

Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) posts Q2 2018 financial results: $4B revenue, profitability in focus
Tesla’s second-quarter earnings for 2018 saw the California-based carmaker beat Wall Street revenue estimates after posting $4B billion in revenue and missed earnings estimates with a non-GAAP loss of $520 million.
The results, which were posted in an update letter to investors after the closing bell on Wednesday, August 1st, showed second-quarter earnings of -$3.06 per share, slightly worse analyst estimates of -$2.92 per share. Compared to the previous year, revenue grew 43.5%.
The company burned through $430M in cash in the second quarter.
REVENUE AND OPERATING LOSSES
The company’s revenue for the second quarter consisted of $3.36B in automotive revenue and $374M from their energy and battery storage division. Automotive revenue saw an increase of 46.8% compared to the same period last year. The energy and battery storage division saw an increase of 30.6% compared to the same period last year.
Automotive revenue increased by 22.75% compared to Q1 2018, largely due to the rapid increase in Model 3 sales, while energy generation and storage declined by 8.7%. Tesla deployed 84 MW of energy generation and 203 MWh of energy storage products in the second quarter as well.
MODEL 3
Tesla was able to deliver 18,449 Model 3 vehicles during the second quarter of 2018. In the quarter the company produced 28,578 Model 3’s. The company’s Q2 2018 Update Letter stated that the company still expects to reach its production goal of 6,000 Model 3’s per week by the end of August.
The company is aiming to reach a gross margin of 25% on the Model 3 in the long-term but set an initial goal of break-even for the second quarter. The company beat that goal in the quarter posting a slightly positive gross margin. After conducting a complete breakdown, an automotive expert recently estimated that Tesla could achieve a 30% or higher gross margin on the vehicle.
“Over the past 12 months, we have overcome bottlenecks across various stages of the Model 3 manufacturing process. Last quarter, it became clear that GA3, our main general assembly line, would likely become a production constraint if certain issues were not addressed. This assembly line, which is where we add all the components to a painted metal body, was designed to work with hundreds of robotic lifters that bring components to the line. Due to the density of the line and the relatively high downtime of the lifters, ramping GA3 became substantially more complicated than we had anticipated. That said, significant progress has been made in the last few months, and GA3 is now expected to reach a production rate of 5,000 per week very soon,” Tesla stated in the letter.
The company reported that they have received over 60,000 test drive requests for the Model 3. Most Tesla stores received their first Model 3 test drive vehicles and the company plans to continue deploying more Model 3’s to other stores, with a focus on the new Model 3 Dual Motor Performance. The company stated that early results show that the Model 3’s “test drive-to-order conversion rate” is higher than the Model S and X.
TESLA ENERGY
Tesla deployed 203MWh of energy storage in the second quarter and 84MW of solar energy generation systems. Tesla stated that the company’s solar and energy storage division has undergone massive changes as they prepare to exclusively sell the products online and at Tesla stores.
Energy Storage and Generation generated $374M worth of revenue for the company in the quarter. Tesla stated that 68% of all installations were cash and loan based, compared to lower-revenue generating lease-based sales.
“We are steadily ramping Solar Roof production in Buffalo and are also continuing to iterate on the product design and production process, learning from our early factory production and field installations. We have deployed Solar Roof on additional homes in Q2 and are gaining valuable feedback from each new installation. We plan to ramp production more toward the end of 2018 and are working hard to simplify the production and installation process before deploying significant capital into factory automation,” Tesla stated in the quarterly letter.
GUIDANCE FOR THE END OF 2018
Tesla still expects to deliver 100,000 Model S and X vehicles for 2018. The company also stated it targets to produce 50,000-55,000 Model 3’s in the third quarter. Tesla still did not disclose an overall production target for the Model 3 in 2018. The Model 3 is expected to carry a 15% gross margin for the third quarter and 20% in the fourth quarter.
Tesla reiterated that they expect to be GAAP profitable in both the third and fourth quarter of 2018. Tesla also stated that they expect the company to be profitable going forward, despite rapid growth.
