It turns out that making electric, semi-autonomous vehicles can be profitable after all: Tesla Motors Inc. Wednesday posted an unexpected profit in the third quarter.

The electric vehicle and battery company managed $2.15 billion in revenues for the quarter, up 145 percent over the same quarter in 2015, on a profit of $21.9 million, or 14 cents a share. Both beaton Wall Street expectations of $1.98 billion in revenue on a loss of 54 cents a share.

As a result, shares were rising more than 4 percent in trading Thursday morning.

Not only was Tesla profitable, but it also reported positive free cash flow for the first time since 2013: $176 million, compared with a deficit of $434.8 million in Q3 2015. The improved bottom line was attributed to reduced the costs for the company, in particular, its ability to produce its forthcoming Model 3 without requiring new capital. Orders were also up with orders for both the Model S and X surging 68 percent compared to the same quarter last year, and Tesla added that orders for the Model 3 are currently sitting at a surprisingly large 373,000.

“We were able to have our best quarter ever and achieve GAAP profitability and are headed for our best fourth quarter,” Tesla founder and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said in a conference call. “It’s one of the best moments ever for Tesla.”

Tesla said that it had manufactured 25,185 vehicles in the third quarter and that it expected to reach its goal of producing 50,000 cars in the second half of this year.

While the headline figures were solid, Tesla is still dealing with high underlying costs, with accounts payable and accrued liabilities rising by over $600 million from June 30 to $2.3 billion. The company’s August acquisition of battery maker Solar City also continues to raise questions, although Tesla claims that the new division of the automaker is going well.

“Our energy storage products are gaining increased market acceptance, firmly establishing Tesla as a leader in energy storage solutions, and surpassing our competitors in the breadth and scope of our offerings across residential, commercial, and utility-scale storage markets,” the company said in a statement.

Image credit: jtjdt/Flickr/CC by 2.0