Tesla's Musk slams lockdowns as 'fascist' as it posts profitable Q3

TESLA Inc's outspoken CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday called sweeping US stay-at-home restrictions to curtail the Covid-19 outbreak "fascist" as the electric carmaker posted its third quarterly profit in a row. His remarks overshadowed an otherwise successful quarter that surprised many investors as carmaker peers were hit by a slump in consumer demand and forced factory shutdowns.

Tesla's profitable quarter comes just a day after Detroit-based rival Ford Motor Co reported a US$2 billion first-quarter loss and forecast losing another US$5 billion in the current quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic hits demand. General Motors Co on Monday suspended its dividend and share buybacks and will report earnings on May 6.

How Tesla fares in the current quarter and the rest of the year will be an important test of its durability. If it can limit its losses, or even continue its profit streak and outperform legacy carmakers, it will be in a stronger position to take sales from rivals weakened by the virus disruption. Tesla produces a fraction of the cars of its rivals but has a much larger stock market value on expectations of tremendous growth.

One of the biggest disruptions to Tesla has been the government-ordered shutdown of its factory in Fremont, California, which sits idle since March 24 with stay-at-home orders running until at least May 31.

Mr Musk said he did not know when Tesla could resume production in California and called the state stay-at-home order a "serious risk" to the business. "To say that they cannot leave their house and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist. This is not democratic, this is not freedom."

Tesla said it could not predict how quickly vehicle manufacturing and global supply chains will normalise, saying it would revisit full-year guidance for net income and cash flow when it reports current-quarter results in three months.

Mr Musk said that while other carmakers were cutting back, Tesla was ramping up investment.

Excluding items, Tesla posted a profit of US$1.24 per share. Analysts had expected a loss of 36 cents per share. REUTERS