Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 earnings call comes on the heels of the company’s Q4 and FY 2022 Update Letter. Tesla’s Q4 numbers were very impressive, with the company achieving its highest-ever quarterly revenue, operating income, and net income.
Tesla highlighted a number of its key milestones in the fourth quarter. Both Gigafactory Texas and Giga Berlin were able to achieve a production of 3,000 Model Y per week. The company’s 4680 cell production line was also able to produce enough batteries to make 1,000 battery packs. The Tesla Semi started deliveries in December as well.
In the fourth quarter, Tesla’s total revenues grew 37% to $24.318 billion. Operating income improved year-over-year to $3.9 billion in the fourth quarter as well. However, automotive gross margins were listed at 25.9%, which is impressive but slightly lower than expectations, which were at 26.4%.
The following are live updates from Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2022 earnings call. I will be updating this article in real-time, so please keep refreshing the page to view the latest updates on this story. The first entry starts at the bottom of the page.
17:35 CT – And that wraps up Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2022 earnings call! Thanks so much for staying with us for this live blog. Until the next time!
17:32 CT – Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley asked if it was time for Tesla to use captives. Kirkhorn noted that Tesla uses captives to support third-party gaps and to support its automotive business. Elon Musk also highlighted that Tesla is adopting cautious strategies. “Tesla is in a good position to handle a recession because it doesn’t have debt and it has $20 billion in cash,” Musk said.
17:26 CT – William Stein of Truist asked about Tesla’s AI element, and if the company can provide more details about Dojo and Optimus. Elon noted that Tesla is still in its early, but Tesla expects that Dojo will be competitive with the Nvidia H1 in 2023 and hopefully surpass it by next year.
17:23 CT – The analyst asked if Tesla wishes to accelerate commercial vehicle production outside the Semi. Elon Musk confirmed that yes, Tesla would be doing this, though the product has not been announced as of yet.
17:22 CT – Tesla executives also highlighted that there is no EV market. However, Chinese carmakers are likely the most likely to be second to Tesla, since they work hard and they work smart. “They work the hardest and the smartest,” Musk said, Elon candidly admits that overall, Tesla China is winning in its own right.
17:21 CT – Another analyst asked what company Tesla sees as its chief competitor five years from now. Elon Musk noted that Tesla doesn’t really know. In self-driving alone, it really seems like Tesla is far ahead of the second placer. “We don’t really know who would be a distant second… Right now, I don’t think you can see a distant second with a telescope” Musk said.
17:19 CT – Alex Potter from Piper Sandler asked about FSD and deferred revenue that was unlocked in the quarter. Kirkhorn noted that Tesla structure its strategy in two ways: Full Self-Driving and Enhanced Autopilot. The analyst asked about the Giga Nevada’s batteries, and how the 4680 cells from Nevada would be allocated in the future. Elon Musk responded that there’s too much guessing at this point. However, not all of the 100 GWh from the 4680 plant in Giga Nevada will be used for the Tesla Semi.
17:15 CT – Elon Musk confirms that Tesla is looking to start using Dojo by the end of this year. “Tesla is really one of the most leading AI companies,” the CEO said.
17:14 CT – The analyst also asked if the take rate for FSD is improving. Musk noted that the trend is very strong toward the use of FSD. “With each incremental improvement, the enthusiasm matches the increases,” Musk said.
17:13 CT – Tesla executives also noted that the Model 3 and Model Y are mature now, so Tesla is seeing areas where costs could be optimized more. The company is learning info that helps increase margins, specifically with the powertrain. These could then reduce its costs through the continuous improvements of its vehicles.
17:10 CT – Pierre Ferragu from New Street Research asked how much time Tesla needs to get to 36K in Texas and Berlin. Kirkhorn noted that Tesla would probably not see 36k this year, but it will make progress. As for Austin and Berlin inefficiencies, Kirkhorn believes that Tesla will see improvement.
17:05 CT – Rod Lache from Wolfe Research asks about Tesla’s 1.8 million forecast. Elon noted that Tesla’s pace is actually at 2 million vehicles this year, but since there are a lot of force majeure events that would probably happen, it’s best to be conservative. Ultimately, internal production potential is closer to 2 million vehicles than 1.8 million.
