Tesla shares hit record high after beating revenue and profit estimates
Tesla shares soared after reporting fourth quarter revenue and profit which beat analysts’ estimates.
The company said its Model 3 and Model Y electric sport utility vehicle capacity should reach 500,000 units per year in the Fremont factory, sending it shares up 13 per cent in after hours trading above $655.
Tesla’s stock has more than doubled in value since it posted a third quarter profit, beating estimates for last year’s vehicle deliveries and ramped up production at its Gigafactory in China.
Tesla had already reported deliveries of 112,000 vehicles globally during the quarter, which was a record for the company.
Last week the electric car maker became the world’s second most valuable car marker at $100bn (£76.8bn), putting chief executive Elon Musk in line for a big payday.
Tesla’s market value must stay above $100bn for both a one-month and six-month average, after which Musk would earn the first tranche of stock options at around $346m (£265.m).
The billionaire, who is also chief executive of Space X and The Boring Company, takes no salary from his role at Tesla. He owns a stake of around 20 per cent in the electric car maker.
The company has been trying to keep a lid on costs but has invested in a number of initiatives, including a new factory in Shanghai. Total operating expenses rose less than 1% to $1.03bn (£791.66m).
Net income attributable to common shareholders fell to $105m, (£80m) or 56 cents per share, for the three months ended 31 December, from $140m (£107.6m), or 78 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Tesla earned $2.06 (£1.58) per share, beating analysts estimates of $1.72 £1.32) per share.
Revenue rose to $7.38bn (£5.67bn) from $7.23bn a year earlier, beating Wall Street’s forecast of $7.02bn.
The car maker said the production ramp of its Model Y started this month ahead of schedule. It added that production in its Shanghai plant will help “outpace deliveries this year.”
Tesla expects production out of its future Berlin factory, serving European markets, in 2021.
Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “We already knew Tesla had posted a monster quarter in terms of production and deliveries, these numbers show it’s done that while staying in the black and generating a veritable cybertruck-load of cash.”