Tesla made $105 million profit in Q4 2019 after record deliveries

Enlarge / Earlier in January, Tesla began delivering the first Chinese-made Model 3 battery electric vehicles. (credit: Xinhua/Ding Ting via Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Tesla released its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2019. For the final three months of the year, Tesla brought in $6.4 billion in automotive revenues, a 1 percent increase on Q4 2018. Total revenues for the company during the quarter were $7.4 billion, a two percent rise from the same period the year before. Total revenues for the year were $24.6 billion, an increase of 14 percent compared to 2018. Once generally accepted accounting principles were applied, that translates to a quarterly profit of $105 million, a 25 percent decline from Q4 2018. (Regulatory credits brought in $133 million in Q4 2019.) Free cash flow increased by 11 percent compared to the same time period the year before to just over $1 billion.

The results come on the back of record deliveries of the Model 3 sedan. Between September and December of last year, the company built 86,958 Model 3s and delivered 92,620, a year-on-year increase of 42 percent and 46 percent, respectively. Tesla is also keeping less inventory on hand; globally, the company was at 11 days of sales for Q4 2019, a drop of 42 percent year on year.

However, Tesla noted in a letter to investors that gross profits “were essentially flat” as volume growth and manufacturing efficiency and cost reductions were offset by a decrease in average sales price and more leased cars. Deliveries of the Models S and X continue to decline year-on-year, falling by 29 percent.