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Tesla (TSLA) Q1 2020 results: Beats on revenue, Model Y sets historic profit on launch

(Credit: Tesla China/Twitter)

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Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) first-quarter earnings for 2020 saw the electric car maker post $5.985 billion in revenue, slightly beating estimates from Wall Street. The results, which were discussed at length in an Update Letter, were released after the closing bell on Wednesday, April 29.

Tesla ended the first quarter on a surprisingly optimistic note. Despite the ongoing pressures from the coronavirus outbreak, Tesla managed to deliver 88,400 vehicles and produce over 102,000, comprised of 76,200 Model 3 and Model Y and 12,200 Model S and X. 

Gigafactory Shanghai facility also reopened after a brief government-mandated shutdown in China due to the initial onset of the pandemic, and has since ramped its Model 3 production activities. Tesla stock has also proven resilient amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, rising 70% year to date. 

The following are the key points in Tesla’s Q1 2020 Update Letter.

REVENUE

Tesla reported revenue of $5.985 billion for the first quarter. In contrast, Wall St. expected Tesla to report revenue of $5.85 billion as per data aggregated by NASDAQ.

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EARNINGS

Tesla shareholders saw non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.24 in the fourth quarter, beating Wall St’s estimates. In comparison, Wall Street expected Tesla to report a loss of $0.18 per share for the first quarter. 

CASH

Despite Q1 being a traditionally soft quarter as per automotive trends, Tesla was able to increase its cash by $1.8 billion. This hiked up the company’s total cash to around $8.1 billion, which is partly due to a $2.3 billion capital raise that was conducted in the first quarter. 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Operating cash flow less capex (free cash flow) negative $895M in Q1 (of which $981M outflow due to inventory growth)
  • $283M GAAP operating income; 4.7% operating margin in Q1
  • $16M GAAP net income; $227M non-GAAP net income (ex-SBC) in Q1
  • Gross margin at Giga Shanghai approaching level of US-made Model 3
  • Model Y gross margin positive in Q1
  • Solar Roof production exceeded 4 MW per week, enough for up to 1,000 homes
  • Tesla Semi deliveries are shifted to 2021

TESLA ENERGY

The first quarter saw milestones for Tesla Energy. Apart from Solar Roof production in Gigafactory New York exceeding 4 MW per week, which is enough for 1,000 homes. The 100,000th Tesla Powerwall has also been installed, highlighting the potential of residential battery storage. Demand for the 3 MW Tesla Megapack is also healthy, being beyond the company’s capability to produce the grid-scale systems. 

GIGAFACTORY SHANGHAI AND BERLIN

Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai is proving to be a trump card, with the facility poised to hit a production rate of 4,000 Model 3 per week in mid-2020. Tesla China is also poised to release two new versions of its locally-produced Model 3, the Long Range and Performance variants. 

Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg is also progressing. While no groundbreaking activities have been done on the site, Tesla was nonetheless able to complete its ground-leveling operations. Despite this, Tesla still aims to start Model Y production in Gigafactory Berlin in 2021. 

TSLA STOCK SO FAR

Investors proved bullish on the electric car maker on Wednesday, ending the day +4.08% and trading at $800.51 per share. Tesla shareholders have received the electric car maker’s results positively. As of writing, Tesla shares are trading 9.06% at $873.00 per share during after-hours trading. 

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Tesla’s Q1 2020 Update Letter could be accessed below.

Q1 2020 Update by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

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

Tesla bear gets blunt with beliefs over company valuation

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Credit: Tesla

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 Shortand 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.

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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.

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Credit: Tesla China

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. 

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“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. 

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Investor's Corner

Tesla stock lands elusive ‘must own’ status from Wall Street firm

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Tesla model y with FSD Unsupervised at Giga Texas
Credit: Tesla AI | X

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.

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