Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla.
Tesla shares jumped more than 10 percent in premarket trading Thursday after the electric car maker delivered third-quarter earnings that blew past expectations and show signs the company is on its way to becoming the sustainably self-funded company promised by CEO Elon Musk.
Musk had previously said he expected Tesla to be both profitable and cash-flow positive in the third quarter. Before releasing its results late Wednesday, Tesla had reported just two profitable quarters as since it went public in 2010.
"TSLA may have crossed the line to become self-funding, which would be another clear positive," said RBC Capital analyst Joseph Spak in a note published early Thursday morning. "Expect positive momentum."
Positive results are probably sustainable in the near-term, but there remain some questions for the longer term, he added.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said it was Tesla's "strongest quarter in history by virtually every metric."
Nomura analyst Romit Shah said he found a number of reasons to think profitability and positive cash flow are both sustainable over the long term.
"Tesla cited its structurally superior cash conversion cycle (relative to industry peers), continued Model 3 cost improvements, and yet-to-be maximized operating efficiencies as the primary drivers," Shah said. The earnings results "may mark the quarter in which Tesla became a sustainably self-funded entity."
