Tesla Sales Increase, Suggesting Electric Car Demand Is Rebounding

Tesla said Wednesday that its global sales of cars and trucks rose 6.4 percent in the third quarter, the first quarterly increase the company has reported this year and a sign that demand for electric cars may be recovering as interest rates fall.

The automaker delivered 463,000 vehicles from July through September, up from 435,000 a year earlier, offering hope to investors that the company’s sales have stabilized after falling in the first half of the year. Wall Street analysts had expected a 6 percent increase in Tesla car sales.

Tesla boosted sales in part by offering 2.5 percent financing to qualified buyers in the United States, well below the market interest rate. It will be easier for the company, which is led by Elon Musk, to offer cheaper financing after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point in September, the first of what is expected to be a series of cuts. Central banks in Europe, China and elsewhere have also been lowering rates.

Interest rates determine the size of monthly car payments and are often more important to buyers than sticker prices. That’s why many analysts think car sales in the United States in particular could rise as the Fed cuts rates more.

“There is a contingent of folks who are going to say, ‘Now is not the right time to commit $50,000 to a new vehicle,’” said Charles Chesbrough, a senior economist at Cox Automotive, a research firm. “They may just decide to wait a few months until after the election, until after the Middle East calms down, until they see if the Fed cuts rates further.”

Tesla’s share of electric car sales has fallen as rivals like General Motors, Hyundai, Ford Motor and BMW have offered more battery-powered models. But Tesla still accounts for almost half of electric car sales in the United States and sets the tone for the market here and in other countries.

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