Tesla Q1 2024 Earnings Report: Revenue, Profit And Operating Margins Down

However, it's still another profitable quarter for Tesla.

Tesla Q1 2024

Eric Loveday

By: Eric Loveday

Apr 23, 2024 at 4:12pm ET

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Tesla just released its Q1 2024 earnings report. The electric automaker again turned a profit, which makes 18 quarters in a row in which Tesla has reported profitability. However, Tesla fell short of expectations regarding both profit per share and revenue. The rapid-fire price cuts on the Model 3 and Model Y seen last year and numerous price alterations this year took their toll on Tesla's bottom line.

The main financial details from the Q1 2024 report are as follows:

$ 21.3 billion in revenue
$ 0.45 profit per share (Non-GAAP accounting)

Here's what Tesla was expected to report, according to analysts:

Revenue: ~$22.22 billion
Profit per share: ~ $0.49

Tesla's total revenue declined 9% year-over-year in Q1 to $21.3 billion. The automaker cites several factors in the drop:

Reduced vehicle average selling prices
A decline in vehicle deliveries, partially due to the Model 3 update in the Fremont factory and Giga Berlin production disruptions—the latter of which faced an arson attack
Deliveries disrupted by the conflict in the Red Sea

Here's a look at the financial summary:

Tesla does list several upsides to its current situation, including accelerated growth in capital investments and R&D. "While many are pulling back on their investments, we are investing in future growth—including our AI infrastructure, production capacity, our Supercharger and service networks and new products infrastructure—with $2.8B of capital expenditures in
Q1," the company said in the release.

On the cash front, Tesla says it has "sufficient liquidity to fund [its] product roadmap, long-term capacity expansion plans and other expenses." It also expects an "acceleration" of software-based products, like many automakers, but also an expansion of AI offerings and "fleet-based profits," though it's unclear if the latter refers to fleet car sales or the planned robotaxi service. And yes, the word "service" is used to describe that plan, possibly implying a kind of Waymo-like operation; we may know more on today's earnings call.

And on the product front, Tesla continues to be vague, even as more and more EV competitors come to market every month.

"We have updated our future vehicle line-up to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025," the company said. "These new vehicles, including more affordable models, will utilize aspects of the next-generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms, and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle lineup."

Tesla-watchers will remember that the upcoming next-generation platform—said to be made using many groundbreaking manufacturing techniques—was supposed to underpin the robotaxi as well as the $25,000 EV. But with that car being either scrapped or put on the back burner, it's still unclear exactly what's next.

You'll find Tesla's release linked here in its entirety. We'll have more info on Tesla Q1 2024 happenings following the conference call later today.

Looking Back

Q1 2024 Production And Deliveries

For Q1 2024, Tesla delivered a total of 386,810 cars. Tesla lists Model 3/Y deliveries made up the bulk of the action with 369,783 delivered. Meanwhile, the combined Model S and Model X deliveries hit 17,027, or actually a tad lower, since some Cybertruck sales are likely included in the "other models" category.

On the production front, the combined figure for all Tesla vehicles hit 433,371 in Q1 2024. The breakdown shows that the Model 3/Y accounted for 412,376 of the total production figures, leaving the Model S/X (plus some Cybertrucks) at 20,995.

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Q4 2023 Production And Deliveries, Plus 2023 In Total

In Q4 2023, Tesla delivered a total of 484,507 cars. Tesla Model 3/Y deliveries made up the majority of those with 461,538 delivered. Meanwhile, the combined Model S and Model X deliveries hit around 22,969, minus some Cybertruck deliveries.

The combined figure for production of all Tesla vehicles hit 494,989 in Q4 2023. For the whole of 2023, Tesla delivered 1,808,581 cars and produced 1,845,985 vehicles. The Model 3/Y accounted for the bulk of both figures.

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Tesla Cut Model S, Model X And Model Y Prices By $2,000