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Tesla Shares Drop 7% Following Q1 Earnings

Sam Boughedda trader
Updated 20 Apr 2023

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares plunged in after-hours trading and premarket Thursday after the electric vehicle giant reported earnings for the first quarter, disappointing investors.


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Depending on the source, Tesla's profit was either in line or topped consensus estimates, while revenue either beat or missed expectations. According to Yahoo Finance, Tesla's adjusted EPS of $0.85 per share was below Street expectations of $0.86, while CNBC stated that the expected EPS was $0.85. Even so, adjusted EPS declined 21% year-over-year. In addition, net income, at $2.51 billion, fell 24% YoY.

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Meanwhile, revenue came in at $23.33 billion, with Yahoo Finance stating the expected number was $23.35 billion and CNBC saying it was $23.21 billion. Total revenue rose 24%, while automotive revenue climbed to $19.96 billion in the quarter, up 18%.

Regardless, Tesla shares are down more than 7% premarket at the time of writing. Adding to Wednesday's 2% decline. Ahead of the open, Tesla shares are down more than 46% in the last 12 months.

The drop in earnings was attributed to factors such as the underutilization of new factories, margin headwinds, higher raw materials, logistics and warranty costs, and lower credit revenue.

In its release, Tesla noted its recent price reductions, stating that its “near-term pricing strategy considers a long-term view on per vehicle profitability given the potential lifetime value of a Tesla vehicle through autonomy, supercharging, connectivity and service.”

“We expect that our product pricing will continue to evolve, upwards or downwards, depending on a number of factors,” the company added. “Although we implemented price reductions on many vehicle models across regions in the first quarter, our operating margins reduced at a manageable rate. We expect ongoing cost reduction of our vehicles, including improved production efficiency at our newest factories and lower logistics costs, and remain focused on operating leverage as we scale.”

Tesla produced over 440,000 vehicles and delivered over 422,000 vehicles in the quarter.


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Sam is a trader and lead stock market writer at AskTraders. After starting his career in the forex market, Sam now focuses on stocks, specifically consumer staples. 
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