.49% at $449.60 per share.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
