In the first quarter ended March 31, Tesla reported sales of $18.76 billion, up from $10.39 billion in the same period a year earlier. Elon Musk’s group fared better than expectations, which were 17.8 billion. After a bad day on Wall Street, electric car stocks rallied in After Hours, rising above the $1,000 a share mark. These excellent results are due to the record of cars delivered.
The Profit Explosion
In the first quarter, Tesla reported net income of $3.32 billion, or $2.86 per share, up from $438 million, or $0.39 per share, a year ago. Analysts had expected earnings of $2.26 a share. Revenue increased by 81%, with EV production capacity expanding rapidly despite ongoing supply chain issues. Strong earnings follow the opening of two new plants during the quarter in Germany and the US state of Texas; this development compensated for the temporary closure of the Chinese factory due to Covid-19. Tesla raised prices in China, the United States and other countries and explained that chip shortages and recent Covid-19 outbreaks have taken a toll on the supply chain and assets, while prices for some commodities have increased several times in recent months.
Unused production capacity
The inflationary impact on our cost structure has contributed to price adjustments for our products, despite our continued focus on reducing our manufacturing costs wherever possible, the company said in a statement. Factories have been running below capacity for several quarters as the supply chain has become the main limiting factor, and this will likely continue for the rest of 2022. Production restarted recently will continue to monitor the situation closely.
The car market crisis in Europe continues
These results are part of the context of difficulties in the car market that continue to be evident, especially in Europe. In fact, in March, the European four-wheel market recorded its ninth consecutive decline. With 1 million and 127 thousand new registrations, the drop was 18.8% compared to the previous month. In the quarter, the decline was 10.6%, with a total of 2.75 million cars delivered. Spain (-30.2%), Italy (-29.7%) and France (-19.5%) were the worst performing markets in March. Electricity, however, represented 20.5% of total sales. As for producers, for Stellantis the drop was 30.3% with a reduced market share to 18.1%.