Tesla turned a profit of $312 million in the third quarter

On October 14th local time, Tesla reported its third-quarter 2018 results, fulfilling its chief executive Elon Musk's promise to turn a profit in the second half of the year. The company's shares rose 11% in after-hours trading. In the third quarter of 2018, Tesla had revenue of $6.82 billion, exceeding analysts' previous forecasts of $6.33 billion, and adjusted earnings per share of $2.90 a share, rather than a loss of 19 cents a share. Thanks to rising production of Tesla's Model 3, Tesla posted a net profit of $312 million, or $1.75 a share, between July and September, the first time in two years that (GAAP) had made a profit under GAAP, and non-GAAP had a net profit of $516 million. Tesla noted a net loss of $619.4 million in the same period last year, compared with a net loss of $717.5 million in the second quarter of this year. In the third quarter of this year, Tesla had an operating profit of $417 million and an operating profit margin of 6.1%; free cash flow of $881 million; the company had cash of $3 billion at the end of September; Model 3 third quarter GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins exceeded 20%; and the company expects GAAP net income and free cash flow to remain positive for the fourth quarter. Car revenue almost doubled in the third quarter to $6.1 billion from $3.36 billion in the second quarter of this year, compared with $2.4 billion in the same period last year; accounts payable increased by $566 million to $3.6 billion from the second quarter, and accounts receivable rose to $1.15 billion. Tesla said that in the last week of the third quarter, Tesla produced 5300 Model 3s, and the production time of each Model 3 was also reduced by about 30%. From July to September, Tesla delivered a total of 56065 Model 3, 27710 Model S and Model X. Tesla's operating expenses fell by $133 million in the last two weeks of the last quarter when Tesla owners offered to help the company deliver its vehicles. In August 2017, Model 3 ordered a total of 455000 units, with less than 20 per cent of users unsubscribing to date. Tesla will launch a lower-priced version of Model 3 and a new lending program that will begin delivery in markets outside North America. The company said it would start delivering new cars in Europe at the end of February or March and in China by the end of the second quarter at the latest. Tesla has decided to speed up the process of doing business in China, hoping to produce Model 3 in China in 2019 and gradually localize it through local procurement and production. Tesla also points out that Chinese-made vehicles are available only to local consumers.