(Image source: Imagoeconomica)
Tesla, less profitability but more cars sold
“Less profitability but more cars sold” is the summary of the last quarter result for Tesla, the company of Elon Musk, also owner of Twitter and of the space company SpaceX. The second quarter of the year was a record for the American house of electric vehicles a 20% increase in net income to $2.7 billion. More cars sold at lower prices. But considering the trend since the beginning of the year, net profits fell by 6.5% in the first half of 2023 (5,216 million dollars). Revenue ($48,256 million) for the first half of 2023 grew 35.2% year-over-year. While in the second quarter revenues decreased to 21,268 million. “It makes sense to sacrifice margins in favor of building more vehicles because we believe that in the not-too-distant future they will have a dramatic uptick in valuation,” Musk said, confirming that China is one of the markets the company is committed to.
Tesla, two of the Group’s most important commitments
The major investments of the group are essentially two: the increase in battery production and the new Cybertruck model, an electric pick-up that has been produced in Texas since the end of this year. Musk said production in the current quarter will “decrease a bit” as improvements are made at the factory. Tesla made 479,700 vehicles in the second quarter compared to 258,580 in the same quarter of 2022 and 440,808 between January and March. The company said in a statement that “We plan to ramp up production as quickly as possible. In some years, we will be able to increase faster and others, more slowly. By 2023, we expect to produce approximately 1.8 million vehicles for the year. Deliveries in the quarter totaled 466,140 vehicles, compared to 254,695 a year earlier.” Sales increased by 47% to 24,920 million euros, thanks to a decrease in the average selling price of various models, including the 3 and Y models in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China.
Tesla, investors skeptical
But investors reacted negatively to weaker earnings. Shares fell 3.6% in extended market trading. The accidents involving their models (the most recent being the overhaul of thousands of cars due to breakdowns or doubts about their safety) and, finally, the erratic behavior of Musk have questioned Tesla’s performance, which has ringed the worst stock trend since 2018, with a 70% loss of its value.
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