Tesla spikes 19% after shocking Wall Street by turning a profit last quarter

• Tesla shares soared as much as 19% in early Thursday trading after the company achieved profitability for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2018.
• That defied consensus Wall Street analyst forecasts that called for a quarterly loss.
• Tesla also beat third-quarter earnings per share estimates.
• CEO Elon Musk announced the company's new Shanghai factory has already reached trial production, and that the upcoming Model Y crossover will be released sooner than previously expected.
• Watch Tesla trade live here.

Tesla shares spiked as much as 19% in early Thursday trading after the company achieved profitability for the first time in three quarters. That defied analyst forecasts that called for a quarterly loss.

The automaker also trounced Wall Street's expectations for quarterly earnings per share.

Still, Tesla fell short of revenue estimates, and the company recorded its first year-over-year revenue decline since 2012.

Here are the key figures:

Earnings per share: $1.86, versus the -$0.24 estimate

Revenue: $6.30 billion, versus the $6.45 billion estimate

Gross margin: 18.9%, versus the 17.7% estimate

Q3 vehicle deliveries: 97,000, versus the 95,000 to 100,000 estimate

Founder and CEO Elon Musk announced the company's new Shanghai factory is already in the trial production phase and will be ready to hit volume production "in a few months." The facility will allow Tesla to access the Chinese market at a lower cost and boost vehicle sales internationally.

"I'd like to thank our entire team for this extraordinary achievement. I'm not aware of any factory of this magnitude in history being constructed in such a short period of time, approximately 10 months," Musk said on a call with analysts. "As far as I know, this is unprecedented."

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The automaker also moved its Model Y release window to summer 2020 from fall 2020. The new crossover will be built on the same platform as the Model 3 and cost less than Tesla's other SUV, the Model X.

Tesla reported record delivery figures earlier in October, delivering 97,000 cars in the third quarter. The figures fell at the lower end of analysts' estimate of 95,000 to 100,000 deliveries, and shares sank about 4% in after-hours trading following the release.

Tesla closed at $254.68 per share Wednesday, down roughly 24% year-to-date.

The automaker has 12 "buy" ratings, 10 "hold" ratings, and 15 "sell" ratings from analysts, with a consensus price target of $265.97, according to Bloomberg data.

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Get the latest Tesla stock price here.