Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA): Model S Stands For ‘Spectacular’

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is all about electricity. And there is certainly some dynamic electricity going on around the company and he stock,, which has been on a moon-orbit trajectory the last several weeks. And the stock shot even higher after hours Wednesday, clearing $60 a share after an earnings report that was a bolt of electricity among investors and analysts of this company.

In after-hours trading Wednesday following the release of the report, shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) spiked more than 14 percent to about $63.60 a share.

Tesla blew away some of the best analyst average estimates, as the company reported profit of 12 cents a share on revenues of more than $560 million (up more than 80 percent from the previous quarter), while the Wall Street consensus was 4 cents EPS on about $500 million.

The company was reporting 5,000 Model S sales during the quarter and had given guidance for about 20,000 for the year. The company did say it would make a profit this quarter – its first since going public in 2010 – and due to increased production, efficiency got better and gross margin doubled from last quarter to about 17 percent. The company did note, however, that it sees higher operational and research expenses in forward quarters, and gave guidance of about 4,500 vehicles delivered in the current quarter.

This despite what Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said was an apparent uptick in worldwide demand, though the vehicle has not been delivered outside of North America as of yet. “Importantly, we are seeing orders in a particular region increase proportionate to the number of deliveries, which means that customers are selling other customers on the car” Musk said. “Given that we have not yet delivered any customer cars outside of North America, there would appear to be significant upside potential in Europe and Asia.”

In the company’s shareholder letter that accompanied the report, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) doubled down on its guidance about gross margin by the end of the calendar year. “An important point for investors to note is that we are reaffirming our prior guidance of a gross margin of 25 (percent) in Q4 2013, assuming zero ZEV credit revenue,” the company said. “This may turn out to be greater than zero, but we are not counting on it. What really matters is improving fundamental automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits. On this front, Tesla improved nine percentage points from the prior quarter and continues to improve every month.”

What do you think? Are you a believer in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE: None