Tesla's net income 2014-2020

Tesla turned a full-year profit for the first time on record in 2020. Net income attributable to Tesla’s common stockholders was 721 million U.S. dollars, while net income related to noncontrolling interests amounted to 141 million U.S. dollars in 2020.

Focus on innovation drives costs

  It is the first time that Tesla turned a full-year profit. Previously, net losses had begun to accelerate in 2014, and so did research and development (R&D) expenses. Between 2014 and 2020, Tesla’s research and development expenses increased more than three-fold from about 465 million to almost 1.5 billion U.S. dollars. The company's R&D intensity peaked at 12 percent in 2017, a striking value compared to GM's five percent. Tesla's high R&D spending was largely due to the focus on innovative technologies, including electric vehicle batteries and charging infrastructure. In addition to these costs, the company also had to invest significantly more capital than expected towards ramping up production of its Model 3 and Model Y. As a result of increasing demand for Model 3 batteries, Tesla has also begun pouring money into Gigafactory plants in Shanghai, Texas, and Berlin-Brandenburg.

Cost trend

  Tesla's selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses jumped from 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 to more than 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in the following year. SG&A expenses increased moderately to reach around three billion U.S. dollars the most recent fiscal year.