Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) on Q2 2021 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
Operator: Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Tesla Second Quarter 2021 Financial results and Q&A webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. Please, be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Martin Viecha, Senior Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Martin Viecha: Thank you. And good afternoon, everyone. And welcome to Tesla's Second Quarter 2021, Q&A Webcast. I'm joined today by Elon Musk, Zachary Kirkhorn, and a number of other executives. Our Q2 results were announced at about 1 PM Pacific Time, in the update deck we published the same link as this webcast. During this call, we will discuss our business outlook and make Forward-looking statements. Elon Musk: Sure. To recap, Q2 2021 was the record quarter on many levels. We achieved record production, deliveries and surpassed over a $1billion in GAAP net income for the first time in Tesla history. I'd really like to congratulate every one at Tesla for the amazing job. This is really an incredible milestone. It also seems that public sentiment towards EVs is at an inflection point. And at this point, I think almost everyone agrees that electric vehicles are the only way forward. Regarding supply chain, while we're making cars at full speed, the global chip shortage situation remains quite serious. For the rest of this year, our growth rate will be determined by the slowest part in our supply chain which is a -- there's a wide range of chips that are at various times the slowest part in the supply chain. I mean, it's worth noting that if we had everything else, if we had vast numbers of vehicles themselves, we would not yet be able to make them, everything except the chips, we wouldn't be able to make them. The chip supply is fundamentally becoming a factor on our output. It is difficult for us to say how long this will last because we don't have -- this is out of our control, essentially. It does seem like it's getting better, but it's hard to predict. In fact, even achieving the output that we did achieve, was only due to an immense effort from people within Tesla. We were able to substitute alternative chips. And then, write the firmware in a matter of weeks. It's not just a matter of swapping out a chip. You also have to rewrite the software. It was an incredibly intense effort of finding new chips, writing new firmware, integrating with the vehicle and testing in order to maintain production. And I'd also like to thank our suppliers, who work with us. And there have been many calls, midnight, 1:00 AM, just to deal with suppliers in resolving a lot of the shortages, so thanks very much to our suppliers. Let's see. In terms of FSD subscription, we were able to launch a Full Self Driving subscription last month. And we expect it to build slowly. But then gather a lot of momentum over time. Obviously, we need to have the Full Self-Driving widely available for it really to take off at high rates, and we're making a lot of progress there. So yes, I think FSD subscription will be a significant factor probably next year. Martin Viecha: Thank you very much. And we have some follow-up remarks from Zachary Kirkhorn. Zachary Kirkhorn: Yeah, thanks Martin. And thanks, Elon. Just to reiterate, Q2 was a great quarter for the Tesla team, with a strong improvement across the business. In particular, auto gross profit and margin, excluding credits, increased substantially. This was primarily driven by better cost optimization across our factories, good execution against our cost reduction plans, as well as increases in production and delivery volumes. Martin Viecha: Great. Thank you very much, Zach. And now let's go through the retail investor questions on say.com. The first question from Robert M. is, Tesla 's website still says Cybertruck production is expected to begin in late 2021. Can Tesla share more details on the current status of the Cybertruck and confirm if production is still --? Elon Musk: That's okay. Martin Viecha: Lars, do you want to -- Lars Moravy: Sorry, we cut out there for a second. Yeah, the Cybertruck is currently in its alpha stages. We finished basic engineering the architecture of the vehicle. With the Cybertruck, we're redefining how a vehicle is to be made. As Elon said, it carries much of the structural pack and large casting designs of the Model Y being built in Berlin and Austin. Obviously those take priority over the Cybertruck, but we are moving into the beta phases of Cybertruck later this year, and we will be looking to ramp that in production, and take it to Texas after Model Y is up and going. Elon Musk: Yeah, it's just worth reemphasizing that the extraordinary difficulty of ramping production of large manufactured items. At the risk of being repetitive, it is essentially easy to make prototypes, or handbook small volume production. But anything produced at a high-volume, which is really what's relevant here is, it's going to move as fast as the slowest of the say rough order magnitude 10,000 unique parts and processes. And so you can have 9,999, but when just one is missing -- we we're missing, for example, like a big struggle this quarter, was the module that controls the airbags and the seatbelts. And obviously you cannot ship a car without those. That limited our production severely worldwide, in Shanghai and at Fremont. It wouldn't have mattered if we had 17 different car models because we -- they won't need the airbag module so it's just irrelevant. In order for Cybertruck and semi to scale to volume that's meaningful for customer deliveries, we've got to solve the chip shortage working with our suppliers. People just want to say, why don't you just build a chip fab? Well, okay that would take us -- even moving like lightning, 12 to 18 months. Andrew Baglino: Yeah given concerns over cell's bottlenecking growth, our target is to grow cell supply ahead of the 50% year-on-year growth targets of the vehicle business, and also enable increased energy storage deployments. Elon Musk: Yeah. Andrew Baglino: So yeah, our cell suppliers are tracking to double their production in 2022. Elon Musk: Yeah. It's worth , like if you have a target of a certain number, that doesn't mean it happens like as sure as night follows day. It's a target. So if there is some calamity in the world, that interrupts the supply chain, then it will