Tesla (TSLA) stock was volatile in after-hours trading after the electric vehicle maker missed on both the top and bottom lines, though the company did reveal that Cybertruck deliveries are on track for November 30th of this year.
For the quarter, Tesla reported top-line revenue of $23.4 billion, missing analysts’ estimates of $24.06 billion, however revenue did climb 13% from a year ago. From a profitability standpoint, Tesla reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66 versus $0.74 expected and adjusted net income of $2.3 billion versus the $2.56 billion expected, which is nearly 37% lower than a year ago.
The drop in profitability could be attributed to expected downward pressure on margins since Tesla began its cost-cutting efforts late last year. Tesla reported Q3 gross margin of 17.9%, slightly missing Wall Street estimates of 18.0%. Last quarter Tesla reported gross margin of 18.2%.
Tesla, however, did reiterate its 2023 production goal of 1.8 million vehicles. Earlier this month, Tesla said it delivered 435,059 vehicles globally, of which approximately 419,000 were Model Y and Model 3 vehicles and around 16,000 were higher-priced Model X and Model S cars. Wall Street consensus estimates had deliveries pegged at 456,722.
Through three quarters of the year Tesla has delivered around 1.3 million vehicles globally, so the company will need a very strong quarter — of around 500,000 — to hit its annual delivery goal. Tesla did project that it expects Model Y production to gradually ramp up higher at Giga Austin and Giga Berlin.
Also, CEO Elon Musk noted on the conference call that while Tesla is laying the ground work to begin construction on Giga Mexico, he wanted to get a sense first of global economic conditions before going “full tilt” on the buildout. Musk raised concerns about the rising interest rate environment as an impediment to growth, but said Tesla will eventually build the factory in Mexico when questioned about the project’s future.
Looking ahead to future products, Tesla revealed Cybertruck deliveries remain on track for later this year, with deliveries beginning on November 30. On the conference call, Musk said it would take a year to 18 months before the Cybertruck would be cash-flow positive, and that by 2025 he expected a production run rate of 250,000 units a year.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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