RECORD SALES PUSH TESLA TO 2ND STRAIGHT QUARTERLY PROFIT

Record electric vehicle sales in the fourth quarter helped to push Tesla Inc. to its second-straight quarterly profit, giving bullish investors optimism that sustained black ink lies ahead.

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The Palo Alto, California, company said it made a net profit of $105 million from October through December or 56 cents per share, but still posted an annual loss of $862 million.

The fourth-quarter earnings almost certainly will continue Tesla’s meteoric stock appreciation. Shares rose more than 11% in after-hours trading Wednesday to $647.93

The company said in its quarterly investor letter that it expects to “comfortably” exceed production of 500,000 vehicles at its factories in Fremont, California, and Shanghai.

Tesla said it is starting to ramp up production of the Model Y small SUV in Fremont, a key product for the company. Deliveries are to start by the end of March.