be less. But these contracts that we have with cell suppliers call for roughly a doubling of cell supply to Tesla in 2022. And we have to juggle these exponential -- it's a whole bunch of exponential graphs overlaying on top of each other. And small changes in where you are on the x-axis of time can quite substantially change the area under the curve. So what we're thinking of doing, depending on -- is basically overshooting on cell supply for vehicles, and then as we have say excess cell supply in one month or another, then routing that so outputs to the Megapack and Powerwall. Well, by the same token, if we're prioritizing vehicle production, if there's a shortage of cell upward from some reason then we will throttle down Megapack and Powerwall production. So that it could be something's got to give, basically. Andrew Baglino: Or if there is a disruption in the vehicle production. Elon Musk: Yes. Andrew Baglino: And we have an outlet for cell capacity. Elon Musk: Yes, exactly. There is a tremendous amount of inertia in the supply chain. So if we said to the supplier, we want you to double cell output. Well, even doing that in a year, it's very difficult. And then that system has a tremendous amount of momentum. It is like a (ph) of supertankers. It's insane. Andrew Baglino: Speaking of which, from a raw materials perspective, we offer long-term contracts to secure our supply chain to also enable this growth. We're not just looking at the suppliers, but upstream from there. Elon Musk: Yeah. Andrew Baglino: Which is more . Elon Musk: Yes. As mentioned, things will move as fast as the slowest part in the entire supply chain, which goes all the way back to raw materials, Lithium and Nickel and that kind of thing. And there's somehow a misconception that Tesla uses a lot of Cobalt, but we actually don't. Apple uses I think almost 100% Cobalt in their batteries in cellphones and laptops. But Tesla uses no Cobalt in our iron phosphate (ph), and almost none in the nickel-based chemistries. On a weighted average basis, we might use 2% Cobalt compared to say Apple's 100% Cobalt. Anyway, it's really just not a pack that we expect to basically have 0 cobalt in the future. I do -- I think probably there is a long-term shift more in the direction of iron-based, lithium-ion cells, rather, over nickel. As the energy density of iron iron phosphate, might as well support iron phosphates taken for granted. But iron-based cells, lithium-ion cells, and nickel-based lithium-ion cells. I think probably we'll see a shift -- my guess is probably to 2/3 iron, 1/3 nickel or something on that order. And this is actually good because there's plenty of iron in the world. There's an insane amount of iron, but Nickel is -- there's much less Nickel, and there's way less Cobalt. So it is good for relieving the long-term scaling to move to iron-based cells, mostly. And I think long-term, possibly all -- there's a good chance that all stationary storage that is Powerwall and Megapack, move to iron. This is most likely the case, since you do not need to transport it, and there's lesser volume constraint with stationary storage. So then nickel would be for -- would be really for long range road transports, ships, and aircraft, and that kind of thing. Martin Viecha: Thank you. Let's go to the second question from retail, which is, Elon has said that Tesla will be opening up the Supercharger network to other Evs later this year. Can you share some more details on how this will be structured, will this be at select brands, or will they contribute to the growth of this network? Elon Musk: Yes. We're currently thinking it's a real simple thing where you just download the Tesla app and you go to Supercharger. And you just indicate which stall you're in. You plug in your car, even if it's not Tesla. And then you just access the app and say, turn on this stall that I'm in for how much electricity. And this should basically work with almost any manufacturer's cars. There will be time constraints. If the charge rate is super slow, then somebody will be charged more because the biggest constraint at the Supercharger is time, how occupied is the stall. And we'll also be smarter with how we charge for electricity at the Supercharger, so rush hour charging will be more expensive than what car is charging because there are times when the Superchargers are empty and times when they're jam packed. And so it makes sense to have some time-based discrimination. Martin Viecha: Yeah. We've been doing that and it's been working and people are responding. It helps with utilization. Elon Musk: Yeah, exactly. In Europe and China and most parts of the world, it's the same connector for everyone, so this is a fairly easy thing to do. We developed our own connector, which, in my opinion is actually the best connector, it's small and light and looks good; up to our standard. So we developed our own connector, which, in my opinion, it's actually the best connector. It's small and light and looks good. So an adapter is needed to work for EVs in North America. But people could buy this adapter. And we anticipate having it available at the Superchargers as well if people don't sort of steal them or something. Andrew Baglino: We have a good solution to that. Elon Musk: Okay. So that's constraint on thing. That's basically a vestige of history. But I think we do want to emphasize that it is our goal, to support the advent of sustainable energy, it is not to create a wolf garden and use that to bludgeon our competitors, which is sometimes used by some companies. Andrew Baglino: I think it's also important to comment that increasing the utilization of the network actually reduces our costs, which allows us to lower charging prices for our customers and make the network more profitable, allows us to grow the network faster. That's the good thing there. And then -- and no matter what, we're going to continue to aggressively expand the network capacity, increasing charging speeds, improving the trip planning tools to protect against site congestion using dynamic pricing, as Elon mentioned. Elon Musk: Yeah. Andrew Baglino: And just continuing to focus on minimum wait time for all customers. Elon Musk: Yeah. Obviously, in order for this to be -- for the Supercharger to be useful to other car companies' cars, we need to grow the network faster than we're growing vehicle output, which is not easy. We're growing vehicle output at a hell of a rate. So