Tesla Loses $49.8 Million; Higher Costs Are Blamed

Tesla Motors reported Wednesday that it lost $49.8 million in the first quarter as the electric carmaker accelerated the development of its new crossover vehicle and made improvements to its Model S sedan. Tesla said it produced 7,535 Model S sedans during the quarter and delivered 6,457 to customers, but higher development costs led to the loss. The company also said California was now in the running for a $5 billion battery factory it plans to build. Previously, the company was considering only Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Nevada for the factory, which is scheduled to begin producing lithium-ion batteries for Tesla’s Fremont, Calif., car factory in 2017. For the first quarter, Tesla posted a loss of 40 cents a share, compared with a profit of 10 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue grew 10 percent to $620.5 million in the latest period. Excluding stock-based compensation and accounting for leasing, Tesla posted a profit of 12 cents a share on revenue of $713 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast a profit of 8 cents a share on revenue of $683.5 million. Tesla expects to deliver 7,500 Model S sedans in the second quarter, and reiterated its plan to sell more than 35,000 cars this year.