Elon Musk Confirms Presence At Tesla's Q3 Earnings Call Wednesday: 5 Questions Shareholders Want Him To Address

Tesla Inc. TSLA is set to announce its third-quarter financial results on Wednesday after the market closes.

What Happened: Elon Musk confirmed that he would be on the company’s earnings call, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EDT, as a live webcast. Musk is expected to deliver the prepared opening remarks before turning it over to CFO Zachary Kirkhorn.

Musk and his team will then field select questions from Tesla investors and Wall Street analysts.

Yes

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2022

Ahead of the earnings call, Tesla customarily collects questions from its investors through a third-party shareholder Q&A platform called “SAY.”

Here's what shareholders, both retail and institutions, want to know from Tesla:

1. Cybertruck – Cynosure Of All Eyes:  The most upvoted question was about Tesla’s Cybertruck, with shareholders keen to obtain information on how the production planning is going, the initial Phase 1 production numbers and updates on pricing and final design. This question received about 5,100 votes from holders of 6.2 million Tesla shares.

The previous update on the electric pickup truck suggested it would launch in mid-2023. Last week, reports said new Cybertruck bodies or prototypes were spotted at Giga Austin, where it would be produced. When one of Musk’s followers shared the picture on Twitter, he said, “Curses, foiled again.”

Curses, foiled again!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2022

2. Stock Buyback: A Tesla retail investor’s question on whether the company is considering stock buyback received 3,400 upvotes. Following a steep sell-off in Tesla stock, chatter regarding a potential share buyback has grown louder.

Tesla bull and Future Funds’ Gary Black recently sent an open letter to the EV maker's board, urging it to consider buying back over $10 billion in stock.

See Also: Tesla A Hit With Members Of The US Congress? Lawmakers Buy Heavily On Stock Dip

3. Battery Cell Update: A question on the progress with the company’s proprietary 4680 cell ramp-up received 2,800 upvotes. The retail investor also asked about the factors that would determine if a vehicle gets the 2170 or 4680 cells.

4. New Gigafactory On The Anvil? Another retail investor wanted to know where the next Gigfactory would be located and when it would come online. This question received 1,800 upvotes. Tesla has four plants manufacturing electric vehicles — the Fremont factory and the Gigas in Shanghai, Berlin and Austin, Texas.

Musk said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in August that another one could be announced before the end of the year. Rumors of Tesla building a new plant in Canada have been floating around as the company is reportedly in talks with the Canadian government.

5. IRA And Its Impact: Shareholders also asked about how the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has impacted its battery cell production and material sourcing plans. This question posed by a retail investor received 1,700 votes.

Among the other questions asked were production ramp targets for the Tesla Semi, schedules for full-self-driving software and Robotaxis, potential softening in fourth-quarter deliveries due to buyers waiting till the new year kicks in to avail of the EV tax credits, whether it is feasible to maintain its long-term growth target of 50% and the likelihood of launching a new, cheaper car.

Questions From Institutional Investors: The most upvoted question from institutional investors was about how Tesla would adjust if the economy were to enter a prolonged recession. These investors also wanted to know whether Tesla has the ability to meet the IRA thresholds for availing tax credits in the coming years.

They also asked about backlog and recent order intake, especially outside of the U.S. and particularly in China, Tesla’s competitiveness in China, and product and feature roadmap beyond new models and FSD, among other things.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed Monday’s session 7.01% higher at $219.35, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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