Tesla Q4 results miss estimates, warns of lower volume growth in 2024

Investing.com -- Tesla reported Wednesday fourth-quarter results that missed Wall Street estimates and the electric vehicle maker warned annual production growth will be "notably" slower this year amid a weaker backdrop for electric vehicle demand.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell 3% in afterhours trading Wednesday, following the release of the results.

Tesla reported adjusted EPS of $0.71 on revenue of $25.17 billion, missing Wall Street estimates of $0.73 and $25.61B, respectively.

Tesla delivered 484,507 EVs in the fourth quarter, up from 435,059 in Q3, but the EV maker had to cut prices to shift inventories, pressuring margins and operating income.

Gross margins slipped to 17.6% in Q4 from 23.8% in the same period a year earlier. The fall in margins were driven by price cuts, increased in operating expenses, and the cost of Cybertruck production ramp.

But automative gross margin, excluding regulatory credits that Tesla sells to other EV makers and is seen as a more accurate gauge of margins, were 17.2%, up from 16.3% in Q3, and above expectations of 15%.

Looking ahead, the company said production will be at slower rate than in 2024.

"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 company said in its fourth-quarter report.

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