Investor's Corner
Tesla increases Q2 production by 20% but falls short of deliveries

Tesla issued its Q2 production and delivery numbers, indicating that the company produced 20 percent more cars this quarter than the previous however fell short in delivering the vehicles to customers.
The Silicon Valley based electric car company reported 18,345 vehicles produced in Q2 or roughly just under 2,000 vehicles per week, and delivered 14,370 vehicles though guidance was set at 17,000 vehicles. Tesla attributed the fact that “Tesla Q2 deliveries were lower than anticipated” to having “5,150 customer-ordered vehicles [..] still in transit, a much higher number than the 2,615 vehicles in transit to customers at the end of Q1.”
Tesla added that half it saw a huge production ramp towards the end of Q2 resulting in half of the quarter’s production occurring in the final four weeks. Model S continues to lead in terms of deliveries consisting of 9,745 units delivered versus 4,625 Model X.

Tesla Q2 2016 Vehicle Production and Deliveries Release [Source: Tesla Investor Relations]
As far as total deliveries for the full year 2016, “Tesla expects to produce and deliver about 50,000 vehicles during the second half of 2016”, which means it will not be able to hit the low end of previous guidance of “80,000 to 90,000 new vehicles in 2016” as the projected 2016 yearly number for 2016 now stands at 79,000.
Tesla Market Action
During the past week $TSLA stock seems to have safely discarded the major bad news about the Model S driver killed while using Autopilot. While the press was flooded with negative articles about the accident (I counted an average of 2-4 articles per day in the Wall Street Journal and on Bloomberg), and the news ended up being reported 2 days in a row in the national news broadcast of all major networks, Wall Street traders shrugged the bad news off completely. While the stock had a temporary drop to 206 in after hours extended trading on Thursday when the news came up on the wire, $TSLA stock shot back with a vengeance to the $216 level on Friday, giving traders one of the best weeks of the year with a whopping 15% weekly gain.
What will $TSLA stock do when the market reopens on Tuesday after the 4th of July holiday? If we look at the response after the Q1 deliveries were reported on April 4, most news outlets reported that Tesla Missed Its Q1 Delivery Targets. Wall Street traders did not care much then, trading the stock up for 3 sessions to an all time high of $266 after the news. In that case, Tesla had reiterated the 80 to 90 thousand deliveries for the year, which may have softened the bad news of total quarterly deliveries.
This is a quick look to today’s headlines in response to the Q2 delivery numbers.
- The Verge: Tesla falls short of delivery estimates in Q2 despite ramping production
- NBC News: Tesla cranks out 20% more cars in Q2, but struggles to deliver them
- USA Today: Tesla deliveries in Q2 fall short of estimates
- ABC News: Tesla Vehicle Deliveries Slip in Q2
Technical indicators were in a really good spot at market close on Friday: 4-days of positive Heikin Ashi charts, MACD positive, MACD averages “pinching”, indication the possible start of a longer breakout on the upside. But the possible bullish breakout could be stopped by the market reaction to what is effectively a “miss” of guidance for the year, more than the smaller numbers for the quarter.
Will Wall Street traders shrug off the Q2 negative results like they did with Q1?

Source: Wall Street I/O
Elon Musk
Tesla called ‘biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen’ by Yale associate dean

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is being called “the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen” by Yale School of Management Senior Associate Dean Jeff Sonnenfeld, who made the comments in a recent interview with CNBC.
Sonnenfeld’s comments echo those of many of the company’s skeptics, who argue that its price-to-earnings ratio is far too high when compared to other companies also in the tech industry. Tesla is often compared to companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft when these types of discussions come up.
Fundamentally, yes, Tesla does trade at a P/E level that is significantly above that of any comparable company.
However, it is worth mentioning that Tesla is not traded like a typical company, either.
Here’s what Sonnenfeld said regarding Tesla:
“This is the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen. Even at its peak, Amazon was nowhere near this level. The PE on this, well above 200, is just crazy. When you’ve got stocks like Nvidia, the price-earnings ratio is around 25 or 30, and Apple is maybe 35 or 36, Microsoft around the same. I mean, this is way out of line to be at a 220 PE. It’s crazy, and they’ve, I think, put a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”
Many analysts have admitted in the past that they believe Tesla is an untraditional stock in the sense that many analysts trade it based on narrative and not fundamentals. Ryan Brinkman of J.P. Morgan once said:
“Tesla shares continue to strike us as having become completely divorced from the fundamentals.”
Dan Nathan, another notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, recently turned bullish on the stock because of “technicals and sentiment.” He said just last week:
“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting.”
Nathan said Tesla shares show signs of strength moving forward, including holding its 200-day moving average and holding against current resistance levels.
Sonnenfeld’s synopsis of Tesla shares points out that there might be “a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
This could refer to different things: perhaps his recent $1 billion stock buy, which sent the stock skyrocketing, or the fact that many Tesla investors are fans and owners who do not buy and sell on numbers, but rather on news that Musk might report himself.
Tesla is trading around $423.76 at the time of publication, as of 3:25 p.m. on the East Coast.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk affirms Tesla commitment and grueling work schedule: “Daddy is very much home”
The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reiterated his commitment to the electric vehicle maker and its future projects this week, responding to speculation following his $1 billion purchase of TSLA stock.
The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market, extending a rally fueled in part by Musk’s TSLA purchase.
Elon Musk’s nonstop work schedule
Amidst the reaction of TSLA stock to Musk’s $1 billion investment, Tesla owners such as @greggertruck noted that “Daddy’s home.” Musk replied, stating that “Daddy is very much home.” He then shared details of a packed weekend of work, which was definitely grueling but completely within character for a “wartime CEO.”
Musk did note, however, that he had lunch with his kids during the weekend despite his extremely busy schedule.
“Daddy is very much home. Am burning the midnight oil with Optimus engineering on Friday night, then redeye overnight to Austin arriving 5am, wake up to have lunch with my kids and then spend all Saturday afternoon in deep technical reviews for the Tesla AI5 chip design.
“Fly to Colossus II on Monday to walk the whole datacenter floor, review transformers and power production (excellent progress), depart midnight. Then up to 12 hours of back-to-back meetings across all Tesla departments, but with a particular focus on AI/Autopilot, Optimus production plans, and vehicle production/delivery,” Musk wrote in his post.
Wartime CEO
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives described Musk as operating in “wartime CEO mode,” highlighting autonomous driving and AI as a trillion-dollar market opportunity for Tesla. Musk reiterated this point late last month as well, when he outlined the several projects he is juggling among his numerous companies. At the time, Musk stated that he was busy with Starship 10, Grok 5, and Tesla V14. This was despite his notable presence on X.
With Tesla Master Plan Part IV being partly released, the company is entering what could very well be its most ambitious stage to date. To usher in an era of sustainable abundance, Tesla would definitely require a “wartime CEO,” someone who could remain locked in and determined to push through any obstacles to ensure that the company achieves its goals.
Elon Musk
Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.
One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Dorsheimer said in the note:
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”
Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.
He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.
Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.
In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:
“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”
Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.
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