Electric-car maker Tesla Inc reported quarterly revenue that more than doubled and also trumped analysts' expectations, driven by record deliveries of its Model X sports utility vehicles and Model S sedans. Tesla, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, delivered 25,000 vehicles in the first quarter ended March 31, its highest since the carmaker went public in 2010, and a 69 percent increase from a year earlier.
The company also backed its target of launching its highly anticipated mass market Model 3 sedan later this year, and said the car was on track for initial production in July. Tesla is betting on the launch of its $35,000 Model 3 midsize sedan to help meet its goal of producing 500,000 cars annually in 2018. The Model 3 is expected to go on sale later this year in the United States.
The company said on Wednesday it expects year-to-date capital expenditures to be slightly over $2 billion by the time it starts Model 3 production. The company reiterated its forecast of delivering 47,000-50,000 Model S and Model X cars in the first half of 2017, a target it announced earlier this year. Analysts are expecting deliveries of 25,000 vehicles for the current quarter, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.
Tesla said it had $4.01 billion in cash and cash-equivalents as of March 31, compared with $3.39 billion at the end of the previous quarter. Tesla said net loss attributable to common shareholders widened to $330.3 million in the first quarter ended March 31, from $282.3 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, net loss narrowed to $2.04 per share from $2.13 per share.
Excluding items, the company lost $1.33 per share. Analysts on average had expected a loss of 81 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue more than doubled to $2.70 billion from $1.15 billion, and edged past analysts' average expectation of $2.62 billion.