Tesla gears down Q4 deliveries

Tesla Motors Inc fell short of analysts' estimates for fourth-quarter deliveries, as production delays continued to plague the carmaker led by Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk.

The Palo Alto, California-based maker of electric cars and energy-storage devices delivered about 22,200 vehicles in the fourth quarter, Tesla said on Tuesday.

That brought the year-end total to 76,230, below Tesla's guidance. In 2015, Tesla delivered 50,658 vehicles and aimed for at least 80,000 in 2016.

The company has been working to keep sales of its Model S sedan and Model X SUV strong while consumers await the smaller, less-expensive Model 3, which isn't slated to begin production in volume until late 2017.

Over the holiday weekend, Tesla said customers who order a vehicle before Jan 15 will continue to receive free Supercharging for long-distance travel. After that, customers will get about 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) of free Supercharging credits, then face nominal fees, which will vary regionally based on the cost of electricity.

The automaker releases global sales figures quarterly, instead of the monthly country-by-country results typical of other automakers. The delivery count only includes a car if it's transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct.

Bloomberg