Superchargers need to grow faster than vehicle output. This is a lot of work for the Superchargers team, but it is only useful in the grand scheme of things. Just only useful to the public if we're able to grow faster than Tesla vehicle output. That is our goal. Martin Viecha: Thank you very much. And the third question is, Elon said 4680 cells aren't reliable enough for vehicles. Is this referring to cycle life degradation, or something else? Please update us on progress of 4680s and what is still needs to be done to make them reliable enough for vehicles. Elon Musk: Really -- this is not -- we'll definitely make the 4680 reliable enough for vehicles, and we, I think, are at the point where, in limited volume, it is reliable enough for vehicles. Andrew Baglino: Yeah. Elon Musk: Again, going back to limited production is easier, prototype production is easy but high-volume production is hard. There are a number of challenges in transitioning from a small scale production to a large volume production. And not to get too much into the reason of things, but right now, we have a challenge with basically what's called calendaring, or basically squashing the cathode, with material to a particular height. So it just goes through these rollers and gets squashed like pizza dough, basically. And -- but very hard pizza dough. And the -- it's causing -- it's denting the calendar rolls. This is not something that happened when the calendar rolls were smaller, but it is happening when the calendar rolls are bigger. So it's just like -- we were like, okay, we weren't expecting that. Andrew Baglino: Yeah. It's not like a science problem, it's an engineering problem. Elon Musk: Yeah. Andrew Baglino: It's not a question of if, it's a question of when. Elon Musk: Yeah. Andrew Baglino: And the team is a 100% focused on resolving these limiting processes as quickly as possible. Elon Musk: Exactly. Andrew Baglino: On the reliability side, as Elon mentioned, we have successfully validated performance and the lifetime durability of the 4680 cells produced in Kato, and we're continuing ongoing verification of that reliability. We're actually accruing over 1 million equivalent miles on our cells that we produce every month. In our testing activities, the focus on that is very clear; we want high-quality cells for all of our customers. And yeah, we're just focused on the unlucky limiting steps in the facility. And with the engineers focused on those few steps remaining, we're going to break through as fast as possible. Elon Musk: Meantime, we have a massive amount of equipment on order and arriving, for the high-volume cell production in Austin and Berlin. But obviously, given what we've learned with the pilot plant, which is in Fremont. which is really quite a big plant by most standards. We will have to modify a bunch of that equipment, so it won't be able to start immediately. But it seems like, correct me if I'm wrong, but we think, most likely, we will hit an annualized rate of a 100 GWh a year, sometime next year. Andrew Baglino: We'll have all the equipment installed to accomplish 100 gigawatt hours, and it's possible that by the end of the year, we will be at an annualized rate of 100 gigawatt hours by the end of the year. Elon Musk: My guess is more likely than not, above 50% of reaching 100 gigawatt hours a year by the end of next year on the annualized rate, something like that. It could shift by a little bit, but as Drew mentioned, nothing fundamental, just a lot of work. Andrew Baglino: Yeah. And even to the large roller question, Elon, right. Like on the anode side, the large rollers work great, no concerns. And so we're just learning as we go. And the nice thing about having that facility on a fast-track like we had it, and we talked about it at Battery Day, was really de-risking the big factories here. And, yes, we've done and we've learned a lot. And with each successive iteration, the ramp up and the equipment installation will be faster and more stiff. Martin Viecha: Alright, thank you very much. And the last question from retail is from Emmett. Can Elon do an interview with one of our YouTube channels once or twice a year? I would nominate David Lee on Investing or Rob Maurer's Tesla Daily channels as first possible candidates. Elon Musk: Yeah, I guess that I'll do an interview. I mean . If I'm doing interviews tonight I can't do actual other work. Only so much time in the day. But yeah, I'll do it once. I won't do it annually, but I'll do it once. I think also that this is the Until the last time I'll do earnings calls, but this is the -- I will no longer speak, default, during earnings calls. So obviously I'll have to do the annual shareholder meeting s that, I think going forward, I will most likely not be on earnings calls unless there's something really important that -- that I need to say. Martin Viecha: Okay. Thank you. And let's go to institutional questions. The first one, and we covered a lot of these already. Can you please update us on timelines for the startup production of Berlin and Austin Model Y, Cybertruck and the Semi. Do you expect the ramp of Cybertruck to be as difficult, as it is a new process? Elon Musk: I think Cybertruck ramp will be difficult because it's such new architecture. It's going to be a great product. It might, I think be our best product ever. But there's a lot of fundamentally new design ideas in the Cybertruck. Nobody's ever really made a car like this before. A vehicle like this before. So there will probably be challenges because there's so much unexplored territory. Martin Viecha: Thank you. I think question 2 and question 3, we can skip given we have already addressed it. I'll get to question 4. In 5 years time, how much faster or better could you be at manufacturing capacity expansion using current pace? And what are the biggest issues you need to solve to get to that rate? Elon Musk: Well, like I said that I think we might be the fastest growing Company in history for any launched manufactured item. Those who have not actually been involved in manufacturing ramp up just have no idea how painful and difficult it is. It's like you got to eat a lot of glass. And for our manufacturing ramp, it's hard. Lars Moravy: Yeah, I mean, I think if you look at the expansion we've done in Shanghai, that factory was built in less than a year and ramped in 5 to 6 months to full volume. Elon Musk: of that. Took longer than that. It was about a year. Lars