Tesla on Monday said first-quarter sales jumped around 74% from the same period a year earlier to $10.4 billion, generating a $438 million in net profit. Wall Street on average expected the company to report sales of about $10.5 billion and net income of around $509 million for the January through March period, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Billionaire Elon Musk said revenue rose to $10.39 billion from $5.99 billion a year earlier.
Analysts had expected revenue of $10.29 billion according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
In the first quarter, we produced just over 180,000 vehicles and delivered nearly 185,000 vehicles. We are encouraged by the strong reception of the Model Y in China and are quickly progressing to full production capacity. The new Model S and Model X have also been exceptionally well received, with the new equipment installed and tested in Q1 and we are in the early stages of ramping production.
Sales of the revamped Model S luxury sedan will start “very shortly,” the company said, and the rate of production of the Model Y, Tesla’s compact SUV, continues to improve at the company’s Shanghai factory. Tesla’s new factories in Berlin and in Texas “are making progress,” the company said.
“There is a lot to be excited about in 2021,” Tesla said. The Model 3 was the best-selling premium sedan in the world, and the Model Y can become “the best-selling vehicle of any kind globally,” the company said.
Selling some of the bitcoin the company had amassed earlier this year also had a “positive impact” around $101 million, Tesla said.
| Production | Deliveries | Subject to operating lease accounting | |
| Model S/X | – | 2,020 | 6% |
| Model 3/Y | 180,338 | 182,780 | 7% |
| Total | 180,338 | 184,800 | 7% |
Our net income and cash flow results will be announced along with the rest of our financial performance when we announce Q1 earnings. Our delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative, as we only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct. Final numbers could vary by up to 0.5% or more. Tesla vehicle deliveries represent only one measure of the company’s financial performance and should not be relied on as an indicator of quarterly financial results, which depend on a variety of factors, including the cost of sales, foreign exchange movements and mix of directly leased vehicles.
Image Credit Shuterstock
