What happened
Shares in Tesla (TSLA +0.76%) are moving higher Tuesday morning after reports of a record month out of its plant in Shanghai, China. As of 10:50 a.m. EDT, the stock was up 1.6% and slightly off of the day's highs. The move brings the stock back above $800 per share, which also moves the company's market cap above $800 billion for the first time since Feb. 2021.
So what
Investors got word today that Tesla sold more than 56,000 vehicles from its factory in China in September, setting a new monthly record. What's more, of those sales, only 3,853 were exported, according to a Reuters report. That's significant, because prior to September, most of Tesla's vehicles made in China have been exported in recent months, including more than 70% of August's production.
Tesla Model Y. Image source: Tesla.
The report, which cites data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), noted that overall passenger car sales in China dropped 17% in September compared to the prior-year period.
Now what
The more than 52,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles sold in the country compare to just 10,628 delivered by competitor Nio (NIO +0.87%) in the month, most of which were sold domestically.
Tesla had previously reported delivering more than 240,000 globally in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, beating analyst estimates. The data from China shows that the record production at that plant helped contribute to the outperformance. Almost a quarter of its Model 3 and Model Y sales worldwide for the third quarter can be attributed to the Shanghai facility.
Tesla's production could also get a boost before the end of the year from the company's new factory near Berlin, Germany. After a visit to the German facility over the weekend, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he expects that factory to receive final regulatory approval and begin producing the Model Y there by the end of the year.
