Tesla's Q2 Results Show The EV King Is Under Pressure

On Tuesday after market close, Tesla Inc TSLA reported its second quarter results, missing earnings expectations. Upon the disappointing results, Tesla shares fell more than 8% during premarket trading on Wednesday, pulling down the shares of its rivals, Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN, Lucid Group Inc LCID, BYD Company Limited BYDDY, Nio Inc NIO and XPeng Inc XPEV.

Second Quarter Highlights

For the quarter that ended on June 30th, Tesla reported its automotive revenue dropped 7% YoY to $19.9 billion, marking its second straight quarter of YoY sales declines and  first-ever consecutive quarters of declining sales volume. 

Tesla responded to slowing demand and rising competition, especially in China, by slashing pricess through discounts and offered incenctives. These initatives took a toll on the adjusted earnings margin that also declined. Overall revenue grew 2% YoY to $25.5 billion as energy generation and storage revenue doubled from 2023’s comparable quarter and nearly doubled from first quarter’s figure, coming in at $3.014 billion. June quarter’s adjusted income plummeted as much as 43% YoY to $1.8 billion or 52 cents a share. 

Although Tesla remains the top EV seller in the U.S. by a long mile, but is losing market share to a growing number of rivals due in part to its aging portfolio of sedans and SUVs. Tesla claims its troubled Cybertruck was the best-seling electric pickup in the U.S. during the reported quarter. 

But during the earnings call, Musk confirmed Tesla will be bringing its affordable EV to life during the first half of 2025. Musk emphasized robotaxis during the earnings calls, stating he would be shocked if Tesla doesn’t make the first robotaxi ride next year but also acknowledging his track record of overly optimistic predictions. Tesla’s flamboyant CEO envisions a future of Tesla owners being able to authorize their EV to  be used as part of a self-riding ride-hailing service. Details on fully-automated robotaxis will not be released in August as previously planned but on October 10th. Tesla still needs to overcome regulatory and technical issues before offering robotoxis without drivers, but Musk stated that the extra time provided with the event’s delay would also allow the EV maker to showcase "a few other things”, without going into more details about what they would be. Tesla also put a hold on its $5 billion Mexico auto facility plans and will decide whether to proceed after the November presidential election. Musk is a firm supporter of Donald Trump and he believes that Trump’s presidency would be devastating to Tesla’s rivals.

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