Tesla's Delivery And Guidance Announcement: What We Know And Don't Know

Tesla Motors Inc TSLA gained nearly 5 percent Monday after the company impressed investors and said it delivered 24,500 vehicles in the third quarter and expects to see continued momentum heading into the end of the year.

According to Gadfly's Liam Denning, there are a few takeaways from Tesla's announcement. Perhaps more importantly, Tesla added more than $1 billion in the stock's valuation.

Denning added that Tesla's delivery figures also imply a "fantastic headline number" of 111 percent year-over-year growth and proves the company can hit or exceed a sales target after two consecutive misses and in the face of a controversy surrounding its Autopilot feature.

Related Link: Tesla Displayed 'Phenomenal Execution' On All Fronts

Tesla will also come "within spitting distance" of its 80,000 vehicle annual sales target, based on its fourth quarter commentary.

This is what we know to be true.

On the other hand, there is a lot that Tesla's update doesn't say. For instance, did the delivered cars "bolster or harm" the company's margins? For this unknown, history won't prove to be kind to the company and investors.

The last time Tesla reported a surge in deliveries was back in the fourth quarter of 2015. Denning noted that a 78 percent spike in sales resulted in its gross margins slumping below 20 percent.

Meanwhile, Musk recently wrote an e-mail to employees which implied "the company has been straining every last muscle to present its best self when it reports third-quarter numbers, precisely so it can go and fund-raise off the back of them."

Taken in context, is Monday's delivery announcement really worth an incremental $1 billion to Tesla's "already giddy valuation"?