Record profit in the first quarter: Tesla exceeds expectations

Record profit in the first quarter
Tesla exceeds expectations

Almost 185,000 cars delivered in the first quarter, a substantial increase in profit and sales – business is currently going well for Elon Musk’s Tesla Group. However, the quarterly figures are not well received on the stock market.

Record deliveries, high demand in China and the sale of environmental certificates brought the electric car pioneer Tesla unexpectedly strong business at the start of the year. The adjusted profit (Ebitda) rose within the year by 94 percent to 1.84 billion dollars, the turnover by 74 percent to almost 10.4 billion, as the US group announced. The Tesla share fell after the hours of trading by three percent.

Tesla 600.20

“Higher environmental certificates, lower taxes and Bitcoin sales have boosted earnings,” said analyst Craig Irwin of Roth Capital Partners. If you take these factors out of the equation, Tesla clearly missed expectations. Other experts said the revenue was too close to the $ 10.3 billion forecast for investors. Jesse Cohen of Investing.com said the proceeds were actually only in line with expectations.

Tesla raised $ 518 million in sales of emissions rights to other automakers, an increase of 46 percent. A payment of $ 299 million to CEO Elon Musk weighed on net profit. Earnings per share were 93 cents, while experts according to Refinitiv data “only” expected an increase to 79 cents from 23 cents a year ago. Although the sales price per vehicle has fallen by an average of 13 percent, Tesla said. However, the margin increased because the costs fell even faster. Tesla is sticking to the production and delivery targets for the plants under construction in Berlin-Brandenburg and Texas.

The group is benefiting from the strong increase in demand for electric cars in China. In the first quarter alone, the company reportedly delivered 184,800 vehicles, more cars than ever before. The cheaper models in particular were very popular. At the same time, Tesla seems to be suffering less from the current shortage of semiconductors than many other carmakers: Production in the first quarter was roughly at the level of the previous quarter, while other manufacturers struggled with shortages and had to register short-time work. With a market value of more than $ 700 billion, Tesla is the sixth most valuable publicly traded company in the United States.

CEO Elon Musk – also CEO of the rocket manufacturer SpaceX – has succeeded in making the car start-up a cult brand. Tesla is not evaluated according to the criteria of the automotive industry, but according to those of large tech companies. Between March 2020 and the end of January 2021, the price of Tesla shares increased tenfold to around $ 900. Most recently, the papers cost $ 738. The quarterly figures usher in an eagerly anticipated stock market week in which numerous tech giants present their figures.

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