Nfter Elon Musk recently got himself into the conversation, above all with his takeover bid for Twitter, the electric car manufacturer Tesla, which he manages, is now moving into the spotlight again. On Wednesday after the market closed, the company reported another record profit for the first quarter. The events surrounding Twitter were completely left out. On a conference call, no analyst asked questions about the topic, and Musk didn’t bring it up himself.
The numbers were generally better than expected, and the share price at times rose more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Tesla stock has previously lost more than 15 percent since the start of the year. The company still has a market value of more than one trillion dollars. It exceeded this threshold for the first time last autumn.
Net income of $3.3 billion
Overall, Tesla reported net income of $3.3 billion for the first three months. This significantly exceeded the previous record of $2.3 billion from the final quarter of 2021. Earnings per share of $3.22 were nearly a dollar higher than analysts had expected. Revenue rose 81 percent to $18.8 billion.
Tesla delivered around 310,000 cars last quarter, up 68 percent year-on-year. This was achieved even though the company, like many of its competitors, suffers from bottlenecks in its supply chain. It says it has not been able to operate at full capacity at its plants for several quarters and will continue to do so through the end of the year.
Manufacturing in Shanghai restarts
Recently, Tesla also had to temporarily close its factory in Shanghai due to corona restrictions. Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn said manufacturing had started up again on a limited scale, and the shutdown would cost Tesla a month’s production volume. Musk was confident that he could still produce more than 1.5 million vehicles this year. Last year, Tesla delivered 936,000 cars.
The automaker is currently rapidly expanding its production network in order to maintain its market-leading position in an increasingly competitive environment. In March, it opened its first European plant in Grünheide, Brandenburg, and just under two weeks ago, another production facility in Austin, Texas, officially went into operation. The location in Austin is the second in Tesla’s American home market after the main plant in California.
Musk with bold goals
Musk also discussed upcoming new products on the conference call. Tesla is currently working on a robot taxi that has neither a steering wheel nor brake and accelerator pedals. The aim is to start series production of the vehicle in 2024. Of course, Tesla is notorious for often falling well short of the timelines specified by Musk. The “semi” truck that he once promised for 2019 is still not on the market. According to Musk’s latest information, he should come next year. The Tesla boss also reiterated on Wednesday that he is targeting serial production of the Cybertruck pickup truck by 2023.
Even off schedule, Musk set out bold goals for the robotic taxi. It will provide users with the cheapest per-mile transportation option they have ever had, costing less than a subsidized bus or subway ticket.
Musk also revisited the “Tesla Bot,” a humanoid robot he first unveiled last summer that he also calls “Optimus.” He said the public has so far failed to recognize its potential. He said he “strongly believes” that the Optimus program will one day be worth more than Tesla’s auto business. According to Tesla, the robot should take on “dangerous, monotonous and boring tasks”. Musk has described it as an antidote to staffing shortages, and has said Tesla plans to use it in its own manufacturing first.
Tesla used to owe its profits entirely to its highly profitable emission point sideline. The company gets these credits from governments for the production of electric cars and then sells them to competitors, which help them meet government emissions regulations. In the end, however, this business only accounted for a comparatively small part of the profit. In the first quarter it was $679 million.
Musk made a bid to buy Twitter about a week ago, offering more than $40 billion. The online platform has so far resisted the takeover attempt and has announced a so-called “poison pill” that would make the project significantly more expensive for the Tesla boss. Musk may be the richest person in the world, but it’s unclear that he could fund the acquisition, given that most of his wealth is tied to Tesla stock. Recently, American media reported that there are financial investors who could participate in a takeover.
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