Tesla Motors Shows First Profitable Quarter In 10-Year History

Tesla Motors has released its Q1 2013 quarterly earnings results today after the company reported a pretty good quarter back in February. At that point, it seemed that the electric car maker couldn't make any more money, but it seems they proved us wrong, raking in more cash for the quarter, as well as profiting for the first time ever.

The company sold 4,900 vehicles during the three month period, raking in $562 million in revenue, which is up a whopping 83% from last quarter's $306 million. After it was all said and done, Tesla profited $11 million, which is barely pocket change, but it marks the first time in the company's ten-year history that they've finished in the black.

Throughout the first quarter, Tesla claims that they built "400 or more" Model S vehicles per week on average, and they beat their original guidance of 4,500 cars for the quarter, shipping almost 5,000 Model S cars during the past three months. The company also reduced the amount of time it takes to building a Model S, lowering that time by around 40%, which allowed them to build more units.

Currently, Tesla says that they're receiving orders for new cars at a rate of around 20,000 per year globally. However, Tesla doesn't sell cars outside of North America, but the company hinted that there is an interest in selling Model S cars to regions in Europe and Asia. The company made a lot of announcements this quarter, including a new financing plan and a new warranty program that aims for guaranteed customer satisfaction.