Tesla's Q1 revenue doubles to $2.7 bn, net loss widens

Had $4.01 bn as of March 31, compared with $3.39 bn at the end of previous quarter

Electric-car maker Tesla Inc reported quarterly revenue that more than doubled and also trumped analysts' expectations, driven by record deliveries of its Model X sports utility vehicles and Model S sedans.

Tesla, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, delivered 25,000 vehicles in the first quarter ended March 31, its highest since the carmaker went public in 2010, and a 69 per cent increase from a year earlier.

The company also backed its target of launching its highly anticipated mass market Model 3 sedan later this year, and said the car was on track for initial production in July.

Tesla is betting on the launch of its $35,000 Model 3 midsize sedan to help meet its goal of producing 500,000 cars annually in 2018. The Model 3 is expected to go on sale later this year in the United States.

The company said on Wednesday it expects year-to-date capital expenditures to be slightly over $2 billion by the time it starts Model 3 production.

The company reiterated its forecast of delivering 47,000-50,000 Model S and Model X cars in the first half of 2017, a target it announced earlier this year. Analysts are expecting deliveries of 25,000 vehicles for the current quarter, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.

Tesla said it had $4.01 billion in cash and cash-equivalents as of March 31, compared with $3.39 billion at the end of the previous quarter.

Tesla said net loss attributable to common shareholders widened to $330.3 million in the first quarter ended March 31, from $282.3 million a year earlier. 

On a per-share basis, net loss narrowed to $2.04 per share from $2.13 per share.

Excluding items, the company lost $1.33 per share. Analysts on average had expected a loss of 81 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue more than doubled to $2.70 billion from $1.15 billion, and edged past analysts' average expectation of $2.62 billion.

Tesla's results reflect the first full quarter that includes solar panel installer SolarCity, which it bought last year.

The Silicon Valley automaker became the most valuable US carmaker by market capitalization last month, pulling ahead of Detroit's auto heavyweights Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co .

Up to Wednesday's close, shares of Tesla had risen 45.6 per cent this year. The stock was down 1 per cent in trading after the bell.