Yahoo Autos Tesla Just Recorded Its First Annual Profit but Wall Street Still Isn't Happy
Welcome to The Grid, R&T's quick roundup of the auto industry and motorsports news you should know this morning.
Tesla Records First Annual Profit
Despite a challenging year for car companies in general, Tesla was able to secure its first-ever annual profit. Buoyed by stronger-than-expected earnings off of regulator credits sold to automakers that fail to hit emissions goals and sales in China, Tesla's fourth-quarter revenue ballooned 46 percent year over year. Still, Wall Street wasn't satisfied. Tesla's recent stock run has made it the fifth most valuable company in the country, per CNBC. Analysts were expecting a lot from this quarter and—though Tesla succeeded in many ways—its earnings fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Shares fell close to 4 percent in pre-market trading, suggesting Tesla has to accelerate its growth if it wants to keep investors on board.
Toyota Becomes The World's Largest Carmaker, Again
The title of "World's Largest Carmaker" has once again changed hands. After five years at the top, Volkswagen has once again been dethroned by Toyota, per Automotive News. Toyota has so far weathered the pandemic better than VW, no doubt in some part due to Japan's relative success in containing the coronavirus. Still, it was a tough year for both. VW sales cratered 15 percent, while Toyota lost "only" 11 percent of its total global volume. Automotive News notes that though analysts expect VW to briefly pull ahead next year, Toyota will likely be the world's largest carmaker for most of the years through 2025.
Lotus Taps Engineering Chief as New Company Boss
Lotus Cars Engineering Chief Matt Windle has been promoted to managing director of Lotus, effectively the head of the company. Former Managing Director Phil Popham has stepped down to "pursue personal projects," according to Autocar. Windle takes the reigns at a turning point for Lotus, as the Geely-owned brand shifts toward electrification and discontinues most of its current lineup in favor of new models.
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