Tesla (TSLA) Q3 earnings preview: tough quarter

Tesla (TSLA) is about to release Q3 2023 financial results on Wednesday, October 18, after the markets close. As usual, a conference call and Q&A with Tesla’s management are scheduled after the results.
Tesla Q3 2023 deliveries
Earlier this month, Tesla confirmed that it delivered just over 435,000 electric vehicles during the third quarter of the year.
It’s the first time in a long time that Tesla didn’t break a delivery record.
Tesla also produced fewer vehicles at just over 430,000 units.
Tesla Q3 2023 revenue
This year has been more difficult due to constant price cuts – making it harder to track Tesla’s revenue.
The Wall Street consensus for this quarter is $24.256 billion, and Estimize, the financial estimate crowdsourcing website, predicts a higher revenue of $24.420 billion.
Here are the predictions for Tesla’s revenue over the past two years, with Estimize predictions in blue, Wall Street consensus in gray, and actual results are in green:

Tesla Q3 2023 earnings
For Q3 2023, the Wall Street consensus is a gain of $0.73 per share, while Estimize’s prediction is higher with a profit of $0.78 per share.
Other expectations for the TSLA shareholder’s letter and analyst call
Amid declining prices to keep demand up, most shareholders are mostly concerned about Tesla’s ability to retain a high gross margin despite the lower prices.
It’s likely that Tesla will try to reassure shareholders on that front on Wednesday.
There’s been a growing effort among shareholders to convince Tesla to invest in advertising rather than cut prices.
Tesla is expected to release its Q3 Eearnings Report on Wednesday.
Revenue $24.15 billion ⬆️ 12.6% YoY
EPS $0.74 ⬇️ 22% YoY