Moravy: And when you consider cut-and-paste, we've repeated that in Fremont and whatever. But now with Berlin and Austin, we have new factories and new designs? And there's always challenges as you said, Elon, with new designs and ramping that. But I think having teams in 3 locations or 3 continents, will definitely expand our ability and our capacity to grow more lines, rather than just having the one factory in Fremont that we had a year and a half ago. Elon Musk: Yeah, I mean, for Shanghai, it's an incredible team built the factory in 9 months but it took longer than -- longer than building the factory. It took longer than that to actually reach volume production -- a high volume production. It took about a year. And when you put a factory in a new geography, in order for that factory to be efficient, you have to localize the supply chain. So there's no such thing as cut and paste. It does not exist. And it would obviously be insane to do vehicle production in Europe and send vast numbers of parts from North America. That would be -- that would make the producing in Europe, for example, just crazy. You got to look like the supply chain s have efficiency and then you're moving as fast as your least lucky, least good supplier. Yes. So these supply-chains we go like 3 or 4 layers deep. Frankly, I feel at times that we are inheriting all force majeure of Earth. So if anything goes wrong anywhere on Earth, something happens to mess up the supply chain. Yeah. Andrew Baglino: I think the human capital growth though, having factories here, Berlin, Shanghai, Fremont, does a lot to, maybe not exponentially grow, but well, hopefully -- Elon Musk: We are exponentially growing. Andrew Baglino: -- Hopefully maintain that exponential growth. Elon Musk: Yeah. It's also -- it takes a while to hire old people and train old people to operate a factory. A factory is like a giant cybernetic collective. And you can't just hire 10,000 people and have them work instantly. It's not possible. I really encourage more people to get involved in manufacturing. I think, especially in the U.S., this has just not been an area where all that many smart people have gone into. I think U.S. has an over-allocation of talent in finance and law. It's both a criticism and a compliment. I'm not saying we shouldn't have people in finance and law, I'm just saying if there might be -- maybe we have too many smart people in those arenas. Me. So -- Andrew Baglino: Manufacturing is fun. Elon Musk: Yeah, manufacturing is great. It's very , and obviously, you can't have stock unless someone makes it. That's how you get stock. Yeah. Martin Viecha: Okay. Thank you very much. And let's go to the last investor question. Does Tesla plan to offer more services beyond FSD or high-speed connectivity as part of its subscription bundle going forward? What areas in particular present an opportunity? Elon Musk: Yeah, we don't have a lot of ideas on this to be frank. Really, Full Self-Driving is the main thing. Things are obviously headed towards fully autonomous electric vehicle in the future. And I think tells us Tesla is well-positioned and in fact is the leader objectively, in this -- in both of those arenas, electrification and autonomy. It's always strike to find analogies, but with other companies, whatever Really, the value of a fully electric autonomous fleet is generally gigantic; boggles the mind really. So that will be one of the most valuable things that is ever done in the history of civilization. Martin Viecha: Thank you very much. And now let's go back to Analyst Q&A, please. Operator: In interest of time, we ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. Our first question comes from Colin Rusch with Oppenheimer. Your line is open. Colin Rusch: Thanks so much guys. Can you speak to the attach ed rates for FSD so far and where you're targeting in terms of the subscription levels? Elon Musk: Yeah, it's not worth commenting on right now, it's not meaningful. We really need Full Self-Driving, at least the Beta to be widely available so anyone who wants it can get it. Otherwise, it'll be pointless to read anything into where things are right now. Colin Rusch: And then just the follow-up there is about the kin to the regulatory environment, keeping up with the technology. Are you seeing meaningful evolution in terms of the regulators really understanding the technology and beginning to set some standards here sometime in the near-term? Elon Musk: At least in the U.S. we don't see regulation as the fundamental limiter. We've obviously got to make it work and then demonstrate that the reliability is significantly in excess of the average human driver for it to be allowed -- use it without paying attention to the road. But I think we have a massive fleet. It will be, I think, straightforward to make the arguments on statistical grounds, just based on the number of interventions, especially in events that would result in a crash. At scale, it will have billions of miles of travel to be able to show that it is the safety of the car with Autopilot on is a 100% or 200% or more safer than the average human driver. At that point, I think would be unconscionable to not to allow autopilot because the car just becomes way less safe. It would be like "shake the elevator" analogy. Back in the day, we used to have elevator operators with a big switch that -- and they were to operate the elevator and move between floors. But they get tired or maybe drunk or something or distracted and every now and again, somebody would be kind of sheared in half between floors. That's kind of the situation we have with cars. Autonomy will become so safe that it will be unsafe to manually operate the car relatively speaking. And today just get in an elevator where we press the button for which floor we want and it just takes us there safely. And it would require alarming if those elevators were operated by a person with a giant switch. That's how we it would be with cars. Martin Viecha: Thank you. Let's go to the next question, please. Operator: Next question comes from Rod Lache with Wolfe Research. Your line is open. Rod Lache: Hi everybody. Your cost of goods sold per vehicle's already down to the mid $37,000 range in the quarter, it's down $5,000 year-over-year, despite some of the inefficiencies that you talked about. And I know that a lot is going to change from here just given how mix is going to evolve. But if you're successful on