US$16m profit for Tesla

Tesla has announced a US$16 million profit for the first quarter of 2020.

It’s the third consecutive profitable quarter for the company which is doing well despite the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that led to factory stoppages in China and the US.

Tesla expects to remain on target to deliver 500,000 vehicles worldwide this year and says the Model Y it started shipping in the same quarter is already making the company money, the “first time in [Tesla’s] history that a new product has been profitable in its first quarter”.

However, Tesla has delayed its Semi truck launch until 2021 to concentrate on products with wider appeal.

The EV maker posted US$5.985 billion in revenue, ahead of Wall Street estimates, in results released after stock market trading on April 29.

Tesla managed to deliver 88,400 vehicles and produce over 102,000, comprised of 76,200 Model 3 and Model Y and 12,200 Model S and X, Teslarati reports.

Tesla stock rose 70% year to date and the company increased its cash by US$1.8 billion, pushing its total cash to around US$8.1b, partly due to a US$2.3b capital raise in the first quarter.

Tesla Energy’s solar panels, Powerwall battery storage sales and its Megapack are going good too.

The Shanghai Gigafactory 3 in China is back in production after an early pandemic restriction related shutdown.

However, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is concerned the company won’t be able to resume production soon at its Fremont factory in the San Francisco Bay Area after a shelter-in-place order there was extended to May 31, The Verge reports.

Tesla Australia has meanwhile just announced Active Launch Mode with Cheetah Stance is available for the Model S.