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Tesla bulls take a stand in defense of TSLA ahead of the Q2 earnings call

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As Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) approaches the release of its second-quarter earnings, some of the electric car maker’s supporters are taking a stand to express their support for the company. Among them is JMP Securities analyst Joseph Osha, who stated that Tesla’s financial position should improve after the first quarter, which saw the company getting hit by delivery challenges and a debt repayment. 

Osha expressed his confidence in Tesla stock, stating that he expects the electric car maker to cap off the year with $3.5 billion in cash and equivalents, up from the roughly $2.2 billion at the end of the first quarter. “We think it is a mistake to look for further negative free cash flow unless operations weaken again,” Osha stated.

The JMP analyst also believes that Tesla will likely refinance a convertible issue coming due in November, instead of making a cash payment. “If our forecasts are correct, we believe that concerns regarding Tesla’s liquidity should ease,” Osha added. 

Osha is among Tesla’s staunch supporters, keeping an “Outperform” rating on the stock and an optimistic price target of $347 per share. That’s about 27% above FactSet’s average of $273 per share.  

Tom Choi of Third Square Capital, who holds a bullish stance on Tesla, recently published its long-term expectations for the company as well. Explaining his position, Choi noted that Tesla could hit $890 per share in 2-5 years, considering the company’s outstanding disruptive product portfolio, strong brand, competitive cost structure, and a minimal competitive risk thanks to other disrupted legacy competitors. 

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Addressing the idea of more experienced automakers eclipsing Tesla’s vehicles with their own, Choi noted that veteran carmakers would likely continue to struggle amidst the industry’s transition towards electrification. A prominent example of this is Volkswagen, whose CEO declared back in 2013 that the company will be the leader in electromobility by 2018. The German automaker has so far failed in this goal, with its first all-electric vehicle, the ID.3, only being unveiled this year.

Tesla, on the other hand, is aggressively growing, and it is being led by Elon Musk, a man who is deeply invested in the company. This, together with the electric car maker’s preference for vertical integration, will likely be a key difference-maker as the auto industry enters the electric age. Couple that with a full self-driving strategy that is founded on real-world data from an ever-growing fleet of vehicles, and Tesla seems poised to dominate in the years to come.

Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call is expected to be held on Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (6:30 p.m. Eastern Time).

As of writing, Tesla stock is trading +0.62% at $261.78 per share.

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Investor's Corner

BYD to overtake Tesla in BEV sales this 2025: Counterpoint Research

Counterpoint’s insights were shared by the market researcher on its official website.

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BYD-5-minute-ev-charging
(Credit: BYD)

Counterpoint Research has estimated that Chinese automaker BYD will be able to overtake American electric car maker Tesla in Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sales this 2025.

Counterpoint’s insights were shared by the market researcher on its official website.

The (Counter)Point

Counterpoint Research’s latest Global Passenger EV Forecast suggests that BYD will be capturing a 15.7% global market share this year. This is expected to be driven by scale, innovation, and strong backing from the Chinese government.

The market researcher highlighted a number of factors that could help BYD become the world’s premier BEV maker this year. These include the company’s 1,000-kW ultra-fast charging technology and 10C charging rate batteries, which exceed Tesla’s current Supercharger offerings.

“The system can deliver 400 km of range in just 5 minutes, setting a new industry benchmark, far outpacing Tesla’s Supercharger, which adds about 275 km in 10 minutes. This technological leap is expected to significantly ease consumer concerns around charging time and boost EV adoption by reducing charging anxiety,” Abhik Mukherjee, Research Analyst at Counterpoint, stated

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The Tesla Factor

Counterpoint argued that Tesla, in comparison, is confronting several challenges, from damaged public perception due to CEO Elon Musk’s politics to geopolitical tensions between the United States and key markets like China. The market researcher highlighted Tesla’s soft sales in Europe and other markets, though it did not seem to consider the company’s changeover to the new Model Y across its global factories in Q1 2025.

“CEO Elon Musk has scored somewhat of an own goal against Tesla, and we are about to catch a glimpse of how much the company’s sales were hurt in Q1 2025. This is a big opportunity for BYD and if they deliver on the fast-charging promise, this could be the turning point for BYD and the China BEV story globally,” Counterpoint Associate Director Liz Lee stated.

Not the First Forecast

As noted in a CNEV Post report, this is not the first time that Counterpoint has predicted that BYD will overtake Tesla’s BEV sales. Last July, the market researcher expected BYD to overtake Tesla in 2024 to become the world’s top BEV maker. Tesla still beat BYD’s BEV sales at the end of 2024, however, with the American EV maker delivering a total of 1,789,226 vehicles globally versus the Chinese automaker’s 1,764,992 units.

