Tesla's China shipments hit record in September

56,006 vehicles shipped from Shanghai factory

Tesla Inc.’s shipments of China-made vehicles hit a record in September.

The electric-car maker reported shipments from its Chinese factory rose 27% last month to 56,006 units, according a report released Tuesday by China’s Passenger Car Association. There were 52,153 units shipped domestically and 3,853 exported vehicles. 

Tesla shares rallied as much as 2.3% on the news and were on track to close at an eight-month high, helping drive CEO Elon Musk's net worth to over $206 billion. 

Musk, now the world's richest person, continues to gain on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has slipped to second place. 

MUSK TROLLS BEZOS AS NET WORTH GROWS

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
TSLA TESLA INC. 144.61 +2.56 +1.80%

"Selling 50k+ in the month for the key China region speaks to huge trajectory that highlights our bull China thesis for Tesla going into the next few years," said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, who maintained his "outperform" rating and $1,000 price target.

Tesla’s China numbers reinforce the underlying strength the company enjoyed during the third quarter when it delivered a record 241,300 cars globally.

Tesla is scheduled to report its third-quarter results on Oct. 20 with analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expecting adjusted earnings of $1.49 per share on revenue of $13.37 billion.

Musk last week announced Tesla will move its headquarters to Austin, Texas, in 2022. The company plans to ramp up production at its plants in California and Nevada. 

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Tesla shares were up 12% this year through Monday compared with the S&P 500’s 16% gain.