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Musk reports positive cash flow for Tesla last week

According to Bloomberg, Tesla actually earned money last week. CEO Elon Musk sent out a message on Twitter saying his company was "narrowly cash positive." That's big news for a company that hasn't turned a quarterly profit as of yet. Tesla is currently in the middle of stepping up production for its Model S sedan, and has announced the vehicle's MSRP will jump by $2,500, presumably to help fund that expansion.
So far, Tesla says it has built will build around 20,000 Model S units at its California production facility next year, though analysts say the ability to repeatedly generate a positive cash flow would go a long way toward the company's evolution into a "sustainable operating entry." So far, the Model S has garnered substantive praise, earning the Motor Trend Car of the Year Award among others. Tesla shares are up 19 percent this year over the same time period in 2011.

Chinese company gives Tesla Model S sedans as bonus

We are in the wrong business. Apparently, some companies award its employees this thing called a "bonus." According to reports, it often comes in the form of a cash payout, but it seems it can take other shapes too, including our favorite: Tesla Model S-shape. Chinese app outfit WiFi???? (WiFi Skeleton Key) appreciates its workers so much that it is giving dozens of them an electric sedan as a reward for their hard work and loyalty. The only catch was that they had to have been employed by the Shanda-backed tech firm for at least four months. Reportedly, the act of generosity will cost the start up more than CNY 30 million ($4.8 million at today's rates). Though perhaps lavish by western standards, top Chinese tech companies have been handing out end-of-year bonuses as large as several years worth of regular pay. According to founder Chen Danian, "Talent is the key determinant for the success of high-tech companies. Through this move, we want to show how much we value and respect our talent." Indeed. We can only hope that this example of largesse gets echoed by our own corporate overlords, and in case anyone is asking, I'll take a P85D in Pearl White with 21-inch grey turbine wheels. Thank you. Related Video:

Tesla stock drops 8.4 percent in premarket trading

Tesla's stock slid in premarket trading Thursday as the electric car maker's fourth-quarter performance was stung by delayed shipments and a stronger dollar. TSLA shares dropped $17.80, or 8.4 percent, to $195 in premarket trading about two hours before the market open. Yesterday, Tesla reported an adjusted loss of 13 cents per share and adjusted revenue of $1.1 billion. This fell short of the forecasts of analysts polled by FactSet, who were looking for a profit of 30 cents per share on revenue of $1.23 billion. Tesla said that during the period there was a delay in shipments of its new all-wheel-drive Model S sedan. The Palo Alto, California, company said it held back shipments of its new all-wheel-drive version of the Model S sedan – which was launched in November – to make sure it would meet customers' expectations. While it was able to make up production later in the quarter, it was unable to ship about 1,400 vehicles in December. Brad Erickson of Pacific Crest Securities said in a client note that "the delivery shortfall does raise execution concerns." But the analyst said that Tesla is growing more than 60 percent this year and may grow 80 percent to 90 percent next year, so he doesn't believe the current valuation represents the company's longer-term opportunity. Erickson kept an "Outperform" rating. The AP contributed to this report.