Elon Musk's optimistic forecast for Tesla's electric car deliveries to grow by 2025 sent the company's stock soaring 22% to $260.48 a share on Thursday, CNBC reports. Exceeding the expectations of analysts and investors, this day has become the best for the company in the last 11 years.
While Tesla's third-quarter revenue came in at $25.18 billion, slightly below forecasts of $25.37 billion, it was up 8% year-over-year. Earnings per share came in at 72 cents, beating expectations of 58 cents. Analysts at JPMorgan noted that "this surprise increase in earnings could lead to an overall positive reaction to Tesla shares," given that investors are used to frequent discrepancies in the company's forecasts.
But the increase in Tesla's profits was partly due to income from environmental credits, which brought the company $739 million. Analysts at JPMorgan warn that this source of revenue could be unsustainable in the long term because such loans are bought by other automakers that cannot meet environmental regulations, and Tesla, which only makes electric cars, has a surplus of these loans. :
Another factor that positively affected Tesla's profits was the introduction of the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, which brought the company $326 million in revenue. Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said the FSD system has become available for use in the new Cybertruck, along with a new feature to summon the car from a parking lot called Actually Smart Summon.
According to the head of Tesla, in 2025 the company expects a 20-30% increase in car production thanks to more affordable models and self-driving electric cars. At the same time, Deutsche Bank analysts are more cautious, expecting a 10-15% increase in supply (about 2.03 million units). They believe that Tesla will only be able to achieve these goals by introducing more affordable models, such as the $30,000 budget Model Y (including subsidies).
Morgan Stanley estimate is 14%. The company considers Musk's prediction of an increase in car production to 2025 "possible". "This, of course, depends on the company's ability to increase the availability of lower-priced (next-generation) models and offer improved features," the company said.
Musk also said he plans to start production of the new Cybercab robotaxi by the end of 2026, which has guillotine-like doors and is steered without a steering wheel or pedals. He also plans to launch a self-driving taxi service in California and Texas next year, although at the moment such vehicles require the presence of a driver to control the situation.
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