Tesla overcomes Covid-19 shutdown to post surprise profit of $104 mn in Q2

Tesla overcame a seven-week pandemic-related shutdown at its US assembly plant to post a surprising $104 million net profit for the second quarter.

It was the company's fourth-straight positive quarter, qualifying it to be included in the S&P 500 index of corporate titans. A decision on that will be made later.

Local government restrictions forced the electric car and solar panel maker to close its only US assembly factory in Fremont, California, from March 23 to May 11.
 

The company paid roughly 10,000 workers for part of the shutdown and continued health care and other benefits.

Excluding one-time items such as $347 million in stock-based compensation, Tesla made $2.18 cents per share. That beat Wall Street estimates of a break-even quarter, according to FactSet.

Revenue was down 4.9 per cent from a year ago to $6.04 billion for the quarter. That still beat estimates of USD 5.15 billion.

The company said its progress in the first half of the year has positioned it for success in the second half as production output continues to improve.

Telsa also said it has picked a site for its second U.S. assembly plant, although the location wasn't released.

The Austin, Texas, area appeared to be the front-runner but Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a possibility.

The surprising profit, compared with a $408 million loss a year ago, pushed Tesla's shares up 5.1 per cent to $1,674.09 in after-hours trading.