Tesla’s Quarterly Output Jumps 50%

Tesla Inc. reports it assembled 80,100 electric cars in the third quarter, up 50% from its record high for the previous three-month period.

Output of its high-volume Model 3 sedan in July-September nearly doubled to 53,200 units. The company also began making all-wheel-drive variants of the car during the period.

Third-quarter sales rose to 83,500 units, two-thirds of which were Model 3s. Deliveries of Model S sedans and Model X crossovers in the third quarter totaled 14,500 units and 13,200 units, respectively. Another 11,800 cars, two-thirds of them Model 3s, are in transit to customers.

Tesla says it has accelerated construction of an assembly plant in China. The company says tariffs now make its American-made cars at least 55% more expensive than locally produced units would cost.