Tesla Still Suffering Losses But Sales and Revenue Up

TeslaTeslaUnited States of America, 2003 > present4 models
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fourth quarter 2012 financial results show the first chances of profitability for the company soon, but it still lost money for the quarter.

Tesla’s revenue was up over seven times to $306.3 million for the fourth quarter, compared to $39.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Deliveries were also up to 2,400 Model SVolkswagen Volkswagen Caravelle Gen.1 [T3]Germany, 1980 > 19901 Version
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cars for just the fourth quarter, which is a major improvement over the 250 Model S units that were sold in the first three quarters of 2012 combined.

The downside to the growth is that it did not lead to profitability. Tesla had a net loss in the fourth quarter of $89.9 million, compared to $81.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

For the entire year of 2012, Tesla had a net loss of $392.2 million and net revenue of $385.7 million.

CEO Elon Musk says that he is “cautiously optimistic” that Tesla will have its first profitable quarter in the first quarter of 2013 because the company is finally fully up and running and has hit its target production rate. Musk had previously said that he did not believe that the company would be profitable until later in 2013.

According to Musk, Tesla has back orders for the Model S amounting to 15,000 cars, but it is currently building 400 cars a week, which means all of the current orders should be filled by the end of the third quarter.

In addition to increasing production, Tesla plans to increase its dealer network to 52 stores by the end of the year.

Source: Automotive News Europe