Tesla recently made it possible for customers to purchase the cars in Bitcoin, allowing it to accumulate more of the crypto currency. – By Sharon Maina.
The company earned $518m from sales of those credits in the first quarter, an increase of 46% over the same quarter in 2020. Tesla said it delivered roughly half a million cars in 2020, and 185,000 in the January-to-March period.
Tesla also earns credits for exceeding emissions and fuel economy standards and then selling them to other carmakers that fall short so they can avoid penalties.
Tesla uses electricity to move thus non emissions of unwanted gases. Cars originally used petrol which resulted to emission of unwanted gas thus interfering mostly with the ozone layer degrading the environment.
The company expects its deliveries to increase by 50% annually, and is ramping up production at its existing facilities in California and Shanghai while it builds its new factories in Berlin and Texas. However, not all of the company’s revenues came from selling cars.
The company bought $1.5bn of Bitcoin during the first quarter, but then cut its position by 10%, which contributed $101m to its revenues.
Tesla is the world’s most valuable car company, with its share price pushed higher by investors betting on strong growth in electric vehicles in the coming years.
However, the company makes far fewer cars than companies such as Toyota and Volkswagen, which each sold more than nine million cars last year.
And despite Tesla making a profit from sales of Bitcoin, Mr. Hyett said there were many sceptics: “Tesla has made some $101m on its investment so far, which is all well and good, but huge gains and losses aren’t really what corporate treasuries are all about.
“Investors could well argue that if they wanted to have exposure to Bitcoin they would have bought some themselves and don’t need Tesla to do it for them.
“Still Tesla has never played by the rules – so far that hasn’t stopped it being a winner.”