17:03 CT – Next question is about Cybertruck’s production. Elon notes that Summer 2023 is the target, but it would be slow at first. “I wouldn’t put too much stock in the start of production,” Elon said, noting that volume production is what’s really important. Volume production is important and it will start in 2024.
17:00 CT – Elon adds that Tesla Insurance is a good feedback loop for the company. Through Tesla Insurance, Tesla has adjusted the design of the car and its software to minimize the cost of repair, the CEO noted. Work is still ongoing to make repairs better, of course. “We’re actually solving how to fix the car very quickly and efficiently and get it back to the customer,” Musk said.
16:58 CT – Next question is directed at the CFO, and it is about Tesla Insurance. Kirkhorn note that it might be some time before Tesla Insurance is large enough for disclosure. “It will take some time before Tesla Insurance warrants specific financial disclosures,” Kirkhorn said, adding that growth is 20% a quarter for now. Take rates are also high after customers take delivery of their cars. Elon adds that Tesla Insurance is a good feedback loop for the company.
16:56 CT – Next questions are about Tesla’s 4680 cell production ramp and Hardware 4. Executives noted that Tesla is making steady progress with Giga Texas’ 4680 ramp. Elon also confirmed that Hardware 4 would be introduced with the Cybertruck. The CEO also noted that he plans to drive the Cybertruck every day when it comes out.
16:53 CT – Next question is about Elon’s political statements on Twitter and if it damages Tesla’s brand. Elon notes that he has about 127 million followers on Twitter, and it’s still growing. “This suggests that I’m reasonably popular,” Musk said. “Twitter is incredibly powerful for driving demand for Tesla, so I’m encouraging automotive brands worldwide to (use) Twitter… I think Twitter is an incredibly powerful tool for driving demand.”
16:51 CT – Next question from investors is about the company’s gross automotive margin, especially following the company’s price cuts. Analysts estimated that automotive gross margin, excluding leases and reg credits, would drop below 20% and the average selling price around $47k across all models. Tesla believes it will be above the metrics mentioned in the question, at least based on current data.
16:48 CT – Kirkhorn states that Tesla will get a different amount of credits, and that the company wants to use incentives to push affordability. “We want to use this to accelerate sustainable energy, which is our mission and the reason for the bill.” Kirkhorn said.
16:46 CT – Another question about credits was asked. Elon noted that long-term, Tesla would be able to get significant value from credits. That being said, this is reliant on domestic manufacturing. “Long-term Tesla expects the value of these credits to be very significant,” Musk said, adding that the value of credits in 2023 won’t be gigantic, but they could be gigantic in the future.
16:45 CT – Investor questions begin. First questions were about demand concerns, which Elon and Zach had already been addressed.
16:44 CT – Kirkhorn noted that Tesla is prioritizing its funding for the company’s future plans. Tesla is working on fixing its inefficiencies, including Berlin/Texas ramp, and in-house cell production, the CFO explained.
16:43 CT – CFO Zachary Kirkhorn takes the stage. Similar to Elon Musk, the CFO thanked the Tesla team for its accomplishments last year. He noted that revenue has increased by 50% and operating income doubled. “We believe we are in a good trajectory,” Kirkhorn said, also highlighting that demand is very strong for the company’s products.
16:40 CT – “I would like to make it clear that there is path towards a sustainable energy future,” Musk said, adding that Tesla is ramping Megapack production at a rate that’s faster than the company’s vehicle output. “Manufacturing technology would be our most important long-term strength,” Musk said.
16:38 CT – Elon also highlighted a number of key updates for Tesla FSD Beta, which has been rolled out to roughly 400,000 users. Total miles driven with FSD Beta outside of highways reached 100 million miles as well. The CEO also highlighted the safety of the FS Beta program. “We would not have released FSD Beta if these statistics were not accurate,” Musk said.
16:37 CT – Elon noted that Tesla’s demand is strong, especially following the price cuts. The company has seen its strongest orders in January 2023, almost twice as much as production. “We think demand will be good despite probably a contraction in the auto industry as a whole,” Elon said.
16:35 CT – Here are Elon’s remarks. “It was a fantastic year for Tesla. It was our best year ever, on every level,” he said.
16:32 CT – And it starts! Elon, Zach, and other executives are present. Martin Vicha is opening the call.
