The Model Y electric vehicle is on display at the Auto Shanghai 2021 show in China.
In the fourth quarter of last year, the company delivered more than 308,000 electric vehicles, beating its previous single-quarter record. Over 305,000 fully electric vehicles were produced by the automaker.
When it reported its first annual profit in February, the company had delivered 499,647 vehicles.
In the third quarter of 2021, vehicle deliveries reached 241,300, which was the best quarter.
The closest approximation of sales reported by Musk is deliveries.
The delivery numbers for the Model S and X vehicles are combined with the delivery numbers for the Model 3 and Y vehicles. The company doesn't break out sales by region.
Wall Street analysts had expected 267,000 deliveries from the electric car company in the fourth quarter. The estimates ranged from 245,000 to 292,000.
At the annual shareholder meeting, Musk said that supply chain problems made it difficult to get enough parts.
During the second year of a global coronaviruses epidemic,Tesla was able to increase vehicle deliveries by ramping up production at its first overseas factory in Shanghai, and by making technical changes to the cars it produces in California so that it could ditch some parts altogether.
The removal of radar sensors from the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles was announced by the company in May. Those cars use a camera-based system to enable features such as traffic-adjusted cruise control or automatic lane-keeping.
Over the next nine years, Musk wants to increase the sales volume of his company by 20 million. The Model Y will be produced at the company's new factory in Austin, Texas, this year. After that, it wants to open another factory in Germany.
The company moved its headquarters to Texas. The plan was announced by the CEO in October.
Last month, Musk wrote on the social networking site, "Giga Texas is a $10 billion investment over time, generating at least 20k direct and 100k indirect jobs." The first phase of the Austin, Texas, factory will cost $1.6 billion, according to public filings.
Despite progress and ambitions in Texas, the production of its Cybertruck has been delayed until at least 2023. The company is working on a new Semi and Roadster.
The company dominates battery electric vehicle sales around the world. It is expected to lose market share as competitors bring out fully electric models.
Toyota has told investors that it will invest $35 billion to bring 30 battery-electric vehicles out by the year 2030. Rivian has begun delivering its battery-electric pick-up and SUV. Ford stopped taking reservations for the F-150 after 200,000 orders.
Climate regulation is driving electric vehicle demand, which is why sales are expected to rise.
The states of California and New York are following in the footsteps of several European countries and cities by banning the sale of most gas-powered vehicles by the year 2020.
According to forecasts from Alix Partners, about 24% of new vehicles will be fully electric by the year 2030.
Jordan Novet and Jessica Bursztynsky contributed reporting.
