Tesla surprises analysts with $104 million quarterly profit
The profit was achieved "despite tremendous difficulties in the quarter," the company's chief executive, Elon Musk, said in a conference call with analysts
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Tesla on Wednesday reported a profit of $104 million, a result that surprised analysts, who were expecting the electric carmaker to lose money as the coronavirus pandemic squeezed the company on two fronts.
Sales for the second quarter, which ended in June, slowed while much of the economy shut down and as millions of people lost their jobs and cut back on spending. And for nearly two months, the company was forced to halt production at its main plant in Fremont, California.
The profit was achieved “despite tremendous difficulties in the quarter,” the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, said in a conference call with analysts. “We were able to achieve a fourth consecutive profitable quarter. Although the auto industry was down about 30% year-over-year, we managed to grow deliveries in the first half of the year.”
Tesla said revenue in the second quarter fell 5%, to $6 billion. Total sales of automobiles declined 5%, to about 91,000 cars, an update to preliminary figures it released earlier this month.
Tesla appears to be weathering the pandemic better than some other automakers. In China, the world’s largest market for electric vehicles, the company has benefited from a new factory near Shanghai that began production late last year. The plant enables Tesla to avoid the tariffs China imposes on imported vehicles and has made its cars more affordable to Chinese consumers.
©2019 New York Times News Service
