Tesla Motors Inc., the Palo Alto-based electric car maker, reported a loss of $90 million on revenues of $306 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, a result that fell short of analysts' predictions and caused the company's stock to drop in after-hours trading.
The company delivered about 2,400 Model S vehicles, it said in a statement posted on its website.
Tesla reported a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net loss for the quarter just under $75 million, or $0.65 per share. Its GAAP net loss was $90 million, or $0.79 per share for the quarter. In a Thomson Reuters survey, analysts had predicted that the company would post $298 million in sales and a loss of 53 cents a share.
Stock prices fell 3.26 percent in after hour trading in the first half hour after the 1 p.m. report.
But Tesla, which has always operated at a loss, said it expects to become profitable in a few months. Previously it had estimated that wouldn't happen until the end of the year.