Tesla Motors Q3 Profit Rises

(RTTNews) - Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) Wednesday reported a third-quarter profit that surged from a year ago and beat Wall Street estimates, driven by a 56% jump in revenues. However, revenues fell shy of analysts' expectations.

Palo Alto, California-based Tesla reported third-quarter profit of $3.29 billion or $0.95 per share, up from $1.62 billion or $0.48 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $3.65 billion or $1.05 per share, up from $2.09 billion or $0.62 per share last year. On average, 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.99 per share for the quarter.

The electric car maker's revenues for the quarter surged 56% to $21.45 billion from $13.76 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $21.96 billion.

Tesla said revenue growth was driven by growth in vehicle deliveries, growth in other parts of the business and increased average selling price.

Tesla produced 365,923 vehicles and delivered 343,830 vehicles in the third quarter, up from 237,823 vehicles and delivered 241,391 vehicles last year. It delivered 325,148 units of its Model 3 and Model Y, along with 18,672 units of its Model S and Model X.

Looking forward, Tesla said it expects to grow manufacturing capacity as quickly as possible. The company expects to achieve 50% average annual growth in vehicle deliveries.

TSLA closed Wednesday's trading at $222.04, up $1.85 or 0.84%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, slipped $8.06 or 3.63% in the after-hours trading.