Tesla has just over $2.23 billion in cash at the end of the quarter, down from $2.67 billion in the previous quarter.
Today’s trading session ended with TSLA closing up .9% at $300.85. After-hours, the stock was trading up 3.9%.
Tesla’s full Q2 2018 Update Letter can be accessed here.
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.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose on Monday after CEO Elon Musk disclosed a rare insider purchase of company stock worth about $1 billion.
A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that Musk acquired 2.57 million shares last Friday at various prices. The move represents Musk’s largest TSLA purchase ever by value, as per Verity data.
Elon Musk’s TSLA purchase
The disclosure sent Tesla shares up more than 8% in premarket trading Monday, as investors read the purchase as a notable vote of confidence, as stated in a CNBC report. Tesla stock had closed slightly lower Friday but remains more than 25% higher over the past three months. It should be noted that prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.
Market watchers say the purchase could help shore up investor sentiment amid a volatile year for TSLA stock. Shares have faced pressure from a variety of factors, from year-over-year sales challenges due to the new Model Y changeover, political controversies tied to Musk, and reduced U.S. incentives for EVs under the Trump administration. Nevertheless, analysts such as Wedbush’s Dan Ives stated that Musk’s purchase was a “huge sign of confidence for Tesla bulls and shows Musk is doubling down on his Tesla A.I. bet.”
Tesla and Elon Musk
Musk already owns about 13% of Tesla, and his latest purchase comes as the company prepares for a key shareholder vote in November. Investors will decide whether to approve a compensation package for Musk that could ultimately be worth as much as $975 billion if ambitious market value milestones are achieved. The package has a long-term target of pushing Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion, compared with about $1.3 trillion at Friday’s close.
Wall Street’s current consensus price target still implies a roughly 20% decline from current levels, though some Tesla bulls remain optimistic that the company could shift its focus toward autonomy, AI, and robotics. Musk has also asked shareholders to approve an investment into his latest venture, xAI.
Investor's Corner
Tesla bear turns bullish for two reasons as stock continues boost
“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting,” Nathan said, citing numerous signs of strength, such as holding its 200-day moving average and holding against its resistance level.

A Tesla bear is changing his tune, turning bullish for two reasons as the company’s stock has continued to get a boost over the past month.
Dan Nathan, a notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, said he is changing his tune, at least in the short term, on the company’s stock because of “technicals and sentiment,” believing the company is on track for a strong Q3, but also an investment story that will slowly veer away from its automotive business.
“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting,” Nathan said, citing numerous signs of strength, such as holding its 200-day moving average and holding against its resistance level.
He also said he believes a rally for the stock could continue as it heads into the end of the quarter, especially as the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit is coming to an end at the end of the month.
With that being said, he believes the consensus for Q3 deliveries is “probably low,” as he believes Wall Street is likely underestimating what Tesla will bring to the table on October 1 or 2 when it reports numbers for the quarter.
Tesla bear Dan Nathan has flipped his script on Tesla $TSLA shares, citing “technicals and sentiment”
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 12, 2025
Tesla shares are already up over five percent today, with gains exceeding nine percent over the past five trading days, and more than fourteen percent in the past month.
While some analysts are looking at the performance of other Mag 7 stocks, movement on rates from the Federal Reserve, and other broader market factors as reasoning for Tesla’s strong performance, it appears some movement could be related to the company’s recent developments instead.
Over the past week, Tesla has made some strides in its Robotaxi program, including a new license to test the platform in the State of Nevada, which we reported on.
Tesla lands regulatory green light for Robotaxi testing in new state
Additionally, the company is riding the tails of the end of the EV tax credit, as inventory, both new and used, is running extremely low, generally speaking. Many markets do not have any vehicles to purchase as of right now, making delivery by September 30 extremely difficult.
However, there has been some adjustments to the guidelines by the IRS, which can be read here:
Tesla is trading at around $389 at 10:56 a.m. on the East Coast.
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