What we learned from the Tesla 'company update'

Business Insider

Tesla's company update gave insight to the effects of DOGE controversy, backlash and tariffs on Tesla's revenue. Elon Musk also gave updates on the future of robotaxis and Tesla's anticipated more affordable model.

Transcript

00:00Tesla released its first quarter earnings report yesterday. Tesla reported revenue of $19.34 billion,

00:07which is a 9% year-over-year decrease and below analyst expectations of $21.43 billion.

00:14Auto revenues were down 20% year-over-year. Elon Musk started the call hot by addressing

00:19Doge controversy and backlash. He also announced that starting next month,

00:24he'll be spending significantly less time with the organization.

00:27I'll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president

00:32would like me to do so and as long as it is useful. Tesla's CFO said part of the earnings miss was due

00:37to lost production tied to the Model Y refresh. He also said vandalism and anti-Tesla hostility had

00:44an impact in certain markets. Tesla also gave updates on the upcoming RoboTaxi service launch

00:49in Austin. The company said it would start with 10 or 20 Model Ys on day one. Remote operators will

00:55also be involved at the launch to help with safety concerns. Tesla has promised to begin production

01:00of more affordable models in the first half of 2025. It didn't show off any of the upcoming models,

01:06but it did say that it's still on track to start production on that timeline. Tariffs were also

01:10brought up multiple times throughout the call. Musk said that Tesla is the least affected company when

01:15it comes to tariffs, but it can still be tough on a company when margins are low. The CEO also said

01:21that he's an advocate of predictable tariff structures as well as pre-trade and lower

01:25tariffs. I just want to emphasize that the tariff decision is entirely up to the president of the

01:30United States. I've been on the record many times of saying that I believe lower tariffs are generally

01:35a good idea for prosperity, but this decision is fundamentally up to the elected representative

01:39of the people being the president of the United States. During the call, Musk also said autonomy will

01:45start to affect Tesla's bottom line mid-2026, and he expects thousands of Optimus robots in Tesla's

01:51factories by the end of this year. Tesla also said during the call that even though it experienced

01:56economic strain in California, it remained the best-selling car. It also said there was a record

02:01number globally of Tesla test drives in the first quarter. Some of Tesla's numbers weren't great this

02:07quarter, but the stock went up over five percent in after-hours trading.

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