Tesla reports $1B profit for quarter for first time
Tesla’s quarterly profit has surpassed $1 billion for the first time thanks to the electric car pioneer’s ability to navigate through a pandemicdriven computer chip shortage that has caused major headaches for other automakers.
The financial milestone announced Monday extended a two-year run of prosperity that has erased questions about Tesla’s long-term viability raised during its early years of losses and production problems.
The Palo Alto, California, company earned $1.1 billion, or $1.02 per share, in the April-june period. That was more than 10 times its profit at the same time last year. Revenue nearly doubled from last year to about $12 billion.
Adjusted to exclude one-time times items, Tesla earned $1.45 a share in the latest quarter, easily topping the 94 cents expected by Wall Street analysts, according to Factset. Tesla now boasts a market value of roughly $630 billion, far more than any other automaker.
Tesla’s momentum could still be slowed by a persisting shortage of chips that have become vital parts in modern cars. While other major automakers had to dramatically curtail production during the first half, Tesla so far has been able to secure an adequate supply of chips to churn out vehicles at the fastest rate in its history.
During a Monday conference call,
Tesla CEO Elon Musk described the chip shortage as still being “quite serious,” making it difficult to plan for the second half of the year.