October 24, 2024 at 7:00 AM Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk speaks at an opening ceremony for Tesla China-made Model Y program in Shanghai, China, on January 7, 2020. (Reuters Photos) Tesla did not disappoint, and CEO Elon Musk made that clear. "It is notable that Tesla is profitable despite a very challenging environment. And this quarter, actually, is a record Q3 for us" he told investors on the company’s earnings call, while also noting cheaper models are coming. "We are still on track to deliver more affordable models starting in the first half of 2025," he added. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said Tesla shares could hit $300, a roughly 40% jump from Wednesday’s $213.65 closing price, while comparing the latest quarter to a New York Yankees' superstar hitter. "Tesla Delivers Aaron Judge-like Margin Performance vs. Street…Automotive ex-credits gross margin beat at 17.1% vs. the Street’s 15.1% bogey which was front and center metric for the Street as this is clearly an indication that Musk & Co is continuing to focus on its profitability side while balancing its plans for the future," he wrote. ELON MUSK ROLLS OUT ROBOTAXI The better-than-expected quarter will likely help boost shares that have fallen more than 14% this year and trail the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, which have advanced 21% through Wednesday. The EV maker’s Robotaxi Day earlier this month failed to wow investors.