[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] U.S. electric vehicle company Tesla recorded an 'earnings miss' in third-quarter (July-September) sales this year, falling short of market expectations. Elon Musk, Tesla's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), expressed confidence by anticipating strong demand in the fourth quarter, but the market showed concerns, causing the stock price to plunge more than 5%.
According to Bloomberg and others on the 19th (local time), Tesla announced in its earnings report that third-quarter sales reached $21.45 billion (approximately 30.76 trillion KRW), a 56% increase compared to the same period last year. However, this figure fell short of the market forecast of $21.96 billion. Earlier, Tesla's third-quarter vehicle delivery performance (343,830 units), released on the 2nd, also missed the market expectation of 371,000 units.
Tesla stated that a strong dollar, bottlenecks in electric vehicle production and delivery, and high raw material and logistics costs affected sales. First, Tesla estimated the impact of the strong dollar at $250 million.
Tesla also reported that profitability declined due to rising raw material costs related to new factories in Berlin, Germany, and Texas, as well as new 4680 battery production. Additionally, it pointed out, "Logistics disruptions and supply chain bottlenecks are improving but still remain challenges." Tesla emphasized that it is making efforts to resolve these issues.
Some speculate that market demand for Tesla electric vehicles may be slowing down. Earlier, CEO Musk announced in April that the company would produce over 1.5 million vehicles this year. Tesla produced 929,910 units in the first to third quarters. To meet the target, it must produce more than 570,000 units in the fourth quarter.
On the day, CEO Musk told shareholders, "It cannot be overstated how strong demand is in the fourth quarter of this year," emphasizing, "Factories are operating at maximum capacity, and every car produced is being delivered." When concerns about the macroeconomic situation arose, he said, "China is mostly experiencing a downturn in the real estate market, and Europe is undergoing an energy-driven recession," adding, "The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) has raised interest rates more than necessary, but North America remains quite resilient. They (the Fed) will eventually realize this and lower rates again," he forecasted.
After Tesla announced its earnings following market close that day, its stock price fell more than 5% in after-hours trading. CNBC reported that since the announcement of third-quarter delivery numbers on the 2nd, the stock price has dropped more than 17%. Gene Munster, managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, diagnosed, "Tesla is typically a company that exceeds expectations, so people were somewhat surprised when sales fell short of forecasts."
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