New York (AFP)

Electric vehicle maker Tesla delivered a record number of vehicles in the second quarter, nearly doubling revenue and boosting net income, which for the first time topped $ 1 billion.

The net profit of the group led by Elon Musk reached 1.14 billion dollars from April to June, compared to 104 million in the same period in 2020, while its turnover amounted to 11.96 billion dollars. dollars, the group said in a statement Monday.

The company had already announced that it had delivered 201,250 vehicles in the second quarter, an unprecedented level despite the shortage of electronic chips which is disrupting the automotive sector.

Tesla says it "continued to face challenges in the supply chain in the second quarter, in particular global semiconductor shortages and port congestion."

But the team, from software developers to factory workers, "worked extremely hard to stay as close as possible to maximum capabilities."

"With global vehicle demand at record levels, the supply of components will have a strong influence on the growth rate of our deliveries for the remainder of this year," adds Tesla.

The automaker, which announced in January that it wanted to increase its deliveries by 50% on average per year for several years, has not changed its forecasts.

He just points out that it could be a bit faster this year.

Tesla, which usually derives a large part of its profits from the sale to other companies of the carbon credits granted to it because its cars do not emit pollutants, on the other hand sees this source starting to dry up: the income derived from this activity reached $ 354 million in the second quarter, compared to $ 518 million in the previous quarter.

The group, which had also drawn $ 101 million in operating profits thanks to bitcoin in the first quarter, this time had to record a charge of 23 million for the same reason.

Tesla had created the surprise at the beginning of the year by announcing to have bought for 1.5 billion dollars of virtual currency, the value of which soared until mid-April, before falling sharply.

As for its factories under construction, Tesla believes it is still "on track to manufacture (its) first Model Y vehicles in Berlin and Austin in 2021".

The group's share took 1.5% around 8:40 p.m. GMT in electronic exchanges following the close of the New York Stock Exchange.

It has lost about a quarter of its value since peaking in January, having jumped more than 700% in 2020.

© 2021 AFP