16:29 CT – One minute to go! Who thinks this is going to start in Elon Time? The results are positive though, so Tesla may start this earnings call early.
16:15 CT – This coming call will definitely be interesting. Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2022 vehicle delivery and production report was framed so negatively that it’s almost a pleasant surprise to see the company’s numbers showing a lot of strength. Tesla posted great results in Q4, so it would be interesting to see exactly what the company’s executives would discuss in the earnings call.
Tesla’s Q4 and FY 2022 earnings call webcast can be viewed below.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk calls Earth’s data centers “peanuts” next to what SpaceX is planning in orbit
Elon Musk says SpaceX capex efficiency is underestimated as orbital data centers loom by 2028.
Elon Musk is pushing back on one of the biggest worries hanging over SpaceX stock. In a reply on X on Sunday, Musk said the company’s capital expenditure efficiency is severely underestimated. He was responding to a Milk Road Stocks post citing analyst Kyle Reidhead, who estimates SpaceX will need to spend roughly $470 billion over the next five quarters.
Reidhead built that figure around the target SpaceX set on its third quarter earnings call: 13 gigawatts or more of compute by the end of 2027. In his breakdown, Nvidia captures 83 to 89 percent of the spending. SpaceX ended the quarter with 1.7 GW of nameplate compute and guided to $35 billion to $40 billion in fourth quarter capex, as Teslarati reported.
Musk did not attach a number to his claim, but the earnings call shows the argument. CFO Bret Johnsen said new compute currently pays for itself in under a year at today’s pricing, and Musk said that window could shrink to six months next year. Using that pace, Reidhead argues about $230 billion of the $470 billion could come from operating cash flow and about $60 billion from SpaceX’s roughly $90 billion cash pile, leaving around $180 billion to borrow. Musk confirmed last week that SpaceX had already closed a new $40 billion debt raise to buy GPUs.
The ground buildout is not the end goal. It is what is meant to pay for the move to orbit. Replying on Friday to charts built from Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire’s SpaceX model, Musk wrote that “Terrestrial compute will be peanuts compared to orbital compute,” adding that orbital compute deployed per month “probably exceeds terrestrial around the end of 2028 and then far exceeds it in 2029.”
Maguire’s model shows how steep that path is. It has capex climbing from $88 billion this year to $290 billion in 2027 and $369 billion in 2028, with SpaceX burning $77.8 billion in cash this year and $122.6 billion next year before turning $114.9 billion cash positive in 2028. Musk’s response to the model was, “I think we can do better.”
The orbital half runs through Starmind. SpaceX plans to operate up to 1 million AI satellites flying in clusters of about 10, linked by roughly 10 terabits of bandwidth, with deployment of thousands of units starting as soon as late 2027 out of its Gigasat factory in Bastrop, Texas, according to SpaceX’s space safety page. Musk has said each Starmind spacecraft will carry more than 250 kW of solar power.
Getting there depends on launch volume. Maguire’s model assumes 250 Starship flights in 2028, up from two this year and 38 next year. The nearer test is financial: SpaceX guided to $33 billion to $37 billion in first quarter 2027 revenue, more than double the $14.58 billion it booked in Q3, and Musk reposted that guidance again on Sunday morning.
Elon Musk
SpaceX President to gift Trump Accounts her SpaceX stock
Gwynne Shotwell’s 2 million SpaceX shares are headed to children’s Trump Accounts starting this December.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Friday that more than 2 million SpaceX shares belonging to her and her husband, Robert, will be distributed to children’s Trump Accounts in December, turning a pledge she made over the summer into an actual transfer. “Robert and I are thrilled that our gift of over 2 million shares of SpaceX stock will be distributed to children’s Trump accounts in December!” Shotwell wrote on X, adding that the shares are “transferring to escrow as we speak.”
The first round goes to children aged 11 to 17 who live in ZIP codes where the median family income is $57,000 or less, along with kids in ZIP codes with too few residents for the Census to report that figure. Shotwell said those families should receive a notice by Monday, Reuters reported.
A second gift is expected to be finalized in the next few weeks. That round will cover eligible children in military families serving overseas, children in foster care, and more kids in Texas counties near the Shotwells’ home where median family income is $90,000 or less. Elon Musk replied to the announcement with “Cool” and a heart emoji.
