Tesla missed Wall Street's profit estimates for the second quarter of the year as net profit fell by 45 percent due to slower vehicle deliveries and large-scale layoffs.
The net profit of Tesla of $1.47 billion for the three months ending in June was significantly below analysts' consensus estimates of $1.9 billion. The company's shares fell by 3 percent in after-hours trading following the announcement.
The world's largest manufacturer of electric vehicles reported a 2 percent increase in revenue in the second quarter, driven by record growth in its energy storage business. Revenue rose to $25.5 billion in the three months to the end of June, up from $24.9 billion in the same period last year, surpassing analysts' expectations of $24.8 billion.
Tesla's Gross Margin, a closely watched financial metric, slightly decreased in the quarter to 18 percent, compared to 18.2 percent in the same period last year and a peak of 29.1 percent in the first quarter of 2022.
Overall, our focus remains on company-wide cost reductions, the growth of our traditional hardware business, and the accelerated development of our AI-supported products and services," Tesla shared with shareholders in its earnings announcement.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has prioritized work on an autonomous taxi service in recent months and placed this project ahead of the development of a new, affordable electric car valued at $25,000, informally known as Model 2.
Although the timing of the introduction of robotaxis depends on technological advances and regulatory approval, we are working intensively on this opportunity given the enormous potential value," Tesla stated on Tuesday.
Musk first outlined plans for a joint fleet of fully autonomous vehicles in his master plan for the company in 2016, stating that these would enable Tesla owners to offset the costs of owning their vehicles.
Here's the translation of the heading to English:
"At the beginning of this month, Tesla announced that it had delivered 443,956 electric cars between April and June, a decrease of 4.7 percent compared to the previous year, but a recovery from a disappointing 386,810 in the first quarter. The sales figures were sufficient to maintain its position as the largest EV company ahead of China's BYD.
Even by Musk's standards, 2024 was an eventful year for Tesla. The billionaire won two controversial votes at the company's shareholders' meeting last month, as the shareholders once again approved his historic $56 billion salary award – which had been overturned by a Delaware court – and supported a proposal to reincorporate the company in Texas.
He followed these successes by promising to move his social media company X and SpaceX from California to Texas, as part of a long-standing dispute with California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Musk has also emerged as one of the most prominent figures in Silicon Valley to support former President Donald Trump in the US election in November.
The Tesla stock has fallen by 18 percent in the last 12 months, and the company's market capitalization has almost halved from its peak of 1.2 trillion US dollars in November 2021.
