Elon Musk-led Tesla beat street expectations to post a record second quarter profit and revenue on the back of record deliveries. The company reported $1.14 billion in (GAAP) net income for the quarter, the first time it has surpassed $1 billion. The second quarter profit was up 10-fold from the year-ago period when the net income was $104 million.
The result was a beat on both the top and bottom lines. For the first time since late 2019, Tesla profits did not rely on sales of environmental credits to other automakers, a sign of increasing financial health for the manufacturing operation.
The electric car-maker's revenue jumped to $11.96 billion from $6.04 billion a year earlier, when its California factory was shut down for more than six weeks due to local lockdown orders to fight the pandemic.
The better-than-expected results came despite the company facing a prolonged global shortage of chips and raw materials. CEO Elon Musk said that the issue remained serious. In a call with investors and analysts, Tesla executives said that volume production growth for this year will depend on parts availability, as it aims to grow deliveries by more than 50 per cent.
Further, the company reported a $23 million impairment related to bitcoin.
During the quarter, among other challenges, Tesla faced a backlash from consumers in China, recalls in China and the US, and delayed deliveries of the high-performance version of its flagship sedan, the Model S Plaid.
Tesla Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy said Cybertruck production should begin at Tesla’s new plant in Texas at the end of 2021. Musk emphasized this would be limited production at first, and he anticipates ramping up production to a high volume will prove challenging due to the unique design of the vehicle.
Tesla said it is “on track to build our first Model Y vehicles in Berlin and Austin in 2021”