the structural pack and front and rear castings in the launch of the 4680 cell, can you just maybe give us a sense of what a successful outcome would look like maybe a year from now. Obviously a lot has to go right. But just any kind of broad framework for us to think about. Elon Musk: Yes, it's really difficult for us to make specific predictions is very difficult. I think we felt confident of, say at least a few percent growth year-over-year next year. And maybe it's a 100%, but that's -- we need a lot of crystal balls to figure out exactly what it's going to be. And it is literally impossible to make a specific prediction. But at least 50, maybe a 100, something like that. Rod Lache: Okay. And maybe just separately from this, can you just clarify what the status is of some of the advances in battery manufacturing, things like dry cathode mixing that you talked about on Battery Day? What's the timeline? How are those evolving? Andrew Baglino: We commented on it today, already actually, but in the facility at Kato, over 90% of the processes have demonstrated rate there, but we are limited by the unlucky few that have not. And that's what we're working on. One of them that Elon mentioned was running the full-scale calendar. We're working through some improvements that we need to make to that equipment and to the actual raw material itself to not have those limitations. But again, it's an engineering problem. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when. On the mixing side, we haven't actually really had any challenges specific to your question. Fundamentally, we're still happy with the dry process direction, in terms of the factory footprint, complexity, utility, consumption, space, and overall complexities and implication. Elon Musk: Yes. Andrew Baglino: And the cost associated with that. Elon Musk: Yeah. We're going to have programs as dry cathode, I mean, I don't know, maybe it's like 10 or 15% of the cost of equipment or something like that? I don't know, 20% maybe? Andrew Baglino: Yeah. 10%. Elon Musk: So it's like -- just like people don't think like this is like the Messiah or something, wet versus dry reduces. To dry is like 10% less cost than wet. So it's not 10% slow, nothing to sneeze at, especially if you're making hundreds of GWh a year. But it's not the Messiah, basically. Andrew Baglino: Yeah. Martin Viecha: Thank you very much. We can go to the next question, please. Operator: The next question comes from Pierre Ferragu with New Street Research. Your line is open. Pierre Ferragu: Thanks very much for taking my question. I have another question, actually, on batteries, but on a slightly different angle. I was wondering how you're looking at your sourcing strategy for the 4680. You've talked a lot about all the work you're doing to develop your in-house production. But what about asking other battery manufacturers to do 4680 cell with their own technology? Maybe less innovation than what you guys are lining up internally, and I was wondering if the first 4680 cells that we see on the road will definitely come from Tesla's own manufacturing lines, or whether it could be coming actually from outside suppliers as well. And I have a quick follow-up. Elon Musk: Yeah. We are in fact working with our existing suppliers to produce 4680 format cells. And this is just a guess right now. But I see us consolidating around a 4680 nickel-based structural pack and -- for long-range vehicles, and then not necessarily a 4680 format, but some other format for iron-based cells. So right now, we kind of have the Baskin Robbins of batteries situation, where there's so many formats and so many chemistries, that it's like we've got like 36 flavors of battery at this point. This is just -- this results in an engineering drag coefficient where each variants of cell chemistry and format requires as to an amount of engineering to maintain it and troubleshoot and this inhibits our forward progress. So it is going to be important to consolidate to maybe -- ideally 2, 4 factors, maybe 3, but ideally 2. And then just 1 nickel chemistry and 1 iron chemistry and -- so we don't have to troubleshoot so many different variants. Andrew Baglino: Yeah, and there is an end where we are engaging with the suppliers that we've had good partnerships with on 4680 designs to enable that duplication; so far so good. They are working on -- they're bringing their core competencies to bear on that. We're not mandating like what's going on inside, but it's been a good collaboration. Elon Musk: Yeah. We do expect to see significant increases in supply from our existing suppliers in addition to the cells that Tesla's making. So it's both. Sometimes I get questions from our cell suppliers with like, are we going to make all the cells ourselves? We're like, no, please make as many as you possibly can and supply them to us. We have a significant unmet demand in stationery storage. Megapack is basically sold out through the end of next year, I believe. Andrew Baglino: Yes. Elon Musk: We have a massive backlog in Powerwall demand that man to Powerwall versus production is an insane mismatch. Now part of that problem is also the semiconductor issue. So we used a lot of the same chips in the Powerwall as you do in a car, so it's like, which one do want to make? Cars or Powerwalls? So we need to make cars, so that will -- Powerwall production has been reduced. But as the semiconductor shortage is alleviated, then we can massively we ramp up Powerwall production. I think we have a chance of hitting an annualized rate of a million units of Powerwall next year, maybe towards on the order of 20,000 a week. But again, dependent on cell supply and semiconductors. But in terms of demand, I think there's probably demand for in excess of 1 million Powerwalls per year. And actually just a vast amounts of the Megapacks for utilities as well as transitions to a sustainable energy production. Solar and wind are intermittent and by their nature really need battery packs in order to provide a steady flow of electricity. And when you look at all the utilities in the world, this is a vast amount of batteries that are needed. That's why in the long-term we really think -- sort of combined Tesla and suppliers need to produce at least 1,000 GWh a year, and maybe 2,000 GWh a year. Pierre Ferragu: Okay. Great. Thank you. And I have a quick question. I know, Elon, you don't think it's meaningful today, but I'd be curious to know