Tesla has posted record net income from the fourth quarter of last year. 

The electric car-maker says it made US$3.69 billion (AU$5.2 billion) from October through December, or an adjusted US$1.19 per share.

The company’s profit was 59 per cent more than the same period one year earlier. 

Tesla says it will move to increase output “as quickly as possible” to keep up with its annual growth of 50 per cent over multiple years, and should be able to deliver about 1.8 million vehicles this year.

“In the near term, we are accelerating our cost reduction road map and driving towards higher production rates, while staying focused on executing against the next phase of our road-map,” it said in a statement to shareholders.

Some see it as a surprising result for the company, which had faced some stock price wobbles after Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter led some Tesla investors to believe that he was neglecting his duties at the car maker at a critical time.

Elon Musk “has essentially gone from a superhero with a red cape to a villain in the eyes of many investors after the ongoing Twitter fiasco has cast a dark shadow over Tesla’s stock”, according to Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.

Tesla shares dramatically fell 65 per cent in 2022 as investors doubted the company’s leadership, especially amid rumours that Mr Musk would sell more of his stake in Tesla to finance his Twitter acquisition, flooding the market. 

Predictions were also lowered by the broader slowing of economic growth and rising interest rates in the United States, which threatened to reduce the number of people who can afford a Tesla.