Tesla (TSLA -1.92%) has a lot of balls in the air. It seems that longtime CEO Elon Musk likes it that way. And when you are trying to disrupt a massively entrenched industry, that may be the best playbook. On a Fool Live episode recorded on March 17, Fool contributors Brian Feroldi and Brian Withers discuss the latest news and earnings from this disruptive automobile manufacturer known for more than just its electric cars.
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Brian Feroldi: Great. Well, I have 2 minutes to cover Tesla, and boy, is that going to be challenging. But I will do my best here.
Brian Withers: Brian begged for three.
Feroldi: Yeah. I even have a timer here, so I'll see if I can get it done. Tesla, let's start with the news, and this is all since the quarter ended. They delayed the platinum plus until 2022. They leased more land in China that says that they're going to ramp up production even more. They launched their beta program for their self-driving with more is on the way. They've invested in Bitcoin and already made a huge profit on it. The Model Y is available for sale in China from their factory.
Elon Musk changed this title to TechnoKing of Tesla, while the CFO is now the Master of Coin, AKA they made headlines for absolutely no reason, which is what they are masters of doing. They've incorporated in India, all of that within the last, I don't know, six weeks.
Let's talk about the most recent quarter. Revenue was up 46% to $10.7 billion. Consolidated gross margin was up 39 basis points to 19%. Operating margin was over 5%. That's an impressive number for a car company. Net income, yes, there is net income, now it was up 157%, and on a non-GAAP basis, it was up 134%. Free cash flow, which Brian Stoffel loves, was $1.9 billion. Pretty good for the quarter. Speaking of cash, at quarter end, they had 19 billion in cash, and it's higher now if you include their Bitcoin investment.
A lot going on in 2021 to look forward to. Model 3 and model Y deliveries are going to be the thing to watch, especially as they ramp up their factories in Berlin and Texas. Both of those are expected to be online by the end of this year. The Tesla Semi is going to be launching, the full self-driving rollout should be here and that will do wonderful things for the company's revenue and margins because they can take a really, really high-margin revenue and count it. The solar business and the energy business should grow. The company is expecting at least 50% growth in vehicle deliveries for the next couple of years, and they will produce industry-leading margins.
Withers: That's incredible. I am always amazed at Elon Musk's ability. This isn't a recent thing. This has been forever for Elon, is to handle multiple things at a time and really push the envelope of his company. I don't think Tesla would have survived had they not moved into the Model 3 as fast as they did and moved off of luxury, focusing on the luxury Model S. Kudos to Elon and Tesla for a great quarter.
