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He was modest.

Now, of all times, at the moment of triumph.

Boasting?

Big promises?

None of that.

On Thursday, Elon Musk presented the latest figures from his electric car manufacturer Tesla - and soberly announced the first annual profit since it was founded in summer 2003. The surplus was 721 million dollars, despite the Corona crisis.

Yet the California company's stock plummeted more than seven percent shortly after Musk's presentation.

What happened?

According to US analysts, it was down to Musk's modesty.

In the past, the tech billionaire liked to raise high expectations.

He announced goals for production and growth, which were often considered utopian - but at least testified to self-confidence.

That was enough for investors, hope is the most important currency in Silicon Valley.

They bought stocks like in a frenzy and made Tesla the most valuable vehicle manufacturer in the world.

Last year the price rose by almost 700 percent.

But on Thursday, Musk only gave a vague outlook on the future.

He talked for a long time about the year 2020, the $ 721 million profit, the turnover, which was $ 10.7 billion, and the number of cars delivered: almost 500,000.

But how many cars does Tesla want to produce in the coming months?

You do not know exactly.

Musk said in the conference call on the quarterly results only that he was aiming for an annual increase of 50 percent.

That would mean Tesla plans to hand over around 750,000 cars to customers worldwide in 2021.

"Maybe," added Musk, "more."

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Where does the new caution come from?

It could be that Musk is holding back because he was often ridiculed in the past for missing his goals.

For example in 2017 and 2018, when Tesla couldn't keep up with the production of the Model 3, the company's most important vehicle.

In some quarters, fewer than 300 cars were produced, which was one sixth of the planned number.

Some analysts saw Tesla at the edge of ruin.

Nobody speaks of it today.

Tesla has now managed six consecutive black quarters.

The company also rose to the prestigious US S&P 500 stock index.

And it's expanding.

Musk is building a factory in Grünheide, Brandenburg, which will soon produce half a million cars a year.

It will start with the Model Y, an SUV.

The Model Y has also been manufactured in Shanghai for some time.

And a plant is being built in the US state of Texas to manufacture the Cybertruck - the futuristic-looking electric pickup that Musk presented at the end of 2019.

The first cybertrucks will roll off the production line later this year.

Mass production will begin in 2022, according to Musk.

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None of that was enough to euphorize investors on Thursday.

In addition to Musk's caution, there were probably two other reasons for this.

For one thing, Tesla missed earnings expectations slightly, the market had hoped for $ 270 million more.

On the other hand, investors were bothered by the fact that the company generated an important part of its income from trading emissions certificates that other car manufacturers need to offset their emissions balance and thus meet legal requirements in California and Europe.

Without this income, which amounted to $ 1.6 billion last year, Tesla would not have made any money.

As lucrative as the business may be, investors are critical of it.

They want Musk's company to be successful in their core business: building cars.