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Tesla Misses Wall Street Expectations in Q3 2023 Earnings, TSLA Shares Drops Over 8%
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares closed Wednesday trading at $242.68, down 4.78 percent from the day’s opening price. The TSLA losses continued during the extended trading period with a drop of about 4.24 percent to trade around $232.4. The sudden drop in Tesla shares was attributed to the Q3 2023 financial results that missed analysts’ expectations despite a notable increase in electric vehicle deliveries. Earlier this month, the company announced that its 2023 volume target of around 1.8 million vehicles remains unchanged after producing about 430,488 units and delivering around 435,059 vehicles during the third quarter.
How Tesla Performed in Q3 2023
According to the announcement, Tesla reported an adjusted earnings per share of 66 cents whereas analysts surveyed by LSEG, formerly Refinitiv, expected the company to record an EPS of about 73 cents. During the third quarter, Tesla reported a revenue of $23.35 billion whereas analysts surveyed by LSEG expected about $24.1 billion. As a result, Tesla closed the third quarter with total assets of about $93.94 billion including digital assets worth approximately $184 million.
Amid heightened competition in the electric vehicle industry, Tesla announced that its core objective is to reduce the cost per vehicle, generate more free cash flow, maximize delivery volumes, and double down its investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance its growth. Notably, the company’s free cash flow YTD came in at $2.3 billion.
Nonetheless, the company is undeniably struggling to bring down vehicle prices amid high interest rates around the world. According to Elon Musk, the company is doing all in its power to cut the production costs of its EVs including developing more construction sites. For instance, Tesla is laying the groundwork to begin the construction of a new planned factory in Mexico.
“It is going to require immense work to reach volume production and be cash flow positive at a price that people can afford,” Musk noted.
Meanwhile, the company highlighted that its planned factory upgrades, especially in its Shanghai Giga factory, during the third quarter caused a decline in delivery volumes. Moreover, the China-based factory remains Tesla’s main export hub.
On the Cybertruck production, Tesla announced that it is on course to deliver later this year. However, Musk highlighted that it could take up to 18 months before the Cybertruck begins to contribute a significant positive cash flow. Furthermore, the company has not yet released the pricing and finer details of the Cybertruck.
Meanwhile, Musk highlighted that the ongoing wars around the world – including the conflicts between Israel and Gaza and the invasion of Russia into Ukraine – could have a negative impact on the company’s EV production and deliveries.
Tesla Misses Wall Street Expectations in Q3 2023 Earnings, TSLA Shares Drops Over 8%
