October 5, 2022: -On Monday, Shares of Tesla closed down over 8% after the electric vehicle maker released third-quarter production and delivery numbers Sunday that decreased short of analysts’ estimates.
According to estimates by FactSet-owned Street Account, Tesla stated 343,000 total deliveries and 365,000 vehicles produced in the quarter, missing analysts’ expectations of 364,660 vehicles delivered. Deliveries are the approximation of sales reported by Tesla.
Tesla experienced growing pains at its new factories in Germany and Texas, executive turnover, and skyrocketing commodity prices in the third quarter of 2022.
On Friday, Tesla’s AI Day did little to improve the company’s short-term prospects. While bullish analysts experience the Tesla Bot as a project with potential, a few AI and robotics industry insiders scoff at the prototype, price, and timeline Musk and Tesla employees presented. AI and robotics industry insiders were primarily skeptical. NYU professor Gary Marcus founded Robust AI and Geometric Intelligence, known as the Tesla robot demo at AI Day “sub-optimal.”
Wall Street analysts were divided more than the electric vehicle maker’s report, and the slide in stock price suggests investors are worried about delivery numbers.
A Goldman Sachs analyst maintained Tesla’s purchases rating and said the company would continue to profit from the long-term shift to electric vehicles. In contrast, a JPMorgan analyst kept an underweight rating on Tesla, saying that the earnings miss was in line with the company’s expectations.
Cowen’s Managing Director for Energy, Sustainability, and Mobility Tech, Jeffrey Osborne, states in a note after the Q3 deliveries report, “Tesla has ample cash and has undertaken a significant global making expansion with facilities in China, Berlin, and Austin, TX with the latter two methods the full ramp. While competition in the EV space keeps heating up, Tesla’s focus on electrical efficiency and investment in battery technology makes them tough to chase in the short term.” Cowen has a “market perform” which rates on shares of Tesla and a price aims of $244 for each every share.
AB Bernstein, senior research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, notes in a note following the delivery report that he thought Tesla’s ability to hit its guidance range of 50% deliveries growth for the fiscal year of 2022 seems “unlikely.” He composed, “Tesla attributed its shortfall in delivered units to increased cars in transit at the end of Q3, and challenges which secure vehicle transportation capacity at a reasonable cost.” Still, he noted that vehicle production lagged what analysts were expecting, according to his company’s estimates.
Nonetheless, the company expects the company’s margins to look suitable for the year’s second half.
Bernstein is having an “underperform” rating on shares of Tesla and a price target of $150 per share.
