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Tesla Q1 2018 Earnings: $785M cash burned, $3.4B Revenue, Model 3 in focus

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Tesla’s first-quarter earnings for 2018 saw the California-based carmaker beat Wall Street revenue estimates after posting $3.4 billion in revenue and beating earnings estimates with a loss of $568 million.

The results, which were posted in an update letter to investors after the closing bell on Wednesday, May 2, showed first-quarter earnings of -$3.35 per share, beating analyst estimates of -$3.58 per share. Revenue was $3.4 billion versus an estimate of $3.22 billion.

Revenue and Operating Losses

The company’s revenue for the first quarter consisted of $2.74B in automotive revenue and $410M from their energy and battery storage division. Automotive revenue saw an increase of 19.4% compared to the same period last year. The energy and battery storage division nearly doubled revenue with an increase of 91.6% compared to the same period last year. Overall, total revenue was up 26.4% year-on-year.

Automotive revenue slightly increased by 1.2% compared Q4 2017, while energy generation and storage increased significantly by 37.5%. Tesla deployed 76 MW of energy generation and 373 MWh of energy storage products in the first quarter as well.

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Tesla posted operating losses of $563 million in the first quarter, primarily due to the ongoing ramp of the Model 3. On a per-share basis, the company posted a loss of $3.35 per share.

Model 3

Tesla was able to deliver 8,182 Model 3 vehicles during the first quarter of 2018. During the quarter the company produced 9,766 Model 3’s. The company’s Q1 2018 Update Letter maintained the company’s expectations of hitting the 5,000 a week production goal for the Model 3.

“After achieving a production rate of 5,000 per week, we will begin offering new options such as all-wheel-drive and the base model with a standard-sized battery pack,” Tesla stated in the letter.

The company reported that net Model 3 reservations are still above 450,000. Less than 20 Tesla stores have the Model 3 on display, and the company plans to deploy more Model 3’s to other stores.

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Tesla Energy

Tesla did not state how much revenue the massive 129MWh South Australia project generated, stating, “substantial growth of our energy storage deployments and recognition of our large project in South Australia.”

Energy Storage and Generation generated $410 million worth of revenue for the company. The numbers are representative of Tesla Energy’s organic growth since the company acquired SolarCity back in 2016.

Earnings Highlights

“Electric utilities and power producers around the globe are increasingly appreciating the value proposition of our Powerpack storage systems based not only on economic benefits but also on the operational benefits of faster response time and greater reliability of the electric grid. In addition, we deployed a record number of residential Powerwall systems in Q1. In spite of the significant growth of Powerwall deliveries, our backlog in Q1 continued to grow,” Tesla stated in the quarterly letter.

Guidance for the end of 2018

Tesla expects to deliver 100,000 Model S and X vehicles for 2018. The company also reiterated its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 per week by the end of the second quarter. Tesla did not disclose an overall production target for the Model 3 in 2018.

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Tesla also expects its Energy products to start generating more revenue, in light of more battery storage projects and the start of residential installations of Solar Roof tiles. The company also expects to see revenue from its Supercharger network, due to the increasing number of Model 3 using the charging facilities.

Tesla has just over $2.67 billion in cash at the end of the quarter, down from $3.37 billion in the previous quarter.

Today’s trading session ended with TSLA closing up 0.41% at $301.15. After-hours, the stock was trading up nearly another 2%.

Tesla’s full Q1 2018 Update Letter can be accessed here.

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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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Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’

“Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session,” Cramer said.

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Credit: Tesla Optimus/X

Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) got its latest synopsis from Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer, who finally realized something that many fans of the company have known all along: it’s not a car company. Instead, it’s a robotics company.

In a recent note that was released after Tesla reported Earnings in late January, Cramer seemed to recognize that the underwhelming financials and overall performance of the automotive division were not representative of the current state of affairs.

Instead, we’re seeing a company transition itself away from its early identity, essentially evolving like a caterpillar into a butterfly.

The narrative of the Earnings Call was simple: We’re not a car company, at least not from a birds-eye view. We’re an AI and Robotics company, and we are transitioning to this quicker than most people realize.

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Tesla stock gets another analysis from Jim Cramer, and investors will like it

Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call featured plenty of analysis from CEO Elon Musk and others, and some of the more minor details of the call were even indicative of a company that is moving toward AI instead of its cars. For example, the Model S and Model X will be no more after Q2, as Musk said that they serve relatively no purpose for the future.

Instead, Tesla is shifting its focus to the vehicles catered for autonomy and its Robotaxi and self-driving efforts.

Cramer recognizes this:

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“…we got results from Tesla, which actually beat numbers, but nobody cares about the numbers here, as electric vehicles are the past. And according to CEO Elon Musk, the future of this company comes down to Cybercabs and humanoid robots. Stock fell more than 3% the next day. That may be because their capital expenditures budget was higher than expected, or maybe people wanted more details from the new businesses. At this point, I think Musk acolytes might be more excited about SpaceX, which is planning to come public later this year.”

