Tesla quarterly results disappoint as discounts bite

AUSTIN

Tesla's results for the third quarter missed analyst estimates on Oct. 18, as the Elon Musk-run company was hit by higher costs and the fallout from price discounts.

The Texas-based electric vehicle giant said sales in the July to September period reached $23.35 billion, lower than the $24.19 billion forecasted by analysts polled by Factset.

The company also saw net profits come in less than hoped for, at 66 cents per share instead of 73 cents forecasted.

Musk has undertaken multiple price cuts throughout 2023 on vehicles, telling investors in April that the company has taken the view that pushing for higher sales is the right choice versus taking a bigger margin.

The move came as more EVs from legacy carmakers like General Motors and Ford are hitting dealerships.

But those rivals have been punished by a major strike in the United States, something that Tesla will not have to navigate.

The price cuts have made investors nervous and Tesla's share price slid more than seven percent in the last month and was down more than three percent from its last closing price in afterhours trade.

The Tesla stock valuation however still dwarfs other U.S. carmakers and it has more than doubled in 2023, comforting Musk's position as one of the world's two richest people.

Also rattling nerves, Tesla reported earlier this month that its new auto deliveries fell in the third quarter to 435,059 units because of downtimes at factories in Shanghai and Austin.

Production overall declined 10 percent from the second quarter to 430,488, according to the figures.

But Tesla on Oct. 18 confirmed that its full-year volume target of 1.8 million vehicles remained unchanged.