Tesla Motors in the black, tweets CEO Musk
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday that the company was narrowly cash flow positive last week. Tesla Motors achieved profitability in 2009, but that didn't continue, and it's unlikely to continue this time--at least in the short term, Ingram writes.
The body of a Tesla Model S is transported by an automated crane at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif., in this October 2011 file photo. News that Tesla Motors was cash flow positive last week is music to the ears of Tesla fans, Ingram writes.
Stephen Lam/Reuters/File
Some of the biggest news of the year has been broken on social networking site, Twitter.
Skip to next paragraph
The website focuses on the auto industry’s future, the evolution of cars beyond fossil fuels, and the green movement's relevance to car shoppers today. For more stories on green cars, click here.
Recent posts
-
05.18.13
Florida shortens yellow lights, traffic tickets soar -
05.17.13
Tesla Motors can't email customers, says North Carolina law -
05.16.13
Small SUVs fail crash test. Is yours on the list? -
05.16.13
Tesla Motors to issue more stock, pay off Energy department -
05.14.13
Tesla Motors teases battery swapping for Model S electric car
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
For Tesla CEO Elon Musk, that includes regular tweets about the company.
On Tuesday, he tweeted that Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] was in the black.
"Am happy to report that Tesla was narrowly cash flow positive last week. Continued improvement expected through year end", he announced.
No doubt the news is music to the ears of Tesla fans, not to mention Musk himself--but at the same time, it's important to put things in context.
While Musk expects things to improve further, this is still only one week. As such, it's a minor success, rather than a major one--and Musk no doubt knows that there's still a lot of hard work to come.
That includes keeping up enough cash flow to stay in the black. Not necessarily the easiest of tasks, particularly as some buyers are still waiting for theircars, delayed by production slippages and EPA certification.
Tesla's expenditure will increase as it ramps up production, and needs to deliver cars quickly to cover its costs. Tesla has also had to delay production this year, owing to delays in acquiring parts from suppliers. Small setbacks like this aren't uncommon, and will ultimately lead to fluctuating profitability.
We've been here before, of course. Tesla achieved profitability back in 2009 while it was building the Roadster--but that didn't continue, and it's unlikely to continue this time--at least in the short term.
It's certainly not an insurmountable challenge, but the message here is simple: positive cash flow won't necessarily stay that way.
One swallow does not make a summer...
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best auto bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link in the blog description box above.
Follow Us