FILE PHOTO: The logo of car manufacturer Tesla is seen at a dealership in London, Britain, May 14, 2021. REUTERS/Matthew Childs/File Photo
Tesla slammed the brakes on its epic growth story Thursday, missing Q4 profit forecasts as vehicle deliveries sputtered. Shares slid nearly 6% after-hours on the report – capping a turbulent start to 2024.
Automotive revenue crawled just 1% higher year-over-year – well below the rip-roaring pace CEO Elon Musk demands. And net income soared mainly thanks to an unusual $5.9 billion tax boost, masking severe margin compression. Excluding special items, earnings came in below expectations at 71 cents per share.
So why the sudden slowdown? Tesla says it is purposefully throttling production as it develops “next-generation” vehicles at its new Texas Gigafactory. As Cybertruck deliveries commence, the company reports being between “two waves” of car-making – temporarily capped by manufacturing complexity.
But the spotlight shone brightest on Elon himself Thursday, who waxed poetic about future world domination in AI and robotics. Drumming up plans for a dramatic 25% Tesla stake to consolidate power against activist investors, Musk claimed the company’s auto expertise will directly translate to humanoid robots like Optimus. He boldly dubbed it the “most sophisticated humanoid robot developed anywhere.”
Yet the iconoclast again declined to provide specifics around production timelines or capabilities for Optimus. He did forecast some units shipping next year – an ambitious target even by Musk’s standards.
It seems clear the CEO’s taste for autonomy extends beyond vehicles. As Tesla progresses deliberately following its breakneck expansion, Musk already envisions the company’s next “value exceeding” chapter. But shareholders may yearn for simpler times – focused purely on sustainable profits over world-changing sci-fi dreams.
Paul Balo is the founder of TechBooky and a highly skilled wireless communications professional with a strong background in cloud computing, offering extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing wireless communication systems.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
