Tesla Inc. warned investors late Wednesday that it may make fewer vehicles this year than in 2023 to focus on its next-generation EV, sending the stock tumbling more than 3% after hours.
“In 2024, our vehicle volume growth rate may be notably lower than the growth rate achieved in 2023, as our teams work on the launch of the next-generation vehicle at Gigafactory Texas,” the EV maker said in a letter to shareholders accompanying its fourth-quarter results.
The company is in between “two major growth waves,” it said.
Tesla
TSLA,
earned $7.9 billion, or $2.27 a share, in the quarter, compared with $3.7 billion, or $1.07 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the EV maker earned 71 cents a share.
Sales rose 3% to $25.17 billion, from $24.32 billion a year ago, as rising rising vehicle sales and growth in other parts of the business were offset by a reduced average vehicle selling price and lower revenue recognition from “Full Self Driving,” Tesla’s suite of advanced driver-assistance systems for urban driving.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected the EV maker to report adjusted earnings of 73 cents a share on sales of $25.6 billion.
Other profit impact came as the company ramped up production of the Cybertruck, Tesla said. The EV maker reiterated that it expects that the Cybertruck ramp will be “longer than other models given its manufacturing complexity.”
The next-generation vehicle, of which little is known, has been dubbed the Model 2. A question about whether the new EV would be launched by 2025 has been the top query on Tesla’s investor-relations site.
“We are focused on bringing the next-generation platform to market as quickly as we can, with the plan to start production at Gigafactory Texas. This platform will revolutionize how vehicles are manufactured,” the company said in the letter.
Tesla’s stock has gotten to a rough start of the year, off more than 16% this month, versus gains of 2% for the S&P 500 index
SPX.
The shares are up more than 44% in the past 12 months, however, outpacing S&P’s gains of around 21%.
