Engineer and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk of The Boring Company listens as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel talks about constructing a high speed transit tunnel at Block 37 during a news conference on June 14, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.Getty Images/Joshua Lott
- Musk added that he expects Tesla to be profitable in the second quarter.
- Musk's statement marks a reversal from his prior prediction that Tesla would be profitable in every quarter beginning in the third quarter of 2018.
- During the automaker's fourth-quarter earnings call in January, Musk said he was "optimistic" that Tesla would earn a small profit during the first quarter.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the automaker will likely not be profitable in the first quarter of this year during a conference call with reporters on Thursday.
Musk added that he expects Tesla to be profitable in the second quarter.
Musk's statement marks a reversal from his prior prediction that Tesla would be profitable in every quarter beginning in the third quarter of 2018. During the automaker's fourth-quarter earnings call in January, Musk said he was "optimistic" that Tesla would earn a small profit during the first quarter."I'm optimistic about being profitable in Q1. Not by a lot, but I'm optimistic about being profitable in Q1 and for all quarters going forward," Musk said during the call.
During the second half of 2018, Tesla posted the first consecutive quarterly profits in its history, though it failed to meet Wall Street's expectations for its fourth-quarter earnings. The automaker posted adjusted earnings of $1.93 per share on $7.23 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter. Wall Street analysts had expected adjusted earnings of $2.10 per share on revenue of $7.1 billion.
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