Tesla's 1st quarter earnings report turned out to be a kind of disappointment

Tesla's first quarter earnings report started out a bit grim. With net losses close to three quarters of a billion dollars and a car business figure down 41% from the fourth quarter of 2018, it's hard to be as enthusiastic about things like Model y (for which Tesla still has not chosen a production site) and complete self-driving technology.

Tesla is a company that usually is in the red, however, and there are a number of things on the horizon that could work to make the balance sheet rather gloomy this quarter more aberrant than a trend. Tesla's car deliveries in Europe and China have had adverse consequences, but the situation seems to be largely resolved. The Chinese market should – provided the demand remains where is it? – prove profitable once the Shanghai Gigafactory opens its doors and lights its production lines.

In fact, Tesla plans to increase vehicle deliveries from 360,000 to 400,000 a year by 2019. This would represent a 45% to 65% increase in shipments over 2018, which would be huge if it really happened. On the production side, the numbers are even bigger. Tesla said that if its ability to put into operation the Shanghai plant in the fourth quarter, its global output could exceed 500,000 vehicles. This sounds huge, but compared to a company like General Motors, which built 9.7 million cars in 2015 alone, it's a drop of water in the vase.

On the margins side, Tesla is still targeting a 25% margin on all of its vehicles, but is well below that, its actual number approaching 20%.

On the rise, Tesla finally offered a serious update to its aging model S and X platforms she hopes – and we agree – to boost sales down these flagship models. Updates to these models included new engines, an update of active damping and other suspension changes, as well as a host of other more modest modifications. Powertrain updates have proven to be a significant mileage gain, with the inefficient Model S 100D now capable of running 370 km on a single charge. The X model also has uneven range, but is slightly less impressive at 325 miles.

Among other major updates announced by Tesla during his call, it was planned to launch a car insurance product in the coming months. This is an interesting initiative, but one that makes sense given the extremely variable costs incurred by vehicle owners in securing their Tesla. It's also an effective way for Tesla to put his money where he is hiding when it comes to its vehicle safety claims and the efficiency of the autopilot.

CEO Elon Musk explained that insurance rates for this Tesla home insurance would be based on data collected by his cars. These data are used to create actuarial tables and risk reports, but the company plans to go further than that. During the call, Musk explained that individual driving habits would be taken into account in setting prices. It sounds a little like a hyper-detailed high-tech version of the dongles that some insurance companies offer their customers for use-based insurance.