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Tesla Q1 Earnings Call: Tidbits You May Have Missed

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Tesla Fremont factory captured via drone [Source: Stephen Powelson]

Tesla reported Q1 financials yesterday which was unusually full of several surprises and all pretty positive for Tesla bulls.

Aside from learning that Elon Musk has set up camp at the Fremont factory and has a sleeping bag near the end of the Model X production line, the Tesla CEO also revealed several unique tidbits during the Q1 conference call.

The Tesla Fleet

Elon was asked what kind of advantage is the “fleet”? He answered that: “data is everything. Teslas drive million of miles per day. We will likely need an even larger amount of data: billions of miles per day. Once high volume statistics are available, we will be able to replace humans to improve on the number of fatalities.” Interestingly Elon stated that Tesla does not have a goal to forbid manual driving, but autonomous safety should always aid in avoiding accidents. But people that like to drive manually (i.e., people like me that like to set up “launch mode” while waiting on traffic lights) should be allowed to drive as they please [I know I’ll get comments for saying this :-)].

Model 3 

A very interesting new piece of information was the July 1, 2017 deadline for suppliers of Model 3 parts. Elon said that “one always needs a deadline,  even if July 1 for SURE will not be  met, as something is always late.” The model 3 will be the first car designed to be easy to make. When asked if there is any recourse against suppliers that fail commitments Elon said that Tesla will meet with the Team of each supplier, not just the CEO. And they will get commitments from what he called the “A-Team” of each supplier.

When asked if Tesla will need more capital this year, Elon stated that he does not want to rely on Model 3 reservations for capital. So there will be a need of a combination of capital & debt.

Regarding the demographic of Model 3 reservation holders, Elon disclosed that  93% of reservation holders are new Tesla customers, while 7% are owners.  And unexpectedly the Model 3 announcement actually increased demand of Model S vehicles.

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New plant(s) and Gigafactories?

The issue of the need for additional plants for Model 3 was raised by several brokers. Elon responded that manufacturing in Europe and Asia would be more efficient, but Tesla would not raise new funds for a new factory until Fremont was at capacity, possibly at 1M vehicles / year. One big “new” unexpected item in this regard was the prediction that Tesla would deliver 1M vehicles in 2020. And also unexpected was that Elon believes this is feasible in Fremont. On the other hand Elon asked himself  “but is it wise? Probably better to localize production by continent”. Similarly Elon was asked if Tesla would need a second Gigafactory for Model 3 delivery.  He answered that Tesla can continue to expand and not steal from Tesla Energy to deliver Model 3.

Production numbers

Elon disclosed that current production is at about 2,000 vehicles / week, with 40% Model X and 60% Model S.  He admitted also that “Model X is the most difficult car to manufacture EVER.”

The new production goal in  2018 is now 500K vehicles, 2 years earlier than originally expected, due to high Model 3 demand. The “S ramp” to that number is very difficult to predict, especially the early exponential part. He then opened his  “crystal ball”:  he actually predicted “maybe 100-150K Model S & X, 300-400K Model 3. Hard to say.”

Related: Tesla 2016 Q1 Earnings

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk affirms Tesla commitment and grueling work schedule: “Daddy is very much home”

The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk reiterated his commitment to the electric vehicle maker and its future projects this week, responding to speculation following his $1 billion purchase of TSLA stock. 

The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market, extending a rally fueled in part by Musk’s TSLA purchase.

Elon Musk’s nonstop work schedule

Amidst the reaction of TSLA stock to Musk’s $1 billion investment, Tesla owners such as @greggertruck noted that “Daddy’s home.” Musk replied, stating that “Daddy is very much home.” He then shared details of a packed weekend of work, which was definitely grueling but completely within character for a “wartime CEO.”

Musk did note, however, that he had lunch with his kids during the weekend despite his extremely busy schedule.

“Daddy is very much home. Am burning the midnight oil with Optimus engineering on Friday night, then redeye overnight to Austin arriving 5am, wake up to have lunch with my kids and then spend all Saturday afternoon in deep technical reviews for the Tesla AI5 chip design. 

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“Fly to Colossus II on Monday to walk the whole datacenter floor, review transformers and power production (excellent progress), depart midnight. Then up to 12 hours of back-to-back meetings across all Tesla departments, but with a particular focus on AI/Autopilot, Optimus production plans, and vehicle production/delivery,” Musk wrote in his post

Wartime CEO

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives described Musk as operating in “wartime CEO mode,” highlighting autonomous driving and AI as a trillion-dollar market opportunity for Tesla. Musk reiterated this point late last month as well, when he outlined the several projects he is juggling among his numerous companies. At the time, Musk stated that he was busy with Starship 10, Grok 5, and Tesla V14. This was despite his notable presence on X. 

With Tesla Master Plan Part IV being partly released, the company is entering what could very well be its most ambitious stage to date. To usher in an era of sustainable abundance, Tesla would definitely require a “wartime CEO,” someone who could remain locked in and determined to push through any obstacles to ensure that the company achieves its goals.

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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.”

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(Credit: Tesla)

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.

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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.

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Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons


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.

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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.

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