Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), the electric-car maker headed by billionaire Elon Musk, climbed to a record after saying it turned its first quarterly profit on higher-than- forecasted sales of its Model S sedan, overcoming a controversy about the car’s performance.

Tesla rose 13 percent to $42.94 at 9:42 a.m. New York time after surging as much as 14 percent to $43.33. Tesla reached “full profitability” as Model S sales were more than 250 units higher than the 4,500 that the electric-car maker projected in mid-February, according to a company statement yesterday that didn’t specify the profit figure.

Tesla has forecast that deliveries of the battery-powered Model S will rise to a record 20,000 in 2013. The car starts at $59,900 and has a range of as far as 300 miles (483 kilometers) in ideal conditions when its 85-kilowatt-hour battery pack is fully charged.

Elon Musk had wanted to get Tesla profitable first before publishing full details about his Hyperloop transportation system to not get shareholder irate that he is distracted.

He said this was be a new kind of mass transport system. “I want something that is faster than a plane, costs less, can’t crash, and is immune to weather.” It also can’t have a right of way issue, where people have to give up their homes. Elon Musk and some of his Spacex and Tesla engineers are working on something he calls the “Hyperloop” which will be a “cross between a rail-gun and a Concorde.”

Elon Musk has stated that he will have a big announcement on April 2, 2013.

Elon Musk is reported to have a 32% stake in Tesla. Tesla is now worth $5.21 billion. Elon Musk’s share is worth $1.67 billion.

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Brian Wang

Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.

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