Model S electric sedan from Tesla Motors. Image credit: Tesla
Tesla Motors may have just reported first quarter losses of US$89.9m, but the electric car maker also saw its shares jump yesterday after it said that it expects to start deliveries of its new all-electric Model S to US customers in June, earlier than planned.
In its Q1 shareholder letter, Tesla yesterday reported that its Q1 revenues were US$30.2m. The Palo Alto-based company, which was founded by Elon Musk, is nearing the end of its sales of the Roadster sports cars.
Tesla reported a first-quarter net loss of US$89.9m, or 86 cents per share, compared to US$48.9m or 51 cents per share for the same quarter last year.
Tesla said that total Roadster deliveries now exceed 2,250. The company said that there are only about 250 Roadsters remaining for sale in Europe and Asia.
It said that has delivered 99 Roadsters in the quarter. According to the company, unit deliveries are up 10pc from a year ago in Europe and Asia, combined.
Tesla said that its non-GAAP net loss for the quarter was US$79m, or $0.76 cents per share.
But on Wall Street yesterday, Tesla’s stock rose 5.7pc in after-hours trading, after closing at US$30.06 on the Nasdaq. The reason for this share rise appears to be down to the fact that Tesla said the Model S would now be available in June, ahead of its former July launch date.
Tesla also touched on its recent agreement with Daimler to create an entire electric powertrain for a new Mercedes-Benz EV.
Fancy splashing out on a Roadster? Tesla says there are only about 250 Roadsters remaining for sale in Europe and Asia. Image credit: Tesla
But just how many customers in the US are queueing up to buy the Model S electric sedan? The car has a base price tag of around US$49,900, after a US$7,500 federal tax credit.
According to Tesla it has topped 10,000 reservations for the Model S in the US.
Plus the company has just signed an agreement with Athlon Car Lease to introduce Model S to corporate customers across Europe.
Its lease programme with Athlon covers countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Tesla said that so far so far this year it has built about 50 beta and about 30 release candidate prototypes of the Model S.
“We plan to continue making customer deliveries on a slow, methodical ramp, and remain confident in our target of 5,000 vehicle deliveries by year end,” said the company yesterday.
And its Model S has now been fully certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of California.
