On the call, Musk said the automaker’s sales volume should increase by its stated goal of 50 percent a year into the foreseeable future. Sales growth could hit 60 percent this year, reaching about 1.5 million vehicles globally, despite a temporary shutdown in China due to a coronavirus outbreak in recent weeks.
“We are already back up and running with the Shanghai factory,” said Musk, who described the first quarter as very difficult overall because of semiconductor shortages and rising costs.
Some parts suppliers have increased prices by 20 to 30 percent this year compared with last year, said Musk, who expects inflation to remain high through the rest of 2022.
He justified Tesla’s repeated price increases for its vehicles, saying the lag between ordering a Tesla and receiving it is up to a year and therefore must reflect future costs.
Tesla said net income and revenue surged after it delivered record vehicles at higher prices. Its global deliveries rose 68 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to 310,048, the company said.
The Automotive News Research & Data Center estimates Tesla delivered 110,000 cars and crossovers in the U.S. in the first quarter, up 42 percent from a year earlier.
Tesla posted first-quarter net income of $3.32 billion, compared with a profit of $438 million in the year-earlier period, according to Reuters. Revenue rose to $18.76 billion from $10.39 billion a year earlier.
Earnings per share and revenue exceeded Wall Street expectations. Tesla reported earnings per share of $2.86, while analysts expected $2.26. Revenue exceeded Wall Street forecasts by about $1 billion. Tesla’s stock rose by about 5 percent following its earnings report.
Tesla has been an outlier since the start of the pandemic, posting record deliveries and earnings for several quarters as rivals wrestled with global supply chain snarls and production halts.
Reuters contributed to this report.