In Q1 2025, however, BYD does seem to have momentum. BYD sold 416,388 passenger BEVs in the first quarter. As per Tesla’s Q1 vehicle delivery and production report, the company was able to deliver a total of 336,681 vehicles in the first quarter of 2025.

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Tesla bull Wedbush responds to Q1 deliveries: ‘A disaster on every metric’

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Credit: diagnosticdennis/Instagram and @smile__no via Tesla Owners of Santa Clarita Valley/X

Tesla bull Wedbush has responded to the company’s lackluster Q1 delivery figures, which were released on Wednesday morning in a new note from analyst Dan Ives.

Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 vehicles in the first quarter of the year, a far cry from the Wall Street estimate of 352,000 and whisper numbers of roughly 350,000. At first glance, it seems to be a disaster, but Tesla said it lost “several weeks of production” in Q1 due to the ramp of the new Model Y at all four of its vehicle production factories.

Tesla (TSLA) reports 336,681 vehicle deliveries for Q1 2025

This could be part of the reason that the company experienced a quarter of this performance, but there are also factors stemming from CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the U.S. government, which has created some pushback in various markets.

It’s tough to say how much of each issue caused this type of quarter, but Ives wrote in a note to investors that Wedbush could not look at this “with rose-colored glasses,” as the performance “was a disaster on every metric.”

Ives believes it is time for Musk to make a move:

“The Street and us knew a bad 1Q was coming but this was even worse than expected. The time has come for Musk….it’s a fork in the road moment. The more political he gets with DOGE the more the brand suffers, there is no debate. This quarter was an example of the damage Musk is causing Tesla. This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis moment and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla with much better days ahead.”

Interestingly, the stock dropped over 5 percent after the delivery report. It quickly rebounded 8 percent and is currently up over 5 percent on the day after a report from Politico stated that Musk and President Donald Trump have discussed the CEO stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Based on that, it seems that investors were looking for Musk to step back from his government duties and show more public attention to Tesla. Realistically, we do not know how much of his time is being devoted to Tesla and its EV initiative. However, it seems investors were ready to hear something along the lines of Musk being more involved and speaking openly about Tesla and its projects.

It’s not all bad. Ives still recognizes Tesla’s prowess with the rollout of robotaxi and Full Self-Driving and how much impact it could have moving forward:

“Autonomous remains the biggest transformation to the auto industry in modern-day history and in our view, Tesla will own the autonomous market in the US and globally with the launch of unsupervised FSD in Austin kicking off the autonomous era at Tesla that we value at $1 trillion alone on a sum-of-the-parts valuation…”

With that being said, he also wants Musk to balance responsibilities with DOGE and Tesla:

“BUT…Musk needs to stop this political firestorm and balance being CEO of Tesla with DOGE. The future is so bright but this is a full blown crisis Tesla is navigating now and its primarily self-inflected. We remain firmly bullish on the long-term Tesla story but Musk needs to get his act together or else unfortunately darker times are ahead for Tesla.”

Tesla shares are trading at $283.01, up 5.42% at 1:57 p.m. on the East Coast.

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Tesla (TSLA) shares date for “Company Update” and Q1 2025 earnings call

Tesla seems to be planning something slightly different for the upcoming event.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has announced the date for its upcoming first quarter 2025 earnings call. 

Interestingly enough, the company seems to be planning something slightly different for the upcoming event.

Tesla Q1 2025 Earnings Call Date

As shared by Tesla in its Q1 2025 vehicle production and delivery report, the company would be holding its first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. Central Time / 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Similar to past earnings calls, the event will be livestreamed. An archived version of the session would also be shared on the company’s website.

Prior to the earnings call, Tesla will be releasing its Q1 2025 Update Letter. The Q1 2025 Update Letter will be released after markets close on April 22.

A Company Update

Tesla enthusiasts and TSLA bulls have observed that the electric vehicle maker adjusted its wording a bit in its Q1 2025 vehicle delivery and production report. As could be seen in the release, Tesla noted that it would also be holding a “Company Update” on April 22. This is the first time that such an event has been referenced by the electric vehicle maker with its quarterly earnings call.

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“In addition to posting first quarter results, Tesla management will hold a live company update and question and answer webcast that day,” Tesla wrote in its Q1 2025 vehicle delivery and production report. Tesla also referenced a “Company Update” in a post on its official X account.

Expectations are high that Tesla will discuss some of its highly anticipated projects during its Company Update. These may include, among other things, new affordable vehicles that were mentioned in the Q4 and Full Year 2024 Update Letter.

“Plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025. These vehicles will utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up,” Tesla wrote.

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