2:51 pm, July 23, 2020
Electric car trailblazer Tesla has reported its fourth quarterly profit in succession.
In the three months to June 30, Tesla earned $104m (£82m), putting it on track to be included in the S&P 500 stock market index.
It’s the fourth quarter in succession the company has returned a profit – the first time in its 17-year history.
Owner Elon Musk (pictured) put the profit down to salary cuts, Tesla’s new factory opening in China.
According to The Times, Musk said: ‘Our business has shown strong resilience during these unprecedented times. Despite the closure of our main factory in Freemont for nearly half of the quarter, we posted our fourth sequential profit… while generating positive free cashflow of $418m.’
Tesla built 82,272 cars and delivered 90,560 to customers in the quarter – down five per cent on Q2 2019, hitting revenue which fell five per cent to $6bn.
For perspective, American powerhouse General Motors has reported sales being down by more than 30 per cent.
Tesla’s share price now tops more than $1,550, up from $430 at the beginning of the year, fuelling debate the firm is overvalued, said BBC News.
Tesla overtook Toyota as the world’s most valuable car company earlier this month – a far cry from its early days when losses were posted every year.
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