Musk: Tesla's doing great. I mean, have you seen my Twitter follower count?
- Reference: 1674774073
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/01/26/tesla_boasts_record_year_conveniently/
- Source link:
According to Tesla
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, the electric car maker brought in $24.32 billion in revenue in the final three months of 2022 – a 37 percent year-over-year increase. Earnings per share were also up 40 percent year-over-year to $1.19, and both figures beat Wall Street's expectations. Profit from the quarter amounted to $3.7 billion, up 59 percent.As for the full year, Musk highlighted during the [2]conference call with analysts that his manufacturer generated $12.5 billion in net income, up 128 percent on 2021, and $7.5 billion in free cash flow during the period. Sales for the year amounted to $81.5 billion, up 51 percent.
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"It's worth noting that all these records were in the face of massive difficulties," Musk said.
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Scratch the surface, and the picture changes a bit. That aforementioned revenue in Q4 came with a decrease in gross profit margin, while Tesla's overall share of profits from automotive sales slipped as well.
EBITDA margins also decreased in Q4, and while overall free cash flow improved in 2022, Q4 was a different story: year over year, Q4 saw net cash from operating activities decrease by 29 percent, while free cash flow shrunk by nearly half.
[6]
Tesla's stock price was still up slightly on this news, and has been up 45 percent in the first 26 days of 2023. Still, a one-year look back at Tesla's stock price shows its value has halved since January 2022.
Musk and co. also said during the meeting they planned to [7]cut costs to keep the biz profitable, and are even banking on a recession to bring expenses down.
"If the recession is a serious one and I think it probably will be, but I hope it isn't, that would lead to meaningful decreases in almost all of our input costs," Musk said.
Tesla is popular because I am popular
We note that Tesla missed its growth objectives for 2022 and delivered [8]fewer vehicles than analysts expected, though [9]deliveries were still up year-over-year, as was production. The automaker [10]slashed sticker prices around the globe a few weeks ago. Price cuts were also necessary to conform to [11]new electric vehicle incentives .
"The most common question we've been getting from investors is about demand… so I want to put that concern to rest," Musk said during the call.
[12]Tesla eyes Nevada for Semi electric truck plant, battery factory
[13]Tesla's Autopilot is losing out to Ford, GM in self-driving tech
[14]British monarchy goes after Twitter, alleges rent not paid for UK base
[15]Tesla faked self-driving demo, Autopilot engineer testifies
He claimed Tesla's year-to-date orders have been the strongest in the automaker's history and are outselling the rate of production by almost double. That would be a turnaround from the end of 2022, when Tesla reported producing 439,701 cars and delivering 405,278 of them.
"Demand far exceeds production, and we actually are making some small price increases as a result," Musk said.
[16]
When asked if his purchase of Twitter and its accompanying [17]litany [18]of [19]PR [20]disasters was negatively affecting Tesla's brand image, Musk's response appeared to conflate his personal popularity on Twitter with a positive perception of the Tesla brand.
"Let me check my Twitter account. OK, so I've got 127 million followers. It continues to grow very rapidly. That suggests that I'm reasonably popular," Musk said, "so I think Twitter is actually an incredibly powerful tool for driving demand for Tesla."
That suggests that I'm reasonably popular
Follower counts, of course, don't indicate whether someone approves of the individual they're following or are doing so with a critical eye. It also doesn't account for followers who [21]might not even be human .
Musk managed to squeeze a pitch to advertisers into his defense of Twitter, too: "I would really encourage companies out there… to make more use of Twitter," the Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter CEO said. "It will help them drive sales just as it has with Tesla," Musk added. That's amid [22]reports that advertising sales has cratered at Twitter.
Temper your Cybertruck expectations better than its windows
Musk alluded to some new Tesla models being unveiled in March at the company's annual shareholder meeting, but existing vehicles that have yet to reach production – like the Cybertruck – are another story.
When asked if the [23]Cybertruck would enter production in the middle of 2023, Musk said it would begin "maybe sometime this summer."
He noted that the start of production is a slow process, "so I wouldn't put too much stock in start of production. It's kind of when does volume production actually happen, and that's next year."
Andrew Baglino, Tesla's SVP of powertrain and energy engineering, said installation of Cybertruck production equipment had recently begun at the automaker's gigafactory in Austin, Texas, and production wouldn't ramp up until 2024.
Tesla also announced this week it was planning a [24]$3.6 billion expansion of its Nevada gigafactory to add battery production capacity and a dedicated production facility for the Tesla Semi.
Consumer Reports also released details of its test of 12 active driver assist systems this week, which found Tesla's Autopilot was [25]falling behind innovations from Ford, GM and other established automakers as concerns over the [26]safety of Tesla's tech continue to grow.
Musk said during the call that an update to Autopilot was recently released to add full self-driving support on city streets, and the system was showing clear safety improvements.
