Production of the crossover SUV slowed for a time.
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According to the company’s quarterly financial statement, it made $1.75 billion in revenue in Q4 2015 (or $1.21 billion according to GAAP standards, which treat leased vehicles differently), and $5.29 billion (or $405 billion, GAAP) for the 2015 year as a whole.
The loss for full-year 2015 came despite a rise in full-year revenues to $4.0 billion, compared with revenues of $3.2 billion in 2014. The microblogging company’s total monthly active users (MAUs) were 320 million, unchanged from the previous quarter. The company’s cash burn has become a concern for some analysts, given the heavy capital spending it has mapped out. Last year, the automaker sold 50,580 units, and it has given a guidance of 80,000 units this year.
Despite the upbeat forecast, Tesla’s latest earnings report included several red flags. Tesla cars or any other electric or hybrid models have received a $7,500 tax credit, which is not something new.
The M3 will be Tesla’s first real mass market product.
Additional state incentives would knock the price down further in more than a dozen states, including an additional $6,000 in Colorado and $2,500 in California, Massachusetts, and Tennessee.
CEO Elon Musk said he’s not anxious about competition from the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt, which will have a similar price tag and range and will go on sale at one year before the Model 3. “So I do think there is some hubris there with the X”.
Tesla’s trying to make a vehicle that’s right for everyone’s wallet. It plans to achieve gross margin of 30% by the end of year for Model S, while margins for Model X are expected to reach 25% with continued improvement in 2017. The company reports its third-quarter results today after the close, Investor’s Business Daily reported. The rosy outlook has managed to push Tesla shares significantly higher (over 13 percent, as of this writing) in after-hours trading, despite the earnings miss, and despite a malaise on the stock that has sent it tumbling in recent weeks. The company in the past has overestimated its delivery projections, and demand for electric cars may be sluggish if gas stays stubbornly cheap. The market, overall, dropped 1 percent; Tesla Model S climbed 51 percent.
“It’s really rare to see situations like this”, Musk said. That’s going to make for an interesting challenge for not only Tesla, but all EV makers.
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Tesla said it will unveil the much-anticipated $35,000 auto on March 31 and expects to start production at the end of 2017.
