
To help sustain consumer appetite, the company said it is preparing new batteries and other enhancements for the Model S - which it began delivering nearly a decade ago - and for the more than five-year-old Model X. Production is set to resume before April, Tesla said.
"It will also make it easier having a factory in Berlin and one in Texas, just from a logistics standpoint", Musk said at the earning calls earlier on Thursday (Australian time).
Under Musk's leadership, Tesla significantly expanded its footprint in 2020, bucking a pandemic and economic upheaval with steady sales and profitable quarters at a time when many carmakers reported losses.
The company said it expects annual average delivery growth of 50% going forward.
"We think that reflects the shift from premium Model S and X vehicles to lower priced Model 3s and Model Ys", he said. "However, other analysts â€" including those at UBS â€" say production at those new facilities may be limited depending on their full completion dates.
Recording a $US270 million profit, equal to 24 cents per share, up on 2019's fourth-quarter profit of $US105 million, or 11 cents per share, Tesla also reported a 46% increase in revenue to $US10.74 billion, thanks to "substantial growth in vehicle deliveries". The company topped Wall Street's revenue expectation of about $31.1 billion, according to FactSet, though it missed profit estimates. Once Tesla's so-called Full Self-Driving technology emerges from its initial "beta" stage and offers truly driverless capability by the end of 2021, he said, revenue from robotaxis could justify the company's current stock market value of almost $900 billion.
Ives, who has a price target of 950 for Tesla stock, says he believes 40% or more of its sales will come from China by 2022.
Google Plans For Flexible Work Week After 2021 Return To Offices
The company said it was creating in-office presentation booths for sending professional-quality broadcasts to groups online. Employees who spend lots of time with customers, or work in data centers and labs are those who will not be affected.
Check out the full press release on the official Tesla Investors Relations website for more info.
Net income excluding share-based compensation payouts to Mr. Musk rose to US$903-million from US$386-million a year ago, falling short of average analyst expectations for a US$1.08-billion quarterly profit, according to data from Refinitiv. The company has defied skeptics by achieving sustained income growth and been rewarded with a record stock price and placement on the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
Tesla said that 2020 was a "critical year" for the company but 2021 "will be even more important" as the company escalates output at its China factory and targets first production at new plants now being built in Germany and the USA state of Texas.
But within the auto industry, the race is now on to develop electric vehicles to meet emissions targets and challenge Tesla's market lead. Tesla Semi deliveries will also begin in 2021.
But Tesla also faces increased competition from incumbent auto makers such as General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. and a fleet of startups that are developing their own plug-in models, including in China.
But Nelson described Tesla's cost of capital advantage over other automakers as "enviable". Only the headline has been changed.