Tesla’s revenue dropped 71% this past quarter and reported almost $20 billion in sales. Tesla’s EV car sales income decreased, but its revenue from renewable energy and carbon credits increased over the same period compared to last year.
The company also reported adjusted earnings-per-share of 27 cents, which missed analysts’ expectations of 41 cents.
Tesla revenue fell in the first quarter after a steep decline in automotive sales, including double-digit percentage drops in crucial markets including the U.S., China and Germany.
The electric-vehicle maker reported $19.3 billion in revenue for the quarter, down 9% compared with the same period last year. Revenue from the company’s automotive business fell 20%. The energy business grew 67%.
Tesla also reported $595 million in revenue from other automakers who pay Tesla for carbon credits to offset their sale of conventional vehicles, up sharply from a year earlier.
The company reported a 2.1% operating margin for the period, compared with 5.5% a year earlier.
Just like the major stock indexes and US dollar exchanges, Tesla’s share price took a wild negative ride today, losing almost another 6% of its value by the end of today’s trading.
The "Sell America" trade picked back up on Monday.
Stocks fell, with the Dow industrials dropping almost 1,000 points and on pace for their worst April since 1932, and the dollar hit fresh multiyear lows against the euro and other major currencies. Yields on longer-term Treasurys rose and gold surged to a fresh record.
Markets are on edge about President Trump's tariff war as well as his threats to fire Fed chief Jerome Powell. Trump on Monday demanded lower rates in a post on social media, saying costs are trending downward and the economy could slow "unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW."
While Trump focuses on trying to bully the Fed to take cover for his half-baked global tariff war— he’s losing to China— his ally Musk has to answer to Tesla shareholders, who have seen the value of their shares drop over 40% since Trump’s inauguration.
Two weeks ago, Ives slashed his price target for Tesla’s stock by 43%, citing a brand crisis created by Musk and US President Donald Trump’s trade policies. Ives’ biggest concern has been the potential for Tesla to get caught up in the backlash against Trump’s tariff policies in China, where the company generated more than a fifth of its revenue last year. Musk has also become the face of Trump’s efforts to slash the size and scope of the federal government, infuriating progressive consumers who are a key client base for the leading American electric vehicle maker.
Everything Trump touches dies, and “super genius” Musk should have known better, but he fooled around with Trump and he’s finding out now that his investing in Trump was an unqualified distraction and a terrible mistake for the Tesla brand, its consumers and most of all, his long-term investors.
The EV maker will delay by several months the production launch of a long-awaited lower-cost model, Reuters reported Friday, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter. Investors have been hopeful that a stripped-down version of its top-selling Model Y SUV could revive demand.
DOdGEy Elon has a lot of explaining to Tesla’s investors and shareholders to do tomorrow. Bonne chance!