Shotwell first announced the donation on July 6, less than a month after SpaceX priced its record IPO at $135 per share on the Nasdaq. IPO filings showed Shotwell owned about 12.6 million SpaceX shares, Quartz reported at the time, which makes the gift roughly one sixth of her stake. At the roughly $146 per share used to value Musk’s own pledge earlier this month, 2 million shares are worth about $290 million.
How the stock would actually reach the accounts had been an open question since July. Treasury guidance acknowledged that stock donations could flow into Trump Accounts, but it did not explain the mechanics for a program whose contributions default into an S&P 500 index fund. Shotwell thanked the Treasury, the IRS, the Dell Foundation, Greater Horizons, Invest America and the law firms Morgan Lewis and Gibson Dunn for “working over the past few months to make this happen.”
The transfer also works as a dry run for a far larger gift. On October 19, Musk said he would give one of his SpaceX shares to every kid in America next year and called it “the first of many.” With roughly 72 million children in the country, that pledge is worth about $10.5 billion. President Donald Trump thanked Musk the same day and said the shares would go through Trump Accounts, though neither SpaceX nor the Treasury has published how or when that distribution will happen.
Shotwell’s recipients also fill a gap in the program itself. Trump Accounts launched on July 4, and the $1,000 Treasury deposit only goes to babies born between 2025 and 2028. Teenagers aged 11 to 17 receive no government seed money, so for many of the families getting a notice on Monday, SpaceX stock will be the first asset in the account. The accounts convert into retirement accounts when the child turns 18.
Investor's Corner
Tesla has a Cybercab problem nobody saw coming
Tesla’s Cybercab line now builds robotaxis faster than Tesla can deploy them, Lars Moravy says.
Tesla’s Cybercab line in Texas can now build the two seat robotaxi faster than the company can put it into service, according to Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering. “We don’t run every day because the line can run so fast. It’s currently outpacing our deployments,” Moravy said in a new Cybercab deep dive from Munro Live. “So, it’s a bit of a race right now. Who’s going to go faster? Right now the manufacturing line’s ahead.”
Tesla’s official Robotaxi account shared a Cybercab analysis video on X on Monday, calling it a “Cybercab engineering deep dive.” Moravy’s comments go further than what he told analysts on the Q3 earnings call last week, when he said the Cybercab line’s listed capacity of more than 125,000 units a year undersells what it can actually run.
The tour shows where that speed comes from. Tesla’s unboxed process splits the Cybercab into front, rear, side and center modules that are built and tested on their own before they meet on a short final line. That final line has just 25 fully automated stations, which Tesla’s team estimated is a fifth to a tenth of what a Model Y needs. The full line is about 78% automated, the framing line is already at 100%, and the layout uses roughly 50% less floor space per vehicle. The stated goal is “100% automation in 10 second cycle time,” or one finished Cybercab every 10 seconds.
Tesla also deleted the paint shop. Only the side modules are coated, and the exterior panels get their color inside the molding machine. Engineers said the car is designed to run at least 500,000 miles, which matters for a vehicle that will spend most of its day carrying riders.
The battery got the same treatment. The Cybercab uses an 88S6P pack of 4680 cells in a steel enclosure, a first for Tesla, with each module potted separately so a single failed module can be swapped instead of the whole pack. Wireless battery management boards replace a wiring harness, and new contactors are fast enough to drop the pyro fuse entirely. Tesla’s battery director graded the pack an A minus, compared with a D for the Model Y structural pack and a B minus for Cybertruck. Up front, the drive unit runs an 11:1 gear ratio versus roughly 9:1 on most Teslas, since the Cybercab does not need a high top speed.
Cybercab engineering deep dive — Robotaxi (@robotaxi) October 26, 2026
The deployment side is now the bottleneck Moravy described. Tesla had more than 50 Cybercabs working the Formula 1 weekend in Austin, and Texas records show 463 Cybercabs registered. Tesla said on its earnings call that Cybercab service will launch in Dallas next month, and Moravy said the company is aiming to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of 2026. Every unit built so far has gone into Tesla’s own fleet since the line moved into volume production in April.
Munro Live also asked when it could get a Cybercab to tear down. Tesla’s answer: “Not yet.”
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