Most investors in Tesla aren't probably expecting to see major profits at the company any time soon, instead investing in the hope that in 5, 10 or 15 years Tesla will be at the core of the electric vehicle revolution — and making the profits that go with that position.
So those investors may have been pleasantly surprised this week when Tesla reported a tidy profit in its latest quarter. They'll have been even more surprised that Tesla reported a profit even if you were to exclude the $354m the company got from selling regulatory credits (which it gets because its cars are zero emissions).
That's a first for the company, which historically has always had to rely on selling its excess regulatory credits in order to turn a net profit.
Of course, Tesla needs to keep delivering (cars, and eventually profits) in order to justify its massive share price — which currently values the equity in the company at $670bn. That is about 4-and-a-half Volkswagens ($149bn market cap), 12 Ford Motor Companys ($56bn) or 16 Ferraris ($41bn).
