Investor's Corner
Tesla Q2 2024 earnings results: TSLA beats revenue, misses EPS estimates
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) posted its Q2 2024 earnings report after markets closed today. The results, which were discussed in the Q2 2024 Update Letter, were released after the closing bell on Wednesday, July 23, 2024.
During the second quarter, Tesla produced 410,831 vehicles and delivered 443,956 vehicles worldwide, comprised of 422,405 Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossovers. In comparison, Wall Street analysts expected Tesla to report 438,019 vehicle deliveries.
Q2 2024 Shareholder Update → https://t.co/sXBSeLiJIj
— Highlights
We continued to expand our vehicle lineup globally, with new trims of Model 3 & Y as well as new S3XY paint options.
Vehicle
– Refreshed Model 3 ramp continued successfully
– We also continue to qualify more… pic.twitter.com/2UuLhlmjvD— Tesla (@Tesla) July 23, 2024
The following is a quick overview of Tesla’s Q2 2024 earnings results.
REVENUE
In the second quarter of 2024, Tesla posted total revenues of $25.5 billion, with automotive revenues at $19.878 billion. FactSet consensus pointed to Tesla posting revenue of $24.5 billion in Q2 2024, while Zacks estimated Tesla to report $25.13 billion in revenue.
Overall, Tesla’s total revenue increased 2% year-over-year, thanks in part to factors such as growth in the company’s energy generation and storage business, Cybertruck deliveries, and higher regulatory credit revenue, among others.
EARNINGS PER SHARE
Tesla’s non-GAAP earnings per share for the second quarter of 2024 was listed at $0.52, while GAAP EPS for Q2 2024 was listed at $0.42. In comparison, FactSet consensus suggested that Tesla would see earnings per share of $0.61 and Zacks expected quarterly earnings of $0.62 per share.
PROFITABILITY
Tesla posted $1.6 billion GAAP operating income in Q2 after restructuring and other charges of $600 million. The electric vehicle maker saw $1.5 billion in GAAP net income and $1.8 billion non-GAAP net income in Q2 2024.
Tesla noted that its operating income decreased year-over-year to $1.6 billion in Q2, resulting in a 6.3% operating margin. This was due in part to reduced S3XY vehicle ASP, restructuring charges, and an increase in operating expenses largely driven by AI projects, to name a few.
CASH
Tesla’s quarter-end cash, cash equivalents, and investments in the second quarter of 2024 was $30.7 billion. The company noted that the sequential increase of $3.9 billion was the result of positive free cash flow of $1.3 billion, which was, in turn, driven by an inventory decrease of $1.8 billion and partially offset by AI infrastructure capex of $600 million in Q2 2024.
Tesla, however, highlighted that it has “sufficient liquidity to fund our product roadmap, long-term capacity expansion plans, and other expenses.” The company also noted that it “will manage the business such that we maintain a strong balance sheet during this uncertain period.”
Below is Tesla’s Q2 2024 Update Letter.
TSLA-Q2-2024-Update by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
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Investor's Corner
Tesla bear gets blunt with beliefs over company valuation
Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Short, and was portrayed by Christian Bale.
Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation
For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.
Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.
While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.
Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.
In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.
Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.
It closed at $430.14 on Monday.
Investor's Corner
Mizuho keeps Tesla (TSLA) “Outperform” rating but lowers price target
As per the Mizuho analyst, upcoming changes to EV incentives in the U.S. and China could affect Tesla’s unit growth more than previously expected.
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh lowered Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) price target to $475 from $485, citing potential 2026 EV subsidy cuts in the U.S. and China that could pressure deliveries. The firm maintained its Outperform rating for the electric vehicle maker, however.
As per the Mizuho analyst, upcoming changes to EV incentives in the U.S. and China could affect Tesla’s unit growth more than previously expected. The U.S. accounted for roughly 37% of Tesla’s third-quarter 2025 sales, while China represented about 34%, making both markets highly sensitive to policy shifts. Potential 50% cuts to Chinese subsidies and reduced U.S. incentives affected the firm’s outlook.
With those pressures factored in, the firm now expects Tesla to deliver 1.75 million vehicles in 2026 and 2 million in 2027, slightly below consensus estimates of 1.82 million and 2.15 million, respectively. The analyst was cautiously optimistic, as near-term pressure from subsidies is there, but the company’s long-term tech roadmap remains very compelling.
Despite the revised target, Mizuho remained optimistic on Tesla’s long-term technology roadmap. The firm highlighted three major growth drivers into 2027: the broader adoption of Full Self-Driving V14, the expansion of Tesla’s Robotaxi service, and the commercialization of Optimus, the company’s humanoid robot.
“We are lowering TSLA Ests/PT to $475 with Potential BEV headwinds in 2026E. We believe into 2026E, US (~37% of TSLA 3Q25 sales) EV subsidy cuts and China (34% of TSLA 3Q25 sales) potential 50% EV subsidy cuts could be a headwind to EV deliveries.
“We are now estimating TSLA deliveries for 2026/27E at 1.75M/2.00M (slightly below cons. 1.82M/2.15M). We see some LT drivers with FSD v14 adoption for autonomous, robotaxi launches, and humanoid robots into 2027 driving strength,” the analyst noted.
Investor's Corner
Tesla stock lands elusive ‘must own’ status from Wall Street firm
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) has landed an elusive “must own” status from Wall Street firm Melius, according to a new note released early this week.
Analyst Rob Wertheimer said Tesla will lead the charge in world-changing tech, given the company’s focus on self-driving, autonomy, and Robotaxi. In a note to investors, Wertheimer said “the world is about to change, dramatically,” because of the advent of self-driving cars.
He looks at the industry and sees many potential players, but the firm says there will only be one true winner:
“Our point is not that Tesla is at risk, it’s that everybody else is.”
The major argument is that autonomy is nearing a tipping point where years of chipping away at the software and data needed to develop a sound, safe, and effective form of autonomous driving technology turn into an avalanche of progress.
Wertheimer believes autonomy is a $7 trillion sector,” and in the coming years, investors will see “hundreds of billions in value shift to Tesla.”
A lot of the major growth has to do with the all-too-common “butts in seats” strategy, as Wertheimer believes that only a fraction of people in the United States have ridden in a self-driving car. In Tesla’s regard, only “tens of thousands” have tried Tesla’s latest Full Self-Driving (Supervised) version, which is v14.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 – Full Review, the Good and the Bad
When it reaches a widespread rollout and more people are able to experience Tesla Full Self-Driving v14, he believes “it will shock most people.”
Citing things like Tesla’s massive data pool from its vehicles, as well as its shift to end-to-end neural nets in 2021 and 2022, as well as the upcoming AI5 chip, which will be put into a handful of vehicles next year, but will reach a wider rollout in 2027, Melius believes many investors are not aware of the pace of advancement in self-driving.
Tesla’s lead in its self-driving efforts is expanding, Wertheimer says. The company is making strategic choices on everything from hardware to software, manufacturing, and overall vehicle design. He says Tesla has left legacy automakers struggling to keep pace as they still rely on outdated architectures and fragmented supplier systems.
Tesla shares are up over 6 percent at 10:40 a.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $416.