Tesla Posts Another Quarterly Profit

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has announced its second consecutive quarterly profit, marking the first time the company has reported back-to-back profitable results. On an unadjusted basis, Tesla made $139.5 million, or 78 cents a share, compared with a loss of $675.4 million, or $4.01 a share, during the last quarter of 2017. This is Tesla’s fourth profitable quarter overall since it went public in 2010

Tesla also reported better-than-expected sales for the quarter. The company reported $7.23 billion in total revenue, more than twice the $3.29 billion in revenue reported in the same quarter of last year. Analysts had expected revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter.

The automotive segment still comprises the majority of Tesla’s business. Tesla delivered 63,359 Model 3 vehicles to customers in North America throughout the quarter. The company sold nearly 140,000 Model 3s last year. The company also delivered 27,607 Model S and Model X vehicles to customers in the quarter. Tesla is aiming for 360,000 to 400,000 vehicle deliveries in the next fiscal year.

The company will face a number of challenges as it attempts to ramp up production. The federal tax credit for Tesla vehicles was cut in half at the beginning of the year, which may make its vehicles less attractive to consumers. Tesla has lowered the pricing on its vehicles in response. The company is also facing higher import duties on parts from China.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also announced the retirement of long-time Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja on the earnings call. Zach Kirkhorn, previously the company’s vice president of finance, will be taking over the position. Musk also announced that the company began producing Model 3 vehicles for Europe and China this month.

Tesla’s investors were not impressed with the news. The company’s shares fell by about 5 percent in after-hours trading. Tesla shares have fallen about 21 percent since reaching a record high of $387.46 in August 2018.