if you have any thoughts about when you announced the new pricing on the FSD ring from 10,000 and thrown to 199 without looking. I'd be curious to understand how it's affected behavior in issues, so like a massive effect effect, affecting the service. And I'm not thinking about people looking at it as a message, but more to try the most advanced version of autopilots, and to try it. In the first days, even on the pricing, have you seen a very significant spike in the tech rate? And can you give us a sense of how big it was? Elon Musk: Okay. What you are asking, like if the FSD tech rate is too expensive and that's why we're doing subscription? Or -- I'm not sure if I understand your question correctly. Pierre Ferragu: No, my question is from the time you announced the subscription at $199 the amounts, how much did like the take rate increase like the people who basically took the subscription about the new car. That is how it was when they had to pay 10 grand up front. Zachary Kirkhorn: Yeah. This is Zach here. I think we're still early in understanding how FSD subscription will unfold. But a couple of data points here. We took a look at our backlog to see of customers in our backlog who have ordered FSD, did they cancel presumably to go to subscription after they take delivery? And the level of cancellations there, was there not seeing cannibalization there? it's possible that that changes, but that was also part of our pricing strategy at $99 and 199. Elon Musk: Yeah, I mean, we -- Zachary Kirkhorn: Also part of our pricing strategy, at $99 and $199. Elon Musk: Yeah. I mean, any given price is going to be wrong, so we'll just adjust it over time as we see the value proposition makes sense to people. So we're just really -- I'm not thinking about this a lot right now. We need to make Full Self-Driving work in order for it to be a compelling value proposition. Otherwise, people are betting on the future. Like right now, does it makes sense for somebody to do FSD subscription? I think it's debatable. But once we have Full Self-Driving widely deployed, then the value proposition will be clear. And at that point, I think basically everyone will use it or it could be rare -- a rare individual who doesn't. Martin Viecha: Okay. Thank you very much for your help. And I think that's all the time we have for today. Thanks for all your questions and we'll speak to you again in 3 months time. Have a good day, everyone. Elon Musk: All right. Thank you. Operator: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.
Elon Musk's Strategic Pivot Towards AI at Tesla: A New Era of Innovation
Elon Musk's Strategic Pivot Towards AI at Tesla
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc. (TSLA), is making headlines as he seeks to cement his role within the company by potentially leveraging his expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) in new ways. This strategic pivot is unfolding as Tesla approaches a pivotal moment where stakeholders will vote on Musk's compensation package. Musk's hint at exploring AI opportunities outside of Tesla underscores his ambition to innovate, not just within the electric vehicle (EV) sector but in technology at large. This move is particularly noteworthy as it signals Musk's commitment to driving Tesla's growth and possibly diversifying the company's technological footprint.
Tesla's performance in the stock market provides a backdrop to Musk's strategic maneuvers. Recently, TSLA's stock price saw an uptick, closing at 181.19, which represents a 0.66% increase. This change is part of the stock's broader fluctuation, with its price moving between 178.54 and 184.78 during the trading session. Over the past year, Tesla's stock has experienced significant volatility, with prices ranging from a low of 138.8 to a high of 299.29. Such market movements reflect the dynamic and sometimes unpredictable nature of investing in technology and EV companies.
The company's market capitalization, standing at approximately 577.85 billion, underscores Tesla's significant presence in the global automotive and technology markets. This valuation is a testament to investors' confidence in Tesla's potential for growth and innovation under Musk's leadership. Furthermore, the trading volume of about 75.19 million shares indicates active engagement from the investment community, suggesting that Tesla remains a focal point for both retail and institutional investors.
Musk's exploration of AI opportunities outside of Tesla could have far-reaching implications for the company's strategy and market valuation. By integrating AI technologies into Tesla's operations or developing new AI-driven projects, Musk could unlock new revenue streams and enhance the company's competitive edge in the rapidly evolving EV market. This strategic direction could also influence investor sentiment and Tesla's stock performance, as stakeholders closely watch Musk's moves to gauge the company's future prospects.
As Tesla approaches the crucial vote on Musk's pay package, the interplay between Musk's strategic vision, Tesla's market performance, and investor expectations will be critical. Musk's ability to navigate these dynamics while pushing the boundaries of innovation in AI and EVs could further solidify his position as an indispensable leader at Tesla. The coming months will be telling, as Tesla's stakeholders weigh in on Musk's compensation and the company continues to chart its course in the competitive landscape of technology and electric vehicles.
Tesla Started With an Overweight Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald
Cantor Fitzgerald analysts initiated coverage on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) with an Overweight rating, setting a price target of $230 on the stock. The analysts recognize that while the electric vehicle industry faces challenges like supply chain issues, a short-term dip in demand, and growing competition from Chinese manufacturers, Tesla stands to gain from its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, the upcoming Robotaxi segment, new lower-priced models, a global manufacturing presence, and the largest charging infrastructure in the industry.
With Tesla's shares having declined about 28% this year and roughly 40% from its 52-week high of $299, the analysts believe this presents a potential buying opportunity for investors who are comfortable with volatility and have a medium to long-term investment perspective.
