The stigma against mixing business with environmentally friendly practices may finally be grounded. Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley–based company that exclusively manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components, announced a first-quarter profit, raising the price of the iconoclastic luxury electric car maker’s shares by a solid 16 percent.
Presently, Tesla Motors offers a single vehicle: a $70,000 luxury sedan titled the Model S that runs solely on electricity and, judging by the price tag, is marketed to affluent families that want a change of pace from the typical German import. A crossover, Model X, is in the works and will begin deliveries in 2014. The company runs a slick and smart platform: Its vehicles offer all of the environmentally friendly qualities of an electric car without sacrificing the performance and luxury of its fuel-driven competitors like BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
Tesla Motors might have been a mere momentary static shock instead of the lightning bolt it’s recently become. Until this quarter, Tesla Motors reported losses since it went public in 2010. Despite being run by savvy CEO Elon Musk and having plenty of supporters, including environmentalists, Tesla just couldn’t quite take off. In fact, Mitt Romney had even called the Department of Energy’s loan to Tesla Motors a “loser” during his presidential campaign.
It may be too soon to tell, but I reckon Romney will be eating his words. Tesla boasts a backlog of 15,000 orders, whose provided revenue is the catalyst to the company’s most impressive announcement: They will be paying back their loan from the Department of Energy a full five years ahead of schedule. In accordance with these good tidings, Musk announced he’ll be putting his money where his mouth is in a “very major way” in a statement, claiming “Tesla is here to stay and keep fighting for the electric car revolution.”
Now that Tesla Motors has posted a profit, one can hope the current of money will amplify. In a market where even well-established companies have floundered in recent years, Tesla’s success has given tentative investors evidence for a healthy future forecast for innovative startups like Tesla.
The greatest success yet may be that Musk and Tesla Motors have shown us radical innovation can still occur in markets many have deemed unwilling to change until it’s absolutely necessary, namely with adopting truly environmentally friendly transportation. The future is now, and though we all may be eagerly awaiting those hovercraft “Back to the Future Part II” predicted in 2015, in the meantime we must settle for luxury electric vehicles.