Thursday 1 March 2012

Tesla's Net Loss Widens, But Company Expects Revenue To Increase Dramatically In 2012

Tesla Motors projects that its revenue will increase in the second half of 2012 as production and sales of the Tesla Model S are expected to outpace the automaker's now-extinct Roadster. Though the carmaker lost money last year, CEO Elon Musk told reporters last week that his company is fully capitalized and ready to meet its production goals without raising any additional funds.
Late last week, Tesla announced that its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $81.5 million, compared to $51.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Still, the company's annual revenue beat the street's predictions. The automaker reported annual net revenue of $204.2 million in 2011, where analysts had projected $203.5 million. That's nearly a 75-percent increase over Tesla's reported annual revenue of $116.7 million in 2010.
Tesla attributes last year's losses to nearly $200 million in capital expenditures, which were spent readying the carmaker's Fremont, California production facility to build the Model S. Tesla now predicts that annual revenue for 2012 may soar to $600 million, with 90 percent of the money expected to come in the second half of the year, when the Model S goes on sale.
During a conference call, Tesla chief executive officer, Elon Musk, stated "The bulk of 2012 revenue is Model S-related." Tesla aims to sell up to 5,000 Model S electric sedans by the end of 2012. But until Model S deliveries commence, Tesla's main revenue source is supply deals with Toyota and Daimler.
Tesla concluded last week's conference call by announcing that it had struck a deal with Daimler to develop an entire electric powertrain, including battery packs, motors, electronic controls and software for an upcoming Mercedes-Benz vehicle. Musk didn't elaborate on the Daimler deal, but did state, "I do expect that this will be significant, probably more significant than the sum of all deals we've done with Daimler to date."

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