Wedbush's Daniel Ives Raises Tesla (TSLA) Price Target to $275 Amid China Growth
Daniel Ives of Wedbush Updates Tesla's (TSLA:NASDAQ) Price Target
Daniel Ives of Wedbush has recently updated Tesla's (TSLA:NASDAQ) price target to $275, indicating a significant growth potential of about 63.41% from its current trading price of $168.29. This optimistic forecast is closely tied to Tesla's strategic moves in China, particularly Elon Musk's unexpected visit, which is seen as a key step towards the rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology in the country. The visit, as reported by Benzinga, is not just a routine check-in but is believed to be centered around discussions critical to Tesla's future in the Chinese market, including FSD technology deployment and data transfer issues.
The backdrop to this bullish outlook is Tesla's recent achievement in meeting China's data security requirements, a milestone that has effectively lifted previous restrictions on the company's FSD technology in the world's largest auto market. This development, as highlighted by Bloomberg Markets and Finance, underscores the importance of China in Elon Musk's broader vision for autonomous driving. The successful navigation of China's regulatory landscape marks a significant victory for Tesla, paving the way for the company to expand its technological offerings and strengthen its foothold in the Chinese market.
Following this breakthrough, Tesla's stock saw an impressive 10% increase in its price, a clear indicator of the market's positive reaction to the company's advancements in China. This surge is particularly noteworthy, considering the broader context of Tesla's stock performance over the past year, which has seen fluctuations between a high of $299.29 and a low of $138.8. The company's ability to secure crucial support for its FSD technology in China not only boosts its stock but also reinforces its position as a leader in the electric vehicle and autonomous driving sectors.
The significance of Musk's trip and its successful outcomes cannot be overstated. As reported by Business Insider, the visit has been hailed as a pivotal move for Tesla, with the potential to significantly accelerate the company's growth trajectory in China. This is reflected in the immediate market response, with Tesla's stock experiencing a notable surge in premarket trading following the news of Musk's negotiations in China.
In summary, Tesla's recent achievements in China, highlighted by Elon Musk's strategic visit and the company's compliance with local data security laws, have set the stage for significant growth opportunities. With a new price target of $275 set by Daniel Ives of Wedbush, Tesla's stock presents a promising investment opportunity, underscored by its potential to expand its technological offerings and market presence in China. The company's success in navigating the regulatory and market challenges in China not only boosts its stock performance but also solidifies its position as a key player in the global shift towards autonomous driving and electric vehicles.
Baidu and Tesla Partner to Boost FSD Capabilities in China
Baidu's Partnership with Tesla: A Strategic Move for Enhanced FSD Capabilities in China
Baidu's partnership with Tesla:TSLA, granting the electric car manufacturer access to its mapping license, is a strategic move that could significantly impact Tesla's operations in China. This collaboration is aimed at enhancing Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities by allowing it to collect data on China's public roads. The importance of this development cannot be overstated, as it marks a crucial step in Tesla's efforts to improve its autonomous driving technology within the Chinese market. This move is further supported by Tesla's recent compliance with China's data security standards, which led to the lifting of restrictions on Tesla cars by local authorities. This compliance is a testament to Tesla's commitment to adhering to local regulations and underscores the potential for increased market presence in the region.
The timing of this partnership coincides with a period of financial scrutiny for Tesla. According to a report by StreetInsider, Emmanuel Rosner of Deutsche Bank set a new price target for Tesla at $136, which is below its trading price at the time of the announcement, indicating a potential downside. This adjustment reflects Deutsche Bank's ongoing assessment of Tesla's market position amidst challenging financial metrics. Tesla's recent earnings report revealed that the company fell short of earnings per share (EPS) and revenue expectations, with a reported EPS of $0.45 against an estimated $0.51 and revenue of $21.3 billion against the anticipated $22.34 billion.
Furthermore, Tesla has experienced a decrease in quarterly revenue growth by approximately 15.36%, alongside declines in gross profit growth and a significant drop in net income growth. These financial challenges are compounded by a substantial decrease in free cash flow growth and a decrease in operating cash flow growth. However, it's worth noting that Tesla reported a slight increase in asset growth and a marginal increase in book value per share growth, indicating some areas of resilience amidst the financial downturn.
The strategic partnership with Baidu could serve as a catalyst for Tesla, potentially offsetting some of the financial challenges it faces. By leveraging Baidu's expertise in mapping and navigation, Tesla can enhance its FSD capabilities in China, a critical market for electric vehicles. This collaboration not only signifies Tesla's commitment to advancing its technology in compliance with local regulations but also positions the company to potentially improve its financial metrics through increased market presence and sales in China.
In summary, Tesla's collaboration with Baidu represents a significant step forward in its efforts to enhance autonomous driving technology in China. While the company faces financial challenges, as indicated by Deutsche Bank's adjusted price target and recent earnings report, this partnership could provide a much-needed boost. By meeting China's data security standards and leveraging Baidu's mapping expertise, Tesla is poised to strengthen its position in the Chinese market, which could, in turn, have positive implications for its financial performance in the future.
Tesla's Strategic Adjustments and Market Impact Analysis
Tesla's Strategic Adjustments and Market Impact
Tesla's recent decision to lay off some of its recruiters has caught the attention of both the workforce and investors alike. The layoffs, as reported by Business Insider, were part of a broader initiative by Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, to reduce the company's headcount by more than 10%. This move specifically targeted the recruiting staff, a critical component in Tesla's expansion and talent acquisition strategy. The affected individuals, some of whom shared their experiences on LinkedIn, were notified of their job termination via a call, underscoring the suddenness of the decision. This development is significant as it reflects Tesla's current operational adjustments and strategic realignments.