"We would not have released the FSD Beta if the safety statistics were not excellent," Musk claimed. ®
Get our [27]Tech Resources
[1] https://tesla-cdn.thron.com/delivery/public/document/tesla/b7871185-dd6a-4d79-9c3b-19b497227f2a/S1dbei4/WEB/b7871185-dd6a-4d79-9c3b-19b497227f2a
[2] https://seekingalpha.com/article/4572420-tesla-inc-tsla-q4-2022-earnings-call-transcript
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y9Nab1zJDC0LPx@bCYBV0wAAANI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y9Nab1zJDC0LPx@bCYBV0wAAANI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y9Nab1zJDC0LPx@bCYBV0wAAANI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y9Nab1zJDC0LPx@bCYBV0wAAANI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/musk-outlines-teslas-recession-playbook-claw-back-costs-2023-01-26/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/03/tesla_q4_delivery_results/
[9] https://ir.tesla.com/press-release/tesla-vehicle-production-deliveries-and-date-financial-results-webcast-fourth-quarter
[10] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-cuts-prices-electric-vehicles-us-market-2023-01-13/
[11] https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2023/01/23/tesla-cuts-prices-to-compete-for-ev-sales-and-tax-incentives---will-the-discounts-be-enough-to-spur-lagging-sales/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/25/tesla_nevada_semi_plant/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/25/ford_gm_tesla_consumer_reports/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/24/monarchy_chasing_twitter_rent/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/18/tesla_selfdriving_video_faked/
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y9Nab1zJDC0LPx@bCYBV0wAAANI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/11/twitter_musk_week/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/02/twitter_advertising_push/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/10/twitter_verified_opinion/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/05/more_premusk_leaders_leave_twitter/
[21] https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-twitter-70-percent-followers-fake-accounts-audit-says-2022-5
[22] https://www.reuters.com/technology/ad-spending-twitter-falls-by-over-70-dec-data-2023-01-25/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2019/11/22/smashing_tesla_cybertruck/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/25/tesla_nevada_semi_plant/
[25] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/25/ford_gm_tesla_consumer_reports/
[26] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/15/tesla_autopilot_accounts_for_70/
[27] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"Follower counts"
Indeed, I "follow" more people which I dont "like" (despite what the button says) than what I do actually "like" because I want too see what bollocks they post, not because I actually "like" them.
That decrease in gross profit margin....
....was probably due to significant price cuts.
It may be a function of where I live but there are more and more of these things about. Its one of the more common makes of new cars in our area. I don't know why except that everyone I know who owns one seems to really like it.
Hyper Truck
With what has materialised for the Hyperloop in Vegas a far cry from what was originally proposed, I wonder if the Cyber Truck will be anything like what was demonstrated
'Skull-', 'cluster-', 'total-', 'dumb-', and now 'cyber-'
The Cybertruck has become a symbol of failure - excessive excess from a failing billionaire with a Duke Nukem Forever production schedule. This truck is only for a handful of collectors and YouTube personalities.
How is this man in charge of anything?
I wouldn’t put him in charge of a lemonade stand.
Re: How is this man in charge of anything?
I would. I'd like to see how he handles the duck.
While I'm a non-fan of Tesla, the truth is there is no bad news in this for Tesla:
- Lower prices are straight out good for electric car uptake, and thus demand.
- We have to make more electric cars in the next decade or so, than all the current production capacity from all the manufacturers put together.
- There is no shortage of customers - you just have to be able to make them for the price those customers can pay.
- While Tesla cars have various issues, the fact is that they are more than good enough, and will continue to be until the market starts to saturate - probably in the mid 2030's
- Lower margins might make Tesla drop some of the expensive, negative-value techno-junk from the base models, which would actually make them better cars, more reliable, and more attractive to many buyers.
- When margins fall enough, and Tesla have excess capacity in the supply chain for motors, batteries etc, they will simply partner with other companies to build the cars with Tesla components. This is what every other car company does.
Heaps of Teslas where I live in second half of 2022, because they've been the cheapest e-car which is actually available when you want to buy one.
> I've got 127 million followers. It continues to grow very rapidly. That suggests that I'm reasonably popular,"
Bollocks. While I'm sure there are plenty of stans slavishly following Elom's every little tidbit of twaddle, it's a fair bet all 127M aren't that. Assuming you even believe his number in the first place, and that it's composed mostly of human eyeballs rather than bots or other API-like content scrapers and similar shenanigans.
More like he's a big unstable spectacle and a lot of people want to see what crazy unhinged thing he's done this time, not because they actually like the guy. Train crash, etc. Plus hate-watchers, pundits and media writer types looking for a headline, and so on.
If he'd have instead claimed "I'm good at making a ruckus and attracting attention", then fair enough. But, any loud smelly fart can too....
EV Smugmobiles
I bought a a "dirty, horrible" diesel 5 years ago. Before you EV smuggos start on at me, you know why? I bought that car which was second hand demo model only at 6 months old, just for towing, towing a caravan as I utterly hate flying and I needed a cheap way to have holidays. So before you EV types start on at me I can tell you that I've not been on a plane since 1998, so you keep your peace with the environment your way and I'll keep it in mine.
I'm not the one driving my Tesla Smugmobile(tm) to the airport to fly and forth to Val d'Isere to go skiing twice a year for a few days!
Stupid is as stupid does...
To paraphrase Will Rogers:
"There are some people on the loose who shouldn't be allowed to play with matches."