TSLA $56.90

Huge gap up tomorrow after earnings release.

 

 

 

Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) said it earned $11.2 million in the first quarter of 2013 as deliveries of Model S electric vehicles lifted the maker of luxury electric cars to a quarterly profit for the first time in its history.

The company--which had reported a loss in every quarter since it public in 2010--said it recognized revenue from 4,900 Model S vehicles in the first quarter, up from the company's previous outlook for 4,500 cars in the quarter.

Shares of Tesla jumped 13.3% after-hours to trade recently at $63.21.

Revenues were $562 million, up from $30.2 million a year ago. Tesla posted a net loss of $89.9 million a year earlier.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is trying to become the first successful automotive startup in the U.S. since the 1920s. As recently as six months ago, the company was forced to sell shares to raise cash and avert a liquidity crisis. Also, Tesla had struggled with delayed deliveries from suppliers that slowed production.

Tesla said its production of Model S vehicles was 400 or more per week, for a total of more than 5,000 vehicles during the first quarter. The company has said it needs to produce at a rate of 20,000 vehicles a year to be profitable.

The company said it is receiving orders for more than 20,000 vehicles a year worldwide, and plans to build about 5,000 Model S vehicles in the second quarter. Tesla plans to deliver about 4,500 vehicles in the second quarter and deliver about 21,000 vehicles during 2013.

"2013 is off to a strong start," Tesla Chairman and Chief Executive Elon Musk and the company's chief financial officer, Deepak Ahuja, wrote in a letter to shareholders.

Tesla launched a new financing program earlier this year that guarantees the value of the Model S after three years, giving buyers the ability to trade in the vehicle to the company at a designated residual value.

The financing options are designed to make the car more affordable to a wider range of buyers, the company added.

Tesla reported first-quarter earnings of $11.2 million, or zero dollars or cents a share, on revenue of $562 million.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted quarterly earnings were $15 million, or 12 cents a share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of 4 cents a share on revenue of $500 million.

Gross margin was 17%, up from 8% in the fourth quarter.