Highflying Tesla Reports Surprise Q2 Profit

Tesla reported a surprise second-quarter profit Wednesday, further boosting shares as it confirmed ambitious targets for 2020 car deliveries despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The electric car maker scored profits of $104 million compared with a loss of $408 million in the year-ago period.

Revenues fell five percent to $6 billion.

The result clears the way for the highflying company led by Elon Musk to potentially join the S&P 500. A requirement for the prestigious Wall Street index is four successive profitable quarters, which Tesla has now achieved.

Shares jumped 5.1 percent to $1,673.79, their latest rise following a phenomenal stretch that has lifted Tesla's price by more than $1,000 per-share this year.

The electric car company said its operational performance demonstrate "strong resilience during these unprecedented times," alluding to a closure of its large California factory for several weeks due to the coronavirus.

Tesla said it was on track to ramp up production at factories in California and Shanghai and that activities on a plant being built in Germany "continues to progress."

The company has selected a site for its next US plant, but did not disclose the location.

"Production output of our existing facilities continues to improve to meet demand, and we are adding more capacity," Tesla said. "Later this year, we will be building three factories on three continents simultaneously."