How did Tesla perform in the second quarter and how are traders reacting to the announcement?

[John Naronha]

[Ignatius Bose]

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported a loss of $408m, or $2.31 a share, in the second quarter, marginally better than the $718m, or $4.22 a share, loss a year earlier. Adjusted for one-time items, EPS fell by $1.12 a share compared to a loss of $3.06 in the previous year. Sales, on the other hand, rose to $6.3bn from $4bn a year back, but still failed to beat Street consensus of $6.5bn and an adjusted quarterly loss of 35c.

Not only did the earnings upset investors who were expecting a smaller loss after a record second-quarter sales, but the bad news was compiled with Chief Executive Elon Musk announcing the transition of Tesla’s CTO JB Straubel to an advisory role.

Shares of Tesla, which fell 11% in aftermarket hours on Wednesday following the disappointing earnings announcement, extended its decline by another 2% on Thursday and were seen trading at $229.96, the lowest price since 2nd July. In the year to date, Tesla is down more than 30% compared to the 25% gains on the NASDAQ Composite Index.