Tesla: Elon Musk’s EV giant reports better-than-expected profit as shares soar

Elon Musk’s Tesla recorded its biggest single-day gain in over a decade after closed up nearly 22 per cent on the NASDAQ on Thursday.

This comes as the world’s largest electric vehicle maker reported higher than expected quarterly profit after it reported $2.2bn (£1.82bn) profit for July to September, after back-to-back disappointing quarters.

The Texas-based company saw its revenue rise to $25.18bn (£19.89bn), up eight percent from $23.35bn (£18.45bn) from the same period last year.

Tesla’s stated that its strong earnings were driven in large part by revenue from sources other than vehicle sales, such as charging services, sales of storage batteries, and sales of carbon emissions credits to other carmakers.

While operating expenses fell 6 per cent to $2.3bn (£1.82bn), this comes after the company cut around 14,000 jobs earlier this year.

Commenting on its results, the company said “despite ongoing macroeconomic conditions, we expect to achieve slight growth in vehicle deliveries in 2024.”

“Plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025,” it added.

This comes as most analysts were bracing for a slight dip in earnings per share compared to last year, after the Robotaxi flop.

The results came after Tesla’s Robotaxi event, where the automaker showcased its vision for a self-driving “Cybercab” at Warner Bros Studios.

But the light-on-detail event that offered little clarity around the economics and scalability of the fleet underwhelmed investors, sending Tesla shares down nearly nine per cent.