Tesla Turns a Profit for the First Time in 10 Years

Tesla’s time may finally be here.

The electric carmaker, which manufactures about 400 cars a week at its Fremont plant, posted its first quarterly profit in the company’s 10-year history, according to various media reports.

On Wednesday, Tesla reported a net income of $11.2 million for the three-month period that ended on March 31 — up from an $89.9 million loss this time last year, according to the L.A. Times.

Tesla’s revenues now total $561.8 million from 4,900 sales of its stylish Model S luxury sedan in the first quarter. The company exceeded its forecast and now expects to sell 21,000 Model S cars by the end of 2013, the L.A. Times reports. (See a video of the Model S above.)

The news caused a record-breaking spike in Tesla’s stock, up about 25 percent and briefly touching $70.48 per share on Thursday, according to Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Despite it’s hefty price tag — starting at $62,000 and topping $100,000 for the Model S — Tesla sold the most rechargeable electric cars in the nation for the quarter, beating Nissan, which sold 3,695 of its Leaf models, and General Motors, which sold 4,421 of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in, the L.A. Times reports.

In other Tesla news this week, the company may tap into Google’s driverless “autopilot” system.

According to Bloomberg News, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he is discussing the idea with Google, which has been developing the revolutionary technology.  

“Autopilot is a good thing to have in planes, and we should have it in cars,” Musk told Bloomberg News.