The American electric car giant Tesla grew more than sevenfold in the first quarter of this year to $3.32 billion , up from a profit of $438 million in the same quarter of 2021. The result was above the 2.2 billion dollars projected by analysts.

Diluted earnings per share soared 6331TP2Q in the period, to $2.86 , up from $0.39 reported a year earlier.

Revenue, according to the electric vehicle maker, was a record $18.75 billion between January and March, up 81% year-on-year.

According to Tesla, revenue was driven by higher average selling prices and higher vehicle deliveries, up 68% year-over-year, adding just over 310,000 units in the period.

From January to March, the automaker produced 305.4 thousand vehicles, 69% above the production seen a year earlier. Production, however, was slightly below that seen in the fourth quarter of last year.

Elon Musk's company's revenue reached $16.86 billion , up 87% from that reported in the first three months of last year, and gross margin of 32.9%, up 6.4 percentage points.

Despite the results, the company points out that the challenges surrounding the supply chain have remained persistent for more than a year.

In addition to the chip shortage, the recent outbreaks of covid-19 weigh on the supply chain and factory operations, especially in China. Another challenge is rising costs amid rising prices for some raw materials in recent months.

"The inflationary impact on our cost structure has contributed to adjustments in our product pricing, despite a continued focus on reducing factory costs," Tesla said in a statement.