Tesla continues to be on top of the automobile game after its blockbuster sales (driven by its Model Y and Model 3 electric vehicles) led the EV company to a record profit in the third quarter of the year. According to the third-quarter earnings and shareholders letter for Q3 2021, Tesla clocked a net income of $1.62 billion in the the quarter.
This comes as Elon Musk’s Boring (his infrastructure and tunnel construction services company) got the green light to expand its Vegas Loop throughout the city and offer a new transit solution (via Tesla vehicles through a network of tunnels) in Las Vegas. Now, the Loop will include 29 miles of tunnels and 51 stations.
This is the second time the company’s revenue surpassed the $1 billion mark in a single quarter and is a big increase from the $331 million it had clocked in the same period in 2020. Its stock dropped by 1.5% after hours.
Tesla produced a record 237,823 EVs and delivered 241,391 electric vehicles in the third quarter, 96% of which consisted of the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. 9275 vehicles consisted of the Model X and S vehicles.
While Tesla’s earnings per share (EPS) came at $1.86 (exceeding estimates of $1.59), its revenue surged to $13.76 billion (surpassing the estimate of $13.63 billion), an increase of a 56% increase from $8.77 billion in the same period last year and 15% from the $11.96 billion recorded in Q2 2021. Its operating income grew from $809 million in 2020 to $2 billion in Q3 2021.
Tesla also recorded gross margins of 30.5% on its automotive business and 26.6% overall. Revenue from automotive came at $12.06 billion ($279 million of which comes from the sale of regulatory credits) while costs of automotive revenue came at $8.38 billion for Q3 2021. Revenue from its energy business came at $806 million, while services and other revenue (which includes vehicle maintenance and repairs, auto insurance, and sales of Tesla-branded merchandise) generated $894 billion.
“The third quarter of 2021 was a record quarter in many respects. We achieved our best-ever net income, operating profit, and gross profit. Additionally, we reached an operating margin of 14.6%, exceeding our medium-term guidance of “operating margin in low-teens,” the company said.
In its shareholder’s letter, Tesla noted that its cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter amounted to $16.1 billion, driven mainly by net debt and finance lease repayments of $1.5 billion, partially offset by the free cash flow of $1.3 billion. Additionally, its total debt, excluding vehicle and energy product financing, decreased to $2.1 billion at the end of the third quarter.
This comes even as challenges such as the global shortage of semiconductors, congestion at ports, and rolling blackout had “been impacting our ability to keep factories running at full speed.” Despite these challenges, Tesla aims to achieve annual growth of 50% in vehicle deliveries.
