IHS Automotive Analyst Says Lack Of Tesla Inventory Data Makes It Difficult To Determine Retail Demand For Vehicles

Speaking to Benzinga, IHS Automotive Analyst Thomas Libby said that while registrations for the Tesla Motors Inc TSLA was up 153 percent year-over-year in October, it’s difficult to determine retail demand for the vehicles.

The reason? No dealerships.

“In this situation, we can’t tell -- unlike other automakers where there’s inventory data, and you can see if their inventory is going up or not,” he said.

Because there are no dealerships to indicate inventory sizes, there’s no way for IHS analysts to know if demand is flowing down or not.