After dropping in after-hours trading yesterday, shares of Tesla (TSLA) are on the rise this morning following the company's release of its vehicle production and delivery numbers for the fourth quarter and full year. While fourth quarter deliveries missed the company's previous estimate, Tesla called the vehicle amount reported "slightly conservative" as some cars were not counted due to last-minute delays in transport.

PRODUCTION, DELIVERY FIGURES: Last night, Tesla reported that it has produced 24,882 vehicles in the fourth quarter, resulting in total 2016 production of 83,922 vehicles, which is an increase of 64% from 2015. Additionally, Tesla announced total 2016 deliveries of approximately 76,230, with about 22,200 vehicles being delivered in the fourth quarter, of which 12,700 were Model S and 9,500 were Model X. This was below the company's previous expectations. During its last earnings release, Tesla maintained its guidance of 50,000 new vehicle deliveries for the second half of 2016, "with a fourth quarter plan of just over 25,000 deliveries, despite the challenges of winter weather and the holiday season." However, Tesla called its fourth quarter delivery count "slightly conservative" last night, saying "we only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct. Because of short-term production challenges starting at the end of October and lasting through early December from the transition to new Autopilot hardware, fourth quarter vehicle production was weighted more heavily toward the end of the quarter than we had originally planned. [...] In total, about 2,750 vehicles missed being counted as deliveries in the fourth quarter either due to last-minute delays in transport or because the customer was unable to physically take delivery. Even where these customers had already fully paid for their vehicle, we still did not count these as deliveries in the fourth quarter."

ELECTRIC CAR COMPETITION: During the Consumer Electronics Show taking place in Las Vegas, Faraday Future unveiled a self-driving electric car that it says can accelerate from zero to 60mph in 2.39 seconds, according to a report by BBC. The start-up says its FF91 accelerates faster than Tesla's Model S or any other electric car in production, the publication noted, adding that Faraday plans to release the new vehicle in 2018.

WHAT'S NOTABLE: This morning, Guggenheim analyst Robert Cihra initiated coverage of Tesla with a Buy rating and $280 price target, saying that while he acknowledges the company faces a number of risks, it also has "nearly open-ended growth disrupting the trillion-dollar auto market."

PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Tesla have risen 3.5% to $224.65.