Tesla’s profit and Model Y arrival send stock price soaring past US$600
- Stock has more than doubled since a surprise profit in October and plan for China factory, despite being most-shorted among US stocks
- The timing of Model Y crossover “is going to send the bulls falling off their chairs,” Wedbush analyst says
Tesla delivered a second straight quarter of blowout earnings and speedy execution, extending an unprecedented surge for its stock to the dismay of short sellers.
The record revenue Tesla reported on Wednesday beat estimates and carried the company to its fourth profit in the last six quarters. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk again accelerated the introduction of the new Model Y crossover, saying deliveries will start by March, months earlier than initially planned.
Tesla soared as much as 14 per cent to almost $660 after the close of regular trading. The shares, which reclaimed the title of most-shorted American stock earlier this month, had already more than doubled since Musk reported a surprise profit in October and divulged the imminent opening of a new plant in China.
“The short story is eroding,” said Gene Munster, managing partner of the venture capital firm Loup Ventures. He credited Musk for becoming a “quiet assassin” and sees Tesla having a clearer path to profitability.
Musk has turned a corner from years of over-promising and under-delivering, vaulting Tesla past Volkswagen to become the second-most valuable automaker in the world, behind only Toyota Motor.
Investors have rewarded him for building a commanding lead over rival manufacturers that have been slow to embrace an electric future and abandon the more than century-old internal-combustion engine.
The 48-year-old billionaire has thus far disproved predictions that Tesla will struggle to compete with the impending arrival of electric vehicles from established automakers. The Model 3 was the only EV consumers bought in significant volumes last year in the US. In Europe, it was the third-best seller among all models in December.