Tesla’s Q3 EV Deliveries Soar Even as ARK Unloads Shares

Tesla is in the spotlight as the final quarter of the year gets underway. The period is key for the electric vehicle maker to meet its delivery estimates for 2021. Elon Musk’s company is off to a good start based on third-quarter results.

Tesla announced on Oct. 2 that it delivered 241,300 vehicles in Q3, representing a 73% increase year-over-year and exceeding expectations. Wall Street analysts were looking for 220,900 deliveries. Tesla sales were also up 20% vs. Q2 results.

The results are especially noteworthy considering that most sectors of the economy are experiencing a supply shortage for products such as the chips that are needed to make the vehicles. Tesla manufactured 237,823 vehicles in Q3.

ARK Invest Offloads Tesla Shares

Cathie Wood, who is at the helm of disruptive investment firm ARK Invest, is known for her bullish forecast on the Tesla stock price of $3,000. Nonetheless, she aggressively sold shares last month.

In her most recent selling spree, she offloaded 381,000 shares of the EV maker, bringing the firm’s combined divestment in the stock to more than $600 million in recent days. Wood sold the stock in favor of shares of trading platforms Coinbase and Robinhood, both of which she bought up.

ARK Invest still owns more than $2 billion of Tesla shares.

Auto Industry Dynamics

It is unclear why ARK sold a percentage of its Tesla holdings. Wood in a Twitter thread touted Tesla’s recent deliveries in the face of a supply shortage.

She noted how traditional automaker General Motors recently suffered a roughly 33% decline in US sales, which it attributed to chip shortages. Meanwhile, Wood pointed out, EVs command between three and five times more chips, and yet Tesla experienced no such setback.

The ARK Invest chief believes it is entirely possible that “chip supplies loosen up considerably,” reversing the issue from a shortage to a glut amid weakening demand for traditional vehicles. She said there are signs that “chip supply constraints are easing,” pointing to comments from industry leaders including Elon Musk.

Wood also predicts that EV prices are poised to move below those of traditional autos in comparable categories. She says this will pressure the gas-powered automakers to move more toward an EV model.