Tesla has kept financial losses at bay in the first quarter of the year, posting strong group-wide EBITDA and revenue numbers amid high hopes for its solar roof line in the longer term.
Releasing a financial update on Wednesday, the Silicon Valley firm claimed its US$16 million in positive GAAP net income this quarter marks the first time the indicator is on the black in its Q1 series, a milestone achieved even as the COVID-19 crisis forced it to shutter factories.
The company said it deployed 260MWh of energy storage between January and March, a year-on-year increase versus the first quarter of 2019 when it achieved 229MWh of deployments. However, the figure represents less than half the 530MWh Tesla had posted in Q4 2020, and brings battery deployment back to levels unseen since one year ago.
At a call with analysts on Wednesday, Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn acknowledged the impacts seen in Q1 2020 in the energy business. Over the quarter, factory shutdowns mixed with “launch efficiencies” around its Solar Roof business line, “impacting” overall profitability.
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