Tesla share price down, reports quarterly results below expectations

Tesla Motors Inc reported bigger-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter, but Chief Executive Elon Musk projected better performance in the current year.

For the three months ended December 31, the electric carmaker reported a loss of $0.13 per share, excluding certain items. In comparison analysts had projected a profit of $0.32 per share.

The Palo Alto, California-based company said it sold 9 831 vehicles during the fourth quarter, better than the 7 785 Tesla sold in the third quarter and the 6 892 from a year earlier.

However, car sales came in below expectations of both analysts and the company. Full-year deliveries also fell short of Teslas projection of 33 000 unit, during 2014 the company sold 32 733 vehicles.

The company said it couldnt manage to deliver around 1 400 vehicles manufactured in December, which were moved into the first quarter of 2015, due to consumer unavailability, severe winter weather and problems with ships used to transport the vehicles.

Revenue for the quarter stood at $956.7 million compared with $615.2 million a year earlier. Teslas net loss widened to $107.6 million, or $0.86 per share, compared to a negative results of $16.3 million, or 13 cents per share, a year earlier.

However, Tesla did manage to reach its production target for Model S of 35 000 units in the past year, including 11 627 vehicles built in the fourth quarter. The sedans are mostly made in North America, therefore the stronger dollar had a negative impact on results.

Tesla also plans to add additional features to its Model S intended for the Chinese market in order to better fit the consumers preferences. Mr. Musk has previously said that buyers in the worlds largest car market are concerned with the lack of a larger public charging network for electric vehicles.

In response to that, Tesla said it will start installing charging stations to consumers homes before the car is delivered.

The company projected that it would be able to manufacture 2 000 vehicles per week by the end of this year, expecting strong demand for its cars.

For 2015, Tesla forecast to deliver 55 000 Model S and Model X, which is expected to hit the market within six months. The company also said it started the year with nearly 20 000 Model X reservations and 10 000 orders for Model X.

Tesla fell 1.61% on Wednesday and closed at $212.80 on the NASDAQ, marking a one-year increase of 8.23%. The company is valued at $26.68 billion. On Thursday the stock dropped 5.55% to $201.55 at 9:13 GMT during pre-market trading.

According to the Financial Times, the 19 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Tesla have a median target of $300.00, with a high estimate of $400.00 and a low estimate of $75.00. The median estimate represents a 40.98% increase from the last closing price.