Tesla 3Q profit more than doubles from a year ago to $3.29B

Tesla reported Wednesday that its third-quarter profit more than doubled from a year ago, fueled by higher vehicle sales.

The Austin, Texas, electric vehicle and solar panel maker posted net income of $3.29 billion from July through September.

CEO Elon Musk said on the company’s quarterly conference call that the Tesla is considering a $5 billion to $10 billion stock buyback next year, even if the economy stumbles.

And Musk said Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” feature won’t be ready to be used without humans behind the wheel this year. But it will be ready next year “without question whatsoever in my mind.”

Excluding special items, Tesla made $1.05 per share, beating Wall Street estimates of $1 per share, according to data provider FactSet. Revenue rose 56% to a record $21.45 billion, but fell just short of estimates averaging $21.98 billion.

Tesla will fall short of its target of 50% annual growth in vehicle deliveries this year, Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn said during the conference call, but he was later contradicted by Musk.