Tesla surprised Wall Street by reporting positive free cash flow of $1.4 billion in its first-quarter earnings release.
The automaker achieved revenue of $22.4 billion for the quarter, representing a 16% increase compared to the same period last year. Revenue from its automotive business also rose by 16% year-over-year.
Revenue from the energy business, which comes from sales of energy storage products for commercial, industrial, and residential use, has been a consistent highlight in recent reports. However, it declined by 12% year-over-year in the first quarter.
For the quarter ending March 31, Tesla's net profit increased by 17%.
Despite widespread analyst expectations for the company's first negative free cash flow in two years, Tesla still delivered positive free cash flow of $1.4 billion.
Led by Elon Musk, Tesla's capital expenditure for the quarter reached $2.5 billion, primarily allocated toward expanding AI computing infrastructure and establishing new production lines, including for the Cybercab autonomous taxi.
Boosted by the strong earnings report, Tesla's stock price rose more than 4% in after-hours trading.
Tesla's global electric vehicle sales for the first quarter were 358,023 units, up 6.3% year-over-year. Despite the annual growth, this represents Tesla's second-worst quarter for sales since 2022.
While achieving growth in deliveries, Tesla is attempting to shift its business focus from car sales toward autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots, neither of which are currently available for sale. The company recently discontinued production of its Model S and Model X luxury models and had previously announced it would begin mass production of the Cybercab autonomous taxi this month.
Tesla plans to start deliveries of its all-electric semi-truck this summer and has also previewed several new vehicles, including an updated Roadster sports car.
Tesla is also expanding its autonomous taxi ride-hailing service. Last Saturday, the company stated it had launched a fully autonomous passenger service in parts of Dallas and Houston, Texas. In January, Tesla had already introduced a limited fully autonomous experience in Austin. Additionally, the company operates a ride-hailing service in California using vehicles equipped with a driver-assist version of the software and safety drivers.
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