By Hyunjoo Jin

SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) – Tesla (NASDAQ) Inc surpassed Wall Street’s estimates of quarterly revenue and profit Wednesday as Tesla raised its prices to counter inflation. This was in spite of the Shanghai factory closing.

Tesla was a standout since the outbreak of pandemic influenza. It has posted record earnings and deliveries for several quarters, while its competitors struggled with supply chain problems across global markets.

Tesla stated in a statement that “our own factories have been running at capacity for many quarters due to supply chain becoming the primary limiting factor. This is likely going on through the remainder of 2022.”

After the end of regular trading, Tesla shares rose by 4%

Tesla claimed that chip shortages and the recent COVID-19 infections have been impacting its supply chain, factory operations, and prices have gone up multiplefold over recent months.

Tesla has raised prices in China, USA and other countries after Elon Musk stated in March that the U.S.-based electric carmaker faced significant inflationary pressures in raw materials, logistics and manufacturing due to the Ukraine crisis.

According to IBES data from Refinitiv, the world’s largest automaker reported revenue of $18.8billion in its first quarter ending March 31. This compares with estimates of $17.8billion. This figure is up 81% compared to a previous year.

Musk made an offer to purchase Twitter (NYSE:) last Wednesday, raising concerns that he would be distracted from electric carmaker Tesla at a moment when the company is increasing production in Texas and Berlin. New factories will help meet demand and reduce reliance on China, the largest of its plants, which are slowly recovering after a shutdown.

Musk could be tempted to sell Tesla stock or to borrow against Tesla shares in order to fund his bid for $43 billion to purchase Twitter.