Tesla’s healthy earnings
Model 3. © Tesla.
Following a rough patch caused by CEO Elon Musk’s series of bad PR moves, Tesla finally has some good news: it’s in the black. Last Wednesday, the electric car manufacturer published its quarterly returns, unveiling revenues of close to 6.8 billion dollars, far more than the forecast 6.33 billion. It also recorded a net profit of 312 million dollars, compared to its 619 million dollar loss this time last year. The turnaround is driven by surging production of the Model 3. In terms of units sold in the US, the Model 3 comes in fifth place behind Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla. It’s the highest-grossing car, at a little over 3 billion USD. The Toyota Camry retails at between 24,000 and 29,000 USD, while the average sale price for a Model 3 is 59,000 USD. The Model 3 has captured 76% of sales for pure electric vehicles, but it won’t be long before the big manufacturers enter that market, putting up tougher competition.
⇨ Tesla, “Tesla third quarter 2018 update (PDF).”
⇨ Quartz, “Tesla’s latest earnings report comes in a profitable shade of black.”