Tesla announced worse-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue Tuesday, with the EV giant reporting its lowest quarterly EPS since 2021. But TSLA stock soared after hours and early Wednesday as the EV giant signaled "more affordable" new models are still coming.
Tesla reported Tuesday that Q1 earnings fell 47% to 45 cents per share. Meanwhile, quarterly revenue totaled $21.3 billion, down 9% vs. Q1 2023. Analysts projected Q1 earnings falling more than 42% to 49 cents per share with sales declining nearly 5% to $22.22 billion.
Tesla's Q1 EPS was the lowest since it reported 31 cents per share in Q1 2021.
Next-Generation Platform And The Robotaxi
Meanwhile, Tesla listed its next-generation platform as "in development." The company added that it believes its next wave of growth "will be initiated by advances in autonomy and introduction of new products, including those built on our next generation vehicle platform."
Tesla reported that it has updated its "future vehicle line-up to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025."
These new vehicles include "more affordable models," according to Tesla and will "utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms." Tesla said these new vehicles will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as its current vehicle line-up.
Chief Executive Elon Musk said on the earnings call the new model line will come early in 2025 "if not late this year."
The Tesla chief also confirmed the company will be "showcasing" its robotaxi, or "cybercab," on Aug. 8 and that a low cost vehicle will be discussed more at that time.
"The way to think of Tesla is almost entirely in terms of solving autonomy and being able to turn on that autonomy for a gigantic fleet," Musk said Tuesday.
Tesla Revenue, Free Cash Flow And The Hunt For AI
The EV giant said Tuesday its Q1 revenue decline was primarily due to a reduced average vehicle selling price and a drop in vehicle deliveries. Tesla added revenue was also hindered by issues with the Model 3 refresh rollout at its Fremont factory.
Total gross margins came in at 17.4%, down 199 basis points compared to Q1 2023. Meanwhile, Tesla ended the first quarter with a global vehicle inventory of 28 days, up 87% compared to Q1 2023.
The company added that the growth rates of its energy storage deployments and revenue from its energy generation and storage business "should outpace" the automotive business in 2024.
Tesla's free cash flow also went negative to the tune of $2.5 billion in Q1, driven by an inventory increase of $2.7 billion and Tesla spending $1 billion on "AI infrastructure." Tesla executives expect free cash flow to turn positive once more in Q2.
However, the company added it will "continue to increase" its AI infrastructure capacity in the "coming months" and that it is currently working on ride-hailing functionality that will be "available in the future."
"The future is not only electric, but also autonomous," the company said in its earnings release. "We believe scaled autonomy is only possible with data from millions of vehicles and an immense AI training cluster. We have, and continue to expand, both."
Musk added on the earnings call that "if somebody doesn't believe Tesla is going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company."
Tesla Stock
TSLA shares gained 12.6% early Wednesday. Tesla stock advanced 1.9% to 144.69 during regular market action. On Monday, Tesla stock fell 3.4% to 142.05, hitting a fresh 52-week low of 138.80 intraday.
Tesla stock dropped around 2% on Friday, diving 14% for the week and undercutting April 2023 lows.
Tesla reported in early April that global first-quarter deliveries totaled 386,810 while it produced 433,371 vehicles. The deliveries included a combined 369,783 Model 3 and Model Y units along with 17,027 "other" vehicles.
Tesla's 386,810 deliveries tally in Q1 undercut even the lowest estimates and marks the lowest quarterly deliveries since 344,000 in Q2 2022.
Tesla stock ranks eighth in the 35-member IBD Auto Manufacturers industry group. The stock has a 28 Composite Rating out of a best-possible 99. Tesla stock also has a 10 Relative Strength Rating and a 67 EPS Rating.
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