Tesla Falls As Price Cuts Drive Margins Lower

Tesla (TSLA:US) shares opened lower on Thursday after the electric vehicles (EVs) maker reported a soft set of second-quarter results.

Despite a top-and-bottom line beat, Tesla’s margins – which were the focus of the Q2 earnings report – were expectedly weaker than earlier given substantial price cuts introduced to increase demand.

Tesla reported net income of $2.7 billion and operating income of $2.4 billion. Revenue came in at $24.9 billion while earnings per share were $0.91 – with both coming in higher than the analyst targets.

Speaking on the earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said: “We continue to target 1.8 million vehicle deliveries this year, but expect Q3 production will be a little bit down because we’ve got summer shutdowns for a lot of factory upgrades.”

The operating margin was 9.6% while the total gross margin came in at 18.2%.

“The short-term variances in gross margin and profitability really are minor relative to the long-term picture. Autonomy will make all of these numbers look silly,” Musk added.

Musk also said that “Cybertrucks” will begin to be shipped this year while Tesla prepares to ramp up production in 2024. 

The Q2 earnings report comes after several Representatives, including Josh Gottheimer and Mike Garcia disclosed they were selling Tesla shares in recent weeks and months. 

Most notably, Congressman Mike Garcia disclosed he made two sales in the first half of June, taking advantage of more than 130% year-to-date rally in Tesla stock.