By business, the total revenue of the automobile business in the second quarter was 19.878 billion US dollars, compared to 21.268 billion US dollars in the same period last year, down 7% from the previous year; revenue from the power generation and energy storage business was 3.014 billion US dollars, compared to 1.509 billion US dollars in the same period last year; and revenue from services and other businesses was 2.608 billion US dollars, compared to 2.15 billion US dollars in the same period last year.
Although delivery figures for the second quarter declined year over year, there was an improvement compared to deliveries in the first three months of this year. Stronger sales were partly stimulated by price cuts, which reduced the company's profit margin. Automobile gross margin excluding regulatory credit was 14.6% in the second quarter, down from 16.4% in the first quarter.
Robotaxi delayed until October launch
Tesla expects car production in the third quarter to surpass that of the second quarter. Furthermore, Cybertruck is expected to be profitable by the end of this year, and plans for low-cost cars are also underway, and production is expected to begin in the first half of 2025.
As for the driverless taxi Robotaxi, which the market is most concerned about, Tesla did not disclose the exact launch date in the financial report. “Robotaxi's deployment time is dependent on technological advancements and regulatory approval, and given its huge potential value, we are actively seizing this opportunity.”
Subsequently, Musk revealed during the performance conference call that the release of Robotaxi's plans was postponed from August to October. He said last week, “I'm requesting important design changes to the front of the Robotaxi. The extra time due to the delay in the release date will give the company a chance to show some other content.”
However, investors believe in Musk's promise that Robotaxi and humanoid robots will soon be launched, which drove Tesla's stock price to soar sharply in early July, but the latest results are a reminder that the company is facing adverse factors in its main automotive business.
The second quarter was a turbulent period for the electric car maker. Musk shelved cheap electric vehicle projects and instead focused on developing driverless taxis. Faced with slowing sales and increased competition, the company also laid off more than 10% of its employees.
Tesla claims that increased operating expenses and restructuring expenses, mainly driven by artificial intelligence (AI) projects, are also dragging down profits. The company previously anticipated spending more than $0.35 billion in the second quarter, mainly related to employee termination expenses.
Market competition intensifies
With car deliveries growing at an average annual rate of 50%, Tesla has become the most valuable car manufacturer in the world, but now the company is facing increasing competition, and other car makers are launching their own electric cars.
Tesla's share of the US electric vehicle market fell below 50% in the second quarter of this year, according to data from sales tracking agency Edmunds. And a few years ago, it dominated this market.
According to data released at the beginning of this month, Tesla sold a total of 0.444 million new cars worldwide, down 4.8% from the same period last year. This is the first time that Tesla has experienced a year-on-year decline in sales for two consecutive quarters.
Although Tesla did not give a new full-year sales target, it warned that “the 2024 car sales growth rate may be significantly lower than the 2023 growth rate.” This statement seems obvious given the drop in sales in the first half of this year.
Tesla said that in the second quarter, deliveries were drastically increased in several markets, including South Korea, supplied by the Shanghai Gigafactory. Although the Chinese automobile market is still one of the most competitive in the world, the company believes that the cost structure and focus on core functions have created value for customers, which has laid a good foundation for the company's long-term development.
apiQ : long term
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