AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
- Tesla’s strong third-quarter earnings sent its stock price up as much as 5.5% on Thursday.
- Elon Musk’s electric-car maker delivered nearly 140,000 vehicles last quarter, fueling record operating income of $809 million and free cash flow of $1.4 billion.
- Tesla’s bosses are aiming to deliver 500,000 vehicles this year, requiring the company to produce about 181,000 cars this quarter — 29% more than their quarterly record.
- The automaker’s stock price has soared more than fivefold this year, giving the group a bigger market capitalization than Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, or JPMorgan Chase.
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Tesla shares surged as much as 5.5% on Thursday after Elon Musk’s electric-car company posted third-quarter earnings on Wednesday that beat Wall Street’s expectations.
The automaker grew revenue by 39% year-on-year to $8.8 billion, which helped to more than triple its operating income to a record $809 million. It also boosted vehicle deliveries by 44%, to almost 140,000, and generated free cash flow of $1.4 billion, marking fresh highs for the company on both fronts.
Musk and his team reiterated their target of delivering 500,000 vehicles this year. Hitting that goal will require them to produce roughly 181,000 cars in three months — 29% more than their quarterly record.
Tesla's stock price has skyrocketed more than 400% this year. The company's market capitalization has ballooned to north of $400 billion as a result, surpassing Johnson & Johnson ($379 billion), Procter & Gamble ($357 billion), and JPMorgan Chase ($303 billion).