Tesla stock is way up TSLA (NASDAQ) 1084.59 ▲ +6.99 (0.65%) with the news Tesla increased sales by delivering an all-time high of 310,048 vehicles in Q1. And it also beats Wall Street expectations set at 309 thousand vehicles.

The first quarter of 2022 had unique challenges for the electric carmaker. A slowed global supply chain creating computer chip shortages, delays opening the Berlin factory and a shutdown of Tesla’s Shanghai factory due to China’s no COVID policies hit hard. But the Austin-based carmaker has still increased sales and exceeded projections.

 Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed an “exceptionally difficult quarter,” saying that supply chain issues and a COVID closure at Tesla’s Shanghai factory were roadblocks. 

Tesla’s numbers came out in a press release today. 

The company said the Model 3 and Y made up 295,324 of the delivered cars. And 14,724 new Model S and X are now on the road.

Vehicle deliveries increased slightly from the last quarter of 2021 when 308,600 cars were delivered to new owners. And it represented a 68 percent year-over-year increase from the 184,800 new owner shipments Tesla made in the first quarter of 2021.

Two new facilities boost Tesla stock

In addition to chip shortages, and the problems at the Shanghai plant, Tesla opened up two new factories. The Berlin, Germany factory had permitting issues. And marked its first plant-to-customer car deliveries with a ceremony on March 22nd.

Dan Ives, a tech analyst at Wedbush Securities explained the challenges of the German factory. 

“I’d say 30% of investors we talked to over the last six months thought Berlin was never going to open because of the red tape and bureaucracy. Many investors were fearing [Tesla] would never have a beachhead in Europe and it would just be an empty factory.”

A hosted event is being planned next week at Tesla’s Austin, Texas, facility. Cars have just started rolling out and shipping to owners in the last few weeks. 

The new additions will double the number of automotive assembly plants the company operates. With the original plants in Fremont, California, and Shanghai, China.

Even before Austin's first deliveries were complete there was a rally in Tesla’s share price.

The company’s output was much “better than feared” according to Ives.

He claims Tesla results were impressive “in light of recent Covid shutdowns in China and massive logistics complications delivering units to customers in Europe. We believe roughly 20,000 to 25,000 units were pushed out of the first quarter into the second quarter due to the logistical and factory issues which make this underlying demand number still look strong with a robust trajectory for the rest of 2022.”