Tesla reports record 3Q deliveries, but Model 3 lags

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla Inc. says it delivered a record number of vehicles in the third quarter even though it made fewer of its new Model 3 sedans than anticipated.

Tesla delivered 26,150 vehicles in the July-September period, up 4.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Most were Model S sedans and Model X SUVs. Tesla delivered only 220 Model 3 cars.

Production of the hotly anticipated Model 3 — which is half the cost of Tesla's previous models — began in July. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said at the time he hoped to make 1,500 Model 3 sedans in September.

On Monday, Tesla blamed "production bottlenecks" for the slow rollout, but said it's confident it can fix those issues.

Tesla's shares dipped 1 percent to $338.92 in after-hours trading.