Tesla’s momentum from the first half looks set to be carried over to the second half of 2023, at least for now. The electric vehicle maker reported 466,100 units delivered on Sunday while analysts polled by FactSet had predicted 445,000 units for the second quarter ending June. The company doesn’t report traditional sales the way traditional automakers do, preferring instead to use the term “delivery” as its preferred metric. Tesla shares were up more than 6% in the previous marketing session, boosting prices for Nasdaq-100 futures. That gain would add to the stock’s already huge 112% gain for the year. Analysts mostly praised the increase in deliveries, although some warned that more demand needs to be created. Tesla has pivoted its strategy to focus more on mass vehicle production rather than driving profit margin growth, a decision that hit Tesla stock after first-quarter earnings. Goldman Sachs sees higher vehicle deliveries as a bullish signal. TSLA YTD mountain Tesla shares YTD “Tesla is in the process of transitioning to a more uniform delivery schedule throughout the quarter to ease logistical and operational constraints, but reports suggest Tesla may have ended Quarterly better than us and analyst Mark Delaney said. To be sure, the bank has maintained a neutral rating on Tesla. Its $275 price target implies a gain of just $275 per share. Canaccord Genuity is also bullish on the news, with analyst George Gianarikas noting that Tesla is also an “attractive partner compared to a group of peer-to-peer tech companies” that includes Meta Platforms. “Our work shows that Tesla continues to gain market share globally relative to the automotive market in general and the electric vehicle market in particular,” said. Electric vehicle sales data remains bleak,” Gianarikas said Sunday. Canaccord’s $293 price target implies a roughly 12% gain in Tesla stock. Others, however, are not optimistic. after the release of shipping data. “The growing gap between production and delivery (currently ~88,000 for the last 4 quarters with estimates from inventory to sales up slightly QoQ) advance) will likely maintain focus on the possibility of further price pressure in the third quarter,” Citi analyst Itay Michaeli said in a note Sunday. responds favorably to Q2 delivery, although outflows will likely depend on Q2 margin results due to price discounts for the quarter and estimated second-half inventory positions.” Citi has price target of $215 per share for Tesla, a price at which the stock has surpassed more than 21% Toni Sacconaghi Jr. of Bernstein, a longtime investor in under-rated stocks, Note that while Tesla’s delivery numbers are above both consensus and company expectations, investors still need to worry about earnings growth. “The key question for investors is what margins can be, given the dramatic drop in prices but continuing to improve costs?” Sacconaghi said. “We are concerned that Tesla will have to lower prices further in 2023 and/or 2024 to meet unit expectations. Additionally, we believe valuation has important long-term implications for the stock and the stock.” are trading above our fair value of $150 per share.” Sacconaghi’s $150 price target implies a drop of more than 40% from Friday’s close. — Michael Bloom of CNBC contributed to this report.