DETROIT, Tesla Inc. posted record sales of electric vehicles last summer, despite a shortage in computer chips and other materials. This resulted in the company’s largest quarterly net earnings ever.
The company announced Wednesday that it had made $1.62 Billion in the third quarter. This beats the previous record of $1.14 Billion set in the second quarter. This profit was almost five times greater than the $331million Tesla earned in the same quarter last year.
FactSet reported that July-September revenue of $13.76 Billion was also a record. However, it was below Wall Street’s expectations of just under $14 billion.
Tesla, a Palo Alto, California company, earned $1.86 per share excluding stock-based compensation. This beat analyst estimates of $1.62. Elon Musk, CEO, has stated that he will move the headquarters to Austin Texas, before Wednesday’s earnings release.
However, some of the quarter’s profit came from the sale of regulatory credits to other carmakers. Credits were purchased by Tesla for $279 million during the quarter. When they are unable to meet fuel-economy and emissions standards, other automakers purchase the credits.
The company released a statement to shareholders saying that “a variety of challenges”, including shortages in semiconductors, congestion at ports, and rolling blackouts have been affecting our ability to keep factories running at maximum speed. “We believe that our supply chain, engineering, and production teams have dealt with these global challenges with ingenuity and agility that is unmatched in the automotive industry.”
Tesla stated earlier this month that it had delivered 241,300 electric carsin its third quarter despite having to deal with shortages in the auto industry. Musk previously stated that Tesla’s manufacturing lines were kept running by using chips from other suppliers. Then, it scrambled to rewrite certain software in its cars to make sure all technology was compatible.
Tesla’s third quarter sales rose 72% compared to the 140,000 deliveries it made last year.
Tesla has sold 627,300 cars so far this year. This puts it on pace for surpassing last year’s 499,550 total.
Despite sales growth in the third quarter of 2018, the average sales price dropped 6% due to Tesla selling less expensive Models 3 and Y, and fewer pricier Models S or X.
Tesla also had to pay an impairment charge in the amount of $51 million for a decrease in its Bitcoin holdings.
In a note to investors, Daniel Ives, a Wedbush analyst, wrote that Tesla’s earnings and deliveries are impressive despite the overhang caused by the shortage of automotive computer chip. He stated that Tesla’s demand is exceeding supply and that Wedbush believes that the chip shortage has impacted Tesla’s sales by approximately 40,000 units.
He predicts Tesla’s sales to be around 900,000. In 2022, it will reach 1.4 million.
According to the company, construction at its new factory in Austin is proceeding as planned. It’s currently preparing equipment and “fabricating first pre-production vehicles.”
This factory is located centrally, unlike Tesla’s Fremont assembly plant. It will ship Model Y small SUVs as well as new Cybertruck pickups to East Coast populations centers.
Tesla stated that it plans to increase its factory capacity rapidly and that sales will grow on average by 50% per year over a “multiyear horizon”.
The company stated that the company’s growth rate will be determined by its equipment capacity, operational efficiency, and the stability and availability of the supply chain.
According to Tesla, its primary source of exports is still China’s factory. It will switch to standard-range vehicles with a lithium ironphosphate battery chemistry.
After-hours trading on Wednesday saw shares of Tesla Inc. fall 0.5% to $861.14
