This could be essentially the most hyped Tesla earnings in latest reminiscence. And not for all the fitting causes.
Tesla has taken many hits this yr as its CEO Elon Musk leans additional into right-wing politics and oversees DOGE, the advisory physique that President Trump has bestowed the ability to slash federal spending.
For Tesla, that has meant watching each its inventory worth and world gross sales plummet. And that’s not even considering strain from opponents in China, Europe, and North America.
As Tesla bull and Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a be aware this morning, Tesla is dealing with the bottom margin expectations this quarter in 12 years. How Tesla’s inventory performs might be reliant on the corporate’s capability to clarify why its revenue margins are worse than Volkswagen’s amid “probably money burn,” instill confidence in its autonomy plans, and wrangle Musk’s consideration away from the White House.
Analysts surveyed by Yahoo Finance expect income of round $21.41 billion, which might be flat year-over-year and down from $25.7 billion in This fall 2024.
Tesla’s Q1 2025 earnings name is 2:30 pm PT / 5:30 pm ET. The public can pay attention alongside to the decision by tuning in right here, right here, or on X. Here’s what we’ll be listening for.
Updated EV gross sales steerage
During Tesla’s final earnings name, the corporate stated it expects its automobile enterprise to “return to progress in 2025.” Will that also be the case, given Tesla’s unimpressive supply numbers for Q1 and weak buyer demand pushed partly by Musk’s politics?
Tesla recorded 336,681 deliveries within the first three months of the yr, its worst quarterly efficiency in additional than two years.
The automaker does have some tailwinds. It is healthier positioned than different OEMs to climate Trump’s tariff storm as a consequence of its home sourcing and excessive diploma of vertical integration. That stated, Musk’s proximity to Trump most likely doesn’t assist his recognition in China, one among Tesla’s greatest markets. That dynamic may drive extra clients into the open arms of rival BYD.
Any point out of a budget EV
Sources at Tesla have informed us that the corporate has all however deserted its plans for an inexpensive EV, although others have reported the automaker has merely delayed the automobile’s rollout by months. Either means, we’ll be listening out for updates there.
Robotaxi rollout
During Tesla’s full-year 2024 earnings name, Musk stated the corporate would launch a paid ride-hailing robotaxi service in Austin beginning this June. He has stated previously that Tesla would first use Model Y and Model 3 automobiles with “unsupervised” FSD, relatively than its two-seater Cybercab idea that’s constructed with out a steering wheel or pedals.
As analysis analysts at Cantor stated: “Tesla has not but quantified the commercialization of its Robotaxi section, or disclosed preliminary routes/territory.” So buyers and analysts might be looking out for extra concrete particulars of Tesla’s Austin plans.
The automaker has additionally stated that it plans to launch in California this yr, however has been mum on these particulars.
Cybercab manufacturing
We’re additionally hoping to listen to some updates on Tesla’s Cybercab. Federal laws don’t presently permit for operators to mass produce and deploy autonomous automobiles with out human controls inbuilt with out an exemption. Musk will probably bend that regulation to his will, as he’s wont to do, so we’d get some insights later into when Tesla plans to start out manufacturing on these futuristic-looking automobiles.
Optimus updates
In This fall, Musk stated he anticipated Tesla to start out utilizing Optimus humanoid robots internally this yr, significantly for the “boring” duties. We’ll be listening for a timeline for that, in addition to when Tesla says it’s going to start excessive quantity manufacturing of Optimus, and when it expects to start preliminary deliveries.
Dojo or Cortex
Musk and Tesla have been quiet on Dojo since August 2024, a shock given how gung ho they have been in regards to the supercomputer that might assist the corporate obtain its full self-driving desires. Then there’s Cortex, which is Tesla’s different new big AI coaching supercluster being constructed at Tesla HQ in Austin to assist remedy real-world AI. In Tesla’s This fall shareholder deck, the corporate shared updates on Cortex, however nothing on Dojo.
The newest replace we’ve seen got here from the Tesla AI X account present some sort of computing cluster with the phrases, “Quiet please. The machines are studying.” Though it’s not clear if it’s Dojo or Cortex.
The re-priorization of Elon
Per Jonas’s be aware, buyers might be trying to find “any indicators of Tesla’s CEO reprioritizing the efforts of Tesla vs. politically oriented endeavors.”
Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst and different Tesla bull, stated in a be aware Sunday that Musk is dealing with a “Code Red Situation.” He reiterated his earlier stance that Musk must distance himself from DOGE in order that the Tesla model ceases to be a political speaking level.
