Elon Musk said he expects Tesla to deliver around 50% more cars than last year, even if there's a global recession

Patrick Fallon / Reuters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

• Tesla CEO Elon Musk expects the automaker to deliver around 50% more vehicles in 2019 than it did in 2018, even if there's a global recession, he said on Wednesday.
• "Even if there's a global recession, we're expecting deliveries this year to be about 50% higher than last year," Musk said Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings call.
• Tesla delivered 245,240 vehicles in 2018, more than in any prior year, and nearly more than in all prior years combined.
• Despite Tesla's production growth in 2018, the automaker has a history of missing ambitious production timelines.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk expects the automaker to deliver around 50% more vehicles in 2019 than it did in 2018, even if there's a global recession, he said on Wednesday.

"Even if there's a global recession, we're expecting deliveries this year to be about 50% higher than last year," Musk said Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings call.

Read more: Tesla misses on earnings, says it will produce the Model 3 at 'maximum production rates'

He added that Tesla could exceed 50% growth in deliveries by a significant margin.

"It could be a lot more than that, but even with tough economic times, to see 50% growth is pretty nutty," he said.

Tesla delivered 245,240 vehicles in 2018, more than in any prior year, and nearly more than in all prior years combined. If Tesla hits Musk's projection, it will deliver around 367,860 vehicles in 2019.

Despite Tesla's production growth in 2018, the automaker has a history of missing ambitious production timelines. In 2016, the automaker said it would make 500,000 vehicles in 2018, but ended up making 254,530.

Tesla on Wednesday announced its earnings from the fourth quarter of 2018. The automaker posted adjusted earnings of $1.93 per share on revenue of $7.23 billion. Wall Street analysts had expected adjusted earnings of $2.10 per share on revenue of $7.1 billion.

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• Read more about Tesla's Q4 earnings:
• Tesla says it will start making Model 3s at its upcoming factory in China faster than expected
• Tesla's revenue has hit a critical milestone
• Tesla says it's ramping up its logistics business as delivery struggles continue
• Tesla says it has 'sufficient cash' to pay for its biggest debt payment ever that's due in a month
• Elon Musk says Tesla will be profitable for 'all quarters going forward'

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