Tesla beats expectations, delivering a record 25,000 vehicles in Q1

Tesla said it delivered just over 25,000 vehicles in the first quarter, up 69 percent from a year ago and a new record for the electric-car maker.

The figure beat analysts' expectations that Tesla would deliver around 23,000 or 24,000 vehicles, and came after Tesla missed delivery expectations in the fourth quarter. It also put Tesla on track to hit guidance of 50,000 vehicles to be delivered in the first half.

Tesla said 13,450 of those vehicles delivered in the first quarter were Model S and 11,550 were Model X.

The company said an additional 4,650 vehicles were in transit to customers, which would be included in Tesla's second quarter numbers.

Telsa cautioned that the final numbers could vary slightly, by up to 0.5 percent.

Tesla shares closed Friday at $278.30 on the Nasdaq, up slightly from the previous day's close.