The Austin, Texas, company made $5.5 billion last year
compared with the previous record of $3.47 billion in net income posted in
2020. It was the third straight profitable year for the maker of electric
vehicles and solar panels.
In a letter to shareholders, Tesla said 2021 was a
breakthrough year for the company. “There should no longer be doubt about the
viability and profitability of electric vehicles,” the letter said.
Tesla made $2.32 billion in the fourth quarter. Excluding
special items such as stock-based compensation, the company made $2.54 a share.
That beat Wall Street expectations of $2.36 a share. Revenue for the quarter
was $17.72 billion, also ahead of analysts' estimates of $17.13 billion,
according to FactSet.
Of the revenue number, $314 million came from selling
regulatory credits to other automakers to meet government pollution standards.
That number has been a smaller percentage of revenue for multiple quarters.
Tesla delivered a record 936,000 vehicles last year, nearly
double the 2020 figure. Fourth-quarter vehicle sales hit 308,600, also a
record. Tesla said it expects 50% annual growth in vehicle deliveries “over a
multiyear horizon.”
The company said its factories have been running below their
capacity for several quarters, limited mainly by supply chain constraints that
are likely to continue through this year.
It also said Chief Executive Elon Musk was awarded $245
million in the fourth quarter because he reached some operational milestones in
his compensation package.
Tesla said it started building Model Y SUVs late last year
at its new factory near Austin. After final certification, it plans to start
delivering them to customers. The company said it’s testing equipment at its
new factory in Germany and is still trying to get a manufacturing permit from
local authorities. It still lists the Cybertruck electric pickup as “in
development.” It was supposed to go on the market last year.
“Officially cutting the red ribbon on Austin and Berlin over
the coming months will be key as more supply comes online for Tesla with demand
currently outstripping supply,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a note to
investors.
The company said it was able to drive cost reductions in the
final quarter of the year, as well as grow vehicle sales. But it faced rising
raw-material, commodity and logistics costs as well as increased warranty and
recall expenses.
It said that “Full Self-Driving” software is now being
tested on public roads by owners in nearly 60,000 vehicles in the U.S. The
system was in about 2,000 in the third quarter, Tesla said. The software, which
costs $12,000 and cannot yet drive on its own, is a primary area of focus for
the company and should accelerate Tesla's profitability, the company said.
Tesla's shares closed Wednesday up 2% at $937.41. In
extended trading, the stock initially tumbled after the earnings were announced
but recovered to a small decline.
Ives said the stock was down because of the company's
caution about supply chain weakness through this year.
“This is prudent caution,” he said. “The Street is
hyper-sensitive to any supply chain worries."
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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