In the wake of these layoffs, Tesla's stock has been under scrutiny from financial analysts and investors. Notably, Deutsche Bank has revised its outlook on Tesla (TSLA), moving from a Buy to a Hold rating. This adjustment, made on April 18, 2024, signals a shift in confidence from one of the leading financial institutions. The downgrade is primarily attributed to concerns over Tesla's ambitious push for autonomy, a key factor in the company's future growth plans. With Tesla's stock trading at $155.45 at the time of the announcement, the market's reaction to these operational and strategic challenges is closely watched.
The layoffs and the subsequent downgrade by Deutsche Bank highlight the complexities and risks associated with Tesla's aggressive expansion and innovation strategies. The focus on autonomy, while a potential game-changer for the electric vehicle industry, introduces uncertainties that can affect investor confidence and the company's market valuation. Tesla's decision to reduce its workforce, particularly within the recruiting team, may also raise questions about its capacity to attract and retain the talent necessary for its ambitious projects.
Moreover, the timing of these layoffs and the downgrade suggests a period of reassessment for Tesla, both internally and from the perspective of market analysts. The company's efforts to streamline operations and reduce costs through workforce adjustments are indicative of a broader strategy to navigate the challenges of scaling up production and advancing technological innovations. However, these moves also reflect the inherent risks and volatility in the tech and automotive sectors, especially for a company that is at the forefront of electric vehicle and autonomous driving technologies.
As Tesla navigates these operational and strategic shifts, the market's response, as evidenced by Deutsche Bank's rating adjustment, will be crucial in determining the company's trajectory. The balance between cost-cutting measures, such as layoffs, and the pursuit of ambitious technological goals, like autonomy, will continue to shape Tesla's path forward. Investors and analysts alike will be keenly observing how these developments impact Tesla's financial performance and market position in the competitive electric vehicle landscape.
General Motors (GM) Leads in Automobile Sector Amidst Challenges
General Motors (GM:NYSE) Emerges as a Strong Contender in the Automobile Sector
General Motors (GM:NYSE) is emerging as a strong contender in the automobile sector's earnings season, buoyed by positive assessments from investment banks such as UBS and Deutsche Bank. These institutions have underscored the challenges faced by Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ), Ford, and various component suppliers, while spotlighting GM's potential for outperforming expectations. The optimism surrounding GM is rooted in its stable pricing, effective cost reduction strategies, and lower expenditures on its Cruise driverless taxi arm. Additionally, there's anticipation that GM might uplift its full-year guidance, reflecting confidence in its operational strengths.
Tesla, in contrast, is navigating through turbulent waters, with Deutsche Bank raising concerns over potential free cash flow issues and a possible cut in full-year volume guidance. The delay of the Model 2, a pivotal lower-cost model in Tesla's lineup, poses a significant threat to the company's investment appeal. This situation is further complicated by Tesla's strategic pivot towards robotaxis, a move fraught with technological and regulatory challenges. The stock's performance, which saw a decrease of $4.37 to $157.11, reflects the market's reaction to these uncertainties. With a market capitalization of around $500.36 billion and a trading volume of 96.5 million shares, Tesla's financial health and strategic decisions remain under close scrutiny.
Ford and other suppliers like Adient, Aptiv, and Goodyear Tire are also facing headwinds, as highlighted by Deutsche Bank. The slow pace of new launches, soft volumes, and cost inflation in the first quarter pose downside risks to their earnings and possibly their full-year guidance. These companies must navigate through these challenges and aim for significant improvements in the upcoming quarters to maintain their competitive edge.
Rivian, another player in the EV market, has been upgraded from 'Sell' to 'Neutral' by UBS, indicating a more balanced risk/reward outlook at its current levels. However, the broader landscape for US auto suppliers remains daunting, with minimal global production growth and challenges such as labor inflation and foreign exchange risks. Despite these hurdles, there's an expectation for suppliers to strive for annual margin expansion, a goal heavily reliant on productivity improvements.
As the earnings season unfolds, GM and Ford stand out with their favorable outlooks, in stark contrast to the challenges faced by Tesla and other suppliers. The automotive sector is at a critical juncture, with legacy OEMs like GM leveraging their pricing resilience and capital efficiency to navigate through these turbulent times. The performance of these companies in the upcoming earnings season will be a key indicator of the sector's health and future direction.
Wells Fargo Analysts Anticipate Tesla to Report a Q1 Miss
Wells Fargo analysts anticipate that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) will fall short of expectations for the first quarter when it announces results on April 23. According to their analysis, the expected shortfall is already factored into investor expectations, given Tesla's reported weak deliveries during the quarter.
The analysts project a first-quarter EPS of $0.40, which is below the consensus estimate of $0.54. They attribute their lower projection to price cuts, decreased deliveries, rising labor costs, and poorer operational leverage. Furthermore, Wells Fargo reduced its full-year EPS forecast for Tesla by 20% to account for the sluggish pace of deliveries in the first quarter.
Despite these challenges, the investment bank noted that Tesla might focus on the advancements of its Full Self-Driving technology during the earnings call, which could temporarily divert attention from its core financials. However, Wells Fargo emphasized that, ultimately, the fundamentals are likely to regain focus once the initial excitement subsides.