He continued, highlighting the company’s true transition away from vehicles to its Cybercab, Optimus, and AI ambitions:

“I know it’s hard to believe how quickly this market can change its attitude. Last night, I heard a disastrous car company speak. Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session. I didn’t like it as a car company. Boy, I love it as a Cybercab and humanoid robot juggernaut. Call me a buyer and give me five robots while I’m at it.”

Cramer’s narrative seems to fit that of the most bullish Tesla investors. Anyone who is labeled a “permabull” has been echoing a similar sentiment over the past several years: Tesla is not a car company any longer.

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Instead, the true focus is on the future and the potential that AI and Robotics bring to the company. It is truly difficult to put Tesla shares in the same group as companies like Ford, General Motors, and others.

Tesla shares are down less than half a percent at the time of publishing, trading at $423.69.

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Tesla to a $100T market cap? Elon Musk’s response may shock you

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There are a lot of Tesla bulls out there who have astronomical expectations for the company, especially as its arm of reach has gone well past automotive and energy and entered artificial intelligence and robotics.

However, some of the most bullish Tesla investors believe the company could become worth $100 trillion, and CEO Elon Musk does not believe that number is completely out of the question, even if it sounds almost ridiculous.

To put that number into perspective, the top ten most valuable companies in the world — NVIDIA, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, TSMC, Meta, Saudi Aramco, Broadcom, and Tesla — are worth roughly $26 trillion.

Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI

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Cathie Wood of ARK Invest believes the number is reasonable considering Tesla’s long-reaching industry ambitions:

“…in the world of AI, what do you have to have to win? You have to have proprietary data, and think about all the proprietary data he has, different kinds of proprietary data. Tesla, the language of the road; Neuralink, multiomics data; nobody else has that data. X, nobody else has that data either. I could see $100 trillion. I think it’s going to happen because of convergence. I think Tesla is the leading candidate [for $100 trillion] for the reason I just said.”

Musk said late last year that all of his companies seem to be “heading toward convergence,” and it’s started to come to fruition. Tesla invested in xAI, as revealed in its Q4 Earnings Shareholder Deck, and SpaceX recently acquired xAI, marking the first step in the potential for a massive umbrella of companies under Musk’s watch.

SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise

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Now that it is happening, it seems Musk is even more enthusiastic about a massive valuation that would swell to nearly four-times the value of the top ten most valuable companies in the world currently, as he said on X, the idea of a $100 trillion valuation is “not impossible.”

Tesla is not just a car company. With its many projects, including the launch of Robotaxi, the progress of the Optimus robot, and its AI ambitions, it has the potential to continue gaining value at an accelerating rate.

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Musk’s comments show his confidence in Tesla’s numerous projects, especially as some begin to mature and some head toward their initial stages.

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Tesla director pay lawsuit sees lawyer fees slashed by $100 million

The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.

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Credit: Tesla China

The Delaware Supreme Court has cut more than $100 million from a legal fee award tied to a shareholder lawsuit challenging compensation paid to Tesla directors between 2017 and 2020. 

The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.

Delaware Supreme Court trims legal fees

As noted in a Bloomberg Law report, the case targeted pay granted to Tesla directors, including CEO Elon Musk, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Kimbal Musk, and Rupert Murdoch. The Delaware Chancery Court had awarded $176 million to the plaintiffs. Tesla’s board must also return stock options and forego years worth of pay. 

As per Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. in an opinion for the Delaware Supreme Court’s full five-member panel, however, the decision of the Delaware Chancery Court to award $176 million to a pension fund’s law firm “erred by including in its financial benefit analysis the intrinsic value” of options being returned by Tesla’s board.

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The justices then reduced the fee award from $176 million to $70.9 million. “As we measure it, $71 million reflects a reasonable fee for counsel’s efforts and does not result in a windfall,” Chief Justice Seitz wrote.

Other settlement terms still intact

The Supreme Court upheld the settlement itself, which requires Tesla’s board to return stock and options valued at up to $735 million and to forgo three years of additional compensation worth about $184 million. 

Tesla argued during oral arguments that a fee award closer to $70 million would be appropriate. Interestingly enough, back in October, Justice Karen L. Valihura noted that the $176 award was $60 million more than the Delaware judiciary’s budget from the previous year. This was quite interesting as the case was “settled midstream.”

The lawsuit was brought by a pension fund on behalf of Tesla shareholders and focused exclusively on director pay during the 2017–2020 period. The case is separate from other high-profile compensation disputes involving Elon Musk.

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Tesla Litigation by Simon Alvarez

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