Tesla Inc. reported its second-consecutive quarterly profit and said plans for the Model Y crossover launch are ahead of schedule.
The electric-vehicle maker said it earned a net profit of $105 million in the final three months of 2019, which followed a surprise third-quarter profit that kick-started a meteoric rise in the company's shares.
Net income during the latest period fell 25 percent from the fourth quarter of 2018, when Tesla reported a $139.5 million net profit. The latest profit was aided by $133 million in sales from regulatory credits, up 40 percent from the same period a year ago.
Total revenue in the quarter rose 2 percent to $7.4 billion, with automotive revenue rising 1 percent to $6.4 billion.
"2019 was a turning point for Tesla," the automaker said in a statement. "We demonstrated strong organic demand for Model 3, returned to GAAP profitability in [the second half] and generated $1.1 billion of free cash flow for the year. We achieved strong cash generation through persistent cost control across the business."
The company has tightened cost controls while investing in a new factory in Shanghai, a Semi truck, an electric pickup truck, a new generation of the Tesla Roadster and automated driving features.
The company said fourth-quarter operating expenses rose less than 1 percent to $1.03 billion.
Tesla reported record fourth-quarter deliveries of 112,095, including more than 92,000 Model 3 sedans. Tesla said it “should comfortably exceed 500,000 deliveries" in 2020 and expects “limited volumes of Tesla Semi this year.”
"For most of 2019, nearly all orders came from new buyers that did not hold a prior reservation, demonstrating significant reach beyond those who showed early interest," the company said. "Amazingly, this was accomplished without any spend on advertising."
The company said 2019 revenue growth was aided by higher deliveries, offset by increased lease mix, additional Model 3 sales and adjustments to vehicle prices.
"These changes have resulted in a reduction to the average selling price relative to 2018," Tesla said. "We do not expect average selling prices to change significantly in the near term, which means volume growth and revenue growth should correlate more closely this year."
Tesla's shares jumped in after-hours trading, rising more than 12 percent to more than $650 a share.
Model Y output started this month at the company's Fremont, Calif., plant and deliveries are expected to begin by late March, Tesla said.
“The Model Y’s design might not have broken the internet like the Cybertruck did during its unveil, but with its competitive pricing and range, it has the potential to be Tesla’s best-selling vehicle and is paramount to the company’s long term success,” Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds, said in a statement.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the Model Y could outsell the Model 3, Model S and Model X combined.
Tesla generated free cash flow of $1 billion in the fourth quarter, although capital expenditures rose due to investment in a new Shanghai assembly plant and Model Y output in Fremont.
The automaker’s cash on hand rose by $930 million during the quarter to $6.3 billion.
Self-driving rollout
In an earnings call with investors late Wednesday, Musk claimed the company’s “full self-driving” technology will be ready in a few months, after previously predicting it could be ready by the end of 2019.
He said the technology would “have some chance” of taking a passenger from work to home without any interventions.
Analysts have pinned optimistic targets for Tesla's stock price largely on the potential of the company’s self-driving technology.
Musk noted demand for the Cybertruck had been “incredible” and that Tesla would sell as many as it could make for a number of years, although he declined to provide details.
A key to increasing vehicle production, he said, is the automaker’s ability to increase battery cell output. He said Tesla will host a “battery day” around April to discuss those plans more in-depth.
Is a van next?
While Tesla posted record deliveries in 2019, demand for some of its older vehicles appears to be waning.
Model S and Model X deliveries fell 29 percent last year.
However, Musk said Tesla continues to update the Model S sedan and that its range would soon top 400 miles, up from the 373-mile range currently listed.
He also hinted it would “probably” make sense to one day build a “minivan or Sprinter-like van.”
Apro il topic su Tesla a seguito di due importanti notizie riguardo il costruttore californiano.
1) Pochi giorni fa testo una a superato la capitalizzazione di VW sfondando il muro di 100 miliardi di dollari. Attualmente Tesla è il secondo gruppo automobilistico di maggior valore al mondo dopo Toyota. C’è da chiedersi su quali basi ci sia questa valutazione. Vw Produce quasi 11 milioni di auto e contando le consociate cinesi raggiunge 22 miliardi di utile operativo mentre Tesla è super indebitata e sono in alcuni casi riesce a raggiungere la redditività. La borsa però spesso guarda anche in avanti, sicuramente c’è stato un significativo miglioramento delle vendite e delle prospettive per Tesla. La casa californiana ha superato le 450.000 Unità consegnate nel 2019, Il lancio di nuovi prodotti è stato meno incidentato del solito e sono addirittura in anticipo per il lancio della model Y. Hanno da poco aperto la fabbrica cinese e si apprestano entro tre anni ad aprire una fabbrica in Germania. Tesla gonfia i propri bilanci anche grazie ai crediti per la riduzione del CO2, in un arco di tre anni FCA pagherà la casa americana più di 2 miliardi di dollari mentre GM ne pagherà uno. Entro un anno verrà lanciato il pick-up e successivamente arriverà anche un minivan. La Model Y è praticamente sul mercato
2)Tesla è riuscita a mantenere il profitto per due trimestri consecutivi e ciò ha spinto in alto le quotazioni di borsa. Molti shortisti hanno perso miliardi di euro per scommettere contro Tesla.Alcuni analisti prevedono che testo da riuscirà per il 2020 ad essere sempre in nero.
Adesso ci sono due principali sfide che Tesla deve affrontare. In primo luogo bisogna osservare come si svilupperanno le vendite della casa americana quando arriveranno sul mercato auto elettriche da parte dei costruttori tradizionali. Fino ad adesso modelli come Jaguar I Pace, Mercedes EQC ed Audi E Tron non hanno praticamente scalfito l’ aura di Tesla. Caso diverso per la Porsche Taycan che sta rubando molti clienti alla model S. Secondo alcuni analisti Tesla potrebbe avere il suo cosiddetto “momento Apple” per cui gli automobilisti comprano il prodotto Tesla pagandolo di più e senza tener conto del valore intrinseco dell’auto e di concorrenti.
Pezzo da deve anche continuare a progredire nel ridurre la difettosità dei suoi modelli e progredire nella crescita dei volumi in modo da avere una massa critica.
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