Down from 17.47M last month
The domestic total vehicle sales for March are being pegged at 16.53B from Wards. That is below the 17.30M estimate and down from 17.47M pace in February.
The Domestic Vehicle sales came in at 12.97M, lower than the 13.6M estimate and below last months 13.65B pace.
A disappointing result for car makers but it is good news for car buyers as inventories build.
A car company which bucked the trend today has been Tesla. Over the weekend they reported worldwide shipments for the 1Q of 25K. That was better than analysts estimates.
As a result, the shorts are covering today and the stock price is up $19 or 6.84%. The market capitalization has also passed Ford. By the way, Ford announced today announced sales that were 9x Teslas for a single month alone (the average price of a Tesla is higher but....). Short interest in the TSLA stock is 29% of the free float according to Markit data.
If you look at any metric comparing Ford to Tesla, the numbers don't add up. However, the battery technology and the love affair with the vehicle is second to none. In December the stock price traded around $180. It is trading at $297 currently.
Under the headline of "pouring salt in the wounds of the shorts", Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted:
The stock does have a history of ups and downs (see chart below) but it is trading at all time highs and Musk is enjoying the ride (for today at least).
