Tesla fights pandemic, rides sales jump to 1st annual profit
Riding a sales surge amid a global pandemic, Tesla Inc. on Wednesday posted its first annual net profit last year as its stock soared to make it the world’s most valuable automaker.
The electric vehicle and solar panel maker earned $721 million for the year and $270 million in the fourth quarter. It was the company’s sixth straight quarterly net profit after years of mostly losses.
A year earlier, Tesla lost $862 million. Data provider FactSet says that capped a string of annual red ink that began in 2006.
Once again the company needed regulatory credits purchased by other automakers in order to make a profit. Without $1.3 billion in credits for the year, Tesla would have lost money.
