Tesla reports profitable quarter despite missing on earnings in Q4

San Francisco, Jan 28 Electric car maker Tesla reported another profitable quarter as revenue hit $10.74 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 but the company missed analysts' estimates on earning.

Shares of the company were down five per cent hours after an earning call to discuss the results on Wednesday, CNBC reported.

The company reported earnings of 80 cents adjusted vs $1.03 per share expected, according to estimates compiled by Refinitiv.

In an earning call with analysts, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company delivered almost as many cars last year as it produced in its entire history.

In 2020, Tesla produced and delivered half a million vehicles. In addition, Model Y production in Shanghai has begun.

"So just to recap the year, 2020 was a defining year for us on many levels. Despite a challenging environment, we've reached an important milestone of producing and delivering 0.5 million cars," Musk said.

"So for the year so we achieved free cash flow of nearly $2.8 billion after spending more than $3 billion on building new factories and other expenditures," Musk said.

Tesla this year also registered its Indian subsidiary with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in Bengaluru on January 8.

"We built a Model Y factory in China from start to finish in one year. We're also building Giga Berlin and Giga Texas, which we expect to start production later this year. And lastly, we built a battery cell factory in the Bay Area," Musk said.

"And this even though it is a pilot plant, it is classy as - large enough that it would be in the probably the top 10 battery cell factories on earth, despite being a pilot plant," he added.

Musk also said all engineering work on the Tesla Semi, the freight-hauling semi truck that the company is building with an all-electric powertrain, is now complete.

The company expects to begin deliveries of Tesla Semi this year, it said.

"The main reason we have not accelerated new products - like for example Tesla Semi - is that we simply don't have enough cells for it," Musk said.

( With inputs from IANS )