Tesla hits a delivery record thanks to its cheaper models (it's cannibalizing itself)

Christmas came early for Elon... Tesla delivered a record number of vehicles last quarter, accelerating its recovery after the pandemic slowdown. It's still (very) far from its goal of 20M vehicles/year, but the growth is impressive:

• Tesla delivered 139K vehicles during the quarter ending September 30. That’s a 44% increase from the same quarter last year.
• ~90% of deliveries consisted of the $35K+ Model 3 or the $50K+ Model Y crossover. Just 10% of deliveries consisted of the $75K+ Model S or X.

Sounds S3XY... That's Tesla Model S, 3, X, and Y (classic Elon humor). Deliveries last quarter were dominated by Tesla's new cheaper models, which cannibalized sales of the original luxe models. For most people, the pricier models are just too... pricey. Especially when they can now become Tesla owners through a cheaper (still sweet) ride.

• Cannibalization: The terrifying term for when a company's new product is so attractive that it devours sales of its other products.
• The con: Companies fear cannibalization because it often steals sales from more profitable products.
• The pro: Lower-cost versions of products drive more sales volume and guard against competitive disruption (#disruptyoself).