Tesla ships record number of vehicles over the first quarter of 2017

Automotive and energy storage firm Tesla Inc has reported that it has shipped 25,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2017.

This marks a 69% increase from the first quarter and a 2% increase from fourth quarter last year. The shipments were a near even split between the Model X and Model S cars.

The significant increase marks an impressive track record for the Palo Alto based firm, as their Model S has been the world's best selling plug in electric car for 2015 and 2016.

A new Model 3 is set to commence vehicle production on July 2017. The new model will be priced at $35,000, making it significantly cheaper than the current models in order to capture a larger market share. However, the firm has faced a series of production delays and missed delivery targets in the past.

Tesla's financing methods have recently come under scrutiny. Forbes had recently reported that a large portion of the firm's bond issued to finance the Model 3 production, when considering the underwriter fees and hedging costs, could face its interest rate ballooned from 2.375% to nearly 7%.

The interest margin could classify it as a junk bond. Moreover, out of the $850m received in debt issuance, Tesla received only $709m due to the aforementioned costs, but the firm still has to make interest payments equivalent to the issuance amount.

Despite the questionable means of conducting debt financing activities, Tesla had reported a total of $7bn in revenues for 2015, a 73% increase from 2015. The firm is aggressively expanding as it has plans for building 3 more "Gigafactories", which produces lithium-ion batteries.

Prominent investors in Tesla shares include asset management firms T Rowe Price and Bailie Gifford. Chinese internet giant Tencent has recently acquired a 5% share in Tesla for $2.2bn, making it the fifth-largest shareholder.