Tesla reported earnings in the first quarter that easily surpassed expectations, with results aligning with the record deliveries reported by the electric vehicle maker during the first three months of 2021. However, the revenue for the first quarter came in slightly below expectations. Tesla achieved revenues of $10.39 billion during the first quarter, compared to the $10.42 billion that analysts predicted in a Bloomberg survey. Nonetheless, this figure was higher than the $5.99 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2020.
The company's quarterly net profit reached a record $438 million, benefiting from a positive impact of $101 million from Bitcoin sales during the quarter. The adjusted earnings per share were 93 cents, versus the expected 80 cents, and up from 23 cents in the same quarter last year.
This comes after Tesla reported earlier in April record deliveries in the first quarter totaling 184,800 vehicles, most of which were from the more expensive Model 3 and Model Y. The business results revealed late Monday evening indicated that the overall profit margins for vehicles unexpectedly rose by more than one percentage point to 26.5%, aided by cost reductions, which helped expand profitability even as sales of Tesla's lower-priced models vastly outperformed those of the higher-margin Model S and Model X.
In its message to shareholders, Tesla stated that it still plans to achieve an average annual growth rate of 50% in vehicle deliveries over several years. The company added, "In some years we may grow faster, which we expect will be the case in 2021, where the growth rate will depend on the capacity of our equipment, our operational efficiency, and our ability and stability of the supply chain."
Although Tesla does not break down deliveries or sales by geographic region, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives predicted that China will account for about 40% of Tesla's total global deliveries next year.
