Tesla posts 11th straight loss, revenue up
February 11, 2016
The Palo Alto-based electric car manufacturer reported a fourth quarter loss of $320 million (283.6 million euros) as revenue rose 27 percent to $1.2 billion, bringing yearly revenue to $4 billion with a loss of $889 million last year.
Tesla's stock, which has been battered by 40 percent this year, rose 9 percent in after-hours trading to $157 despite the poor earnings. The boost came from the announcement that its lower-priced Model 3 sedan would be unveiled in March and have a scheduled production start at the end of 2017.
The $35,000 sedan is about half the price of the Model S, a luxury vehicle, that has seen sales rise 76 percent in the fourth quarter to 17,272. Last year the company delivered 50,000 of the Model S, a jump of 60 percent from 2014.
Tesla's shares had fallen in recent days as investors voiced concern over delays of the Model S.
A shareholder letter said the company is seeing "growing worldwide demand for Tesla vehicles, supported by record production" and expects to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 Model S and Model X vehicles this year.
Tesla's new Model X SUV suffered difficulties ramping up production, but the company said it would deliver 1,000 SUVs per week by the second quarter. The price tag is $130,000.
The company is also making investments in battery technology and vehicle production.
"Achieving these results in 2016 should leave us well positioned for 2017, when we plan to launch Model 3 and take another significant step towards our mission of accelerating the world's transition to sustainable transportation," the company said in a letter.
cw/sms (AFP, AP)