Tesla still loses money as deliveries decline



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2019 was Tesla, a maker of electric cars, announced an announcement: it announced its intention to start deploying model 3 sedans for $ 35,000, and then made it harder for them to order. He said that he would close all his exhibition halls, then he would leave some open and raise prices to compensate. CEO Elon Musk predicted that one million of his fully autonomous self – propelled robots would be traveling the country next year, even if he did not go to work there. not yet completed its autonomous technology. And Musk continued to argue with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over its Twitter habit.

The rollercoaster continues: On Wednesday, Tesla said it broke profits by posting a $ 702 million loss in the first quarter due to delivery problems and logistical problems. The loss was worse than that expected by Wall Street Chinkers, equivalent to 2.90 USD per share, compared to the forecast of a loss of 69 cents.

As the company continues to reduce production and Musk makes bold statements about autonomous vehicles, the numbers show that running a car business sometimes relies on fundamental principles, such as getting vehicles into garages.

The report also left an unanswered question: Can Tesla earn enough money to survive as an "affordable" electric company, focused on selling models 3 rather than higher-priced luxury models? S and X? Now that buyers have the opportunity to buy a more affordable vehicle, "Musk will never sell as many of these more expensive and profitable cars as in the past," says Karl Brauer, executive editor of Kelley Blue Automotive Research Magazine. . Book. "Now, Tesla lives and dies on model 3."

Tesla, for its part, says it does not believe that the model 3 cannibalize the sales of its luxury vehicles. "They really seem to be different market segments," said Musk.

Tesla has blamed this quarterly loss – the largest since last summer – to a few factors, including the difficulties encountered in delivering vehicles overseas. Tesla delivered only 63,000 vehicles in the first quarter, down 31% from the fourth quarter of 2018, and only 12,100 S and X luxury models, down from the fourth quarter by half . Sending cars to customers in China and Europe "was the most difficult logistical problem I've ever seen, and I've encountered some difficult ones," Musk told investors. He recalled what the company had reported earlier this month: half of its quarterly shipments occurred in the last 10 days of the quarter, creating an unpleasant tightening for employees and customers. The company will work to rethink and refine its delivery strategies throughout the quarter, said Musk, but advised shareholders not to expect further profit before the second half of the year.

A future factory in Shanghai could also help Tesla to travel abroad and give it a solid base in a protectionist country that is serious about electric vehicles. Musk said the construction "was proceeding surprisingly well" and said he hoped to achieve volume production in Shanghai by the end of the year. Musk has previously stated that Tesla plans to set up an badembly plant in Europe.

The company also said that sales had suffered from the phasing out and planned federal electric vehicle credit – a problem for a builder who intended to sell its electrical appliances to the mbades. In January, potential buyers of Tesla saw their initial credit of $ 7,500 cut in half to $ 3,750. This decision was suggested by buyers motivated to buy vehicles in the last quarter of 2018. But this credit will only drop in the coming months to $ 1,875. in July and at zero in 2020.

Tesla said its compact SUV, the Y model, was still scheduled for production in 2020. Musk said Tesla had begun ordering the equipment needed to build the vehicle, although it was not necessary. He had not decided yet whether he was going to make Model Y in his Fremont, California, factory or at the Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada.

Musk answered questions about the slowdown in the company's demand for cars, prompted by frequent price changes and repackaging of products in the last quarter. "We are seeing strong demand for vehicles," said Musk, calling the Model 3 Standard Plus $ 39,500 "an incredibly appealing, affordable vehicle for the 40% of the richest revenue streams in the US and Europe" . semi-automatic autopilot function of the company as standard.)

Tesla shares only slightly weakened in the spare parts trade, by 0.3% on Wednesday night, suggesting that investors were prepared for the bad news. In fact, the company's stock had been more successful earlier in the day, when Detroit giant Ford announced its intention to invest $ 500 million in the Rivian electric vehicle start-up , a small but growing rival, who promised two electric utility vehicles by the end of next year. Ford said it would work with Rivian to develop a new VE. This suggests another challenge on the horizon for Tesla, born in part from its own success: Soon, the world's best-selling electric vehicle will have much more competition.


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