Elon Musk-run Tesla has reported $7.9 billion in net income and $25.2 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2023, a 3 per cent growth from the same quarter last year.
The electric car company registered a record delivery of 1.8 million EVs in 2023. Tesla cautioned that the growth of its vehicle sales "may be notably lower" in 2024 as it prepares to launch a new vehicle platform for cheaper EVs.
"In 2023, we delivered over 1.2 million Model Ys, making it the best-selling vehicle, of any kind, globally," the company said in its earnings release.
Free cash flow remained strong in 2023 at $4.4 billion, even as "we focused on future growth projects with our highest capital expenditures and R&D expenses in company history".
The company is now focused on bringing the next generation platform to market as quickly as it can, with the plan to start production at Gigafactory Texas.
"This platform will revolutionise how vehicles are manufactured," said Tesla. In 2023, the Tesla Fremont factory produced nearly 560,000 vehicles. At Gigafactory Texas, it began production of the Cybertruck and delivered the first units to customers. "We expect the ramp of Cybertruck to be longer than other models given its manufacturing complexity," said the company.
Shanghai Gigafactory resumed normal rate production in Q4, rebounding from the scheduled downtime in Q3. In Q4, the company released the latest FSD Beta software (V12) to select Tesla employees, and more recently, to customers.
