Tesla Misses Q4 Estimates, Stock Rebounds After-Hours

Tesla reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Despite the initial drop in after-hours trading, the stock rebounded.

Tesla posted earnings per share of 73 cents, below the expected 76 cents. Revenue came in at $25.71 billion, missing the $27.26 billion forecast. The company’s revenue increased by just 2% from $25.17 billion a year earlier. Automotive revenue fell 8% to $19.8 billion, with $692 million coming from regulatory credits.

Operating income declined 23% year over year to $1.6 billion. Net income dropped 71% from a year earlier to $2.32 billion, or 66 cents per share, compared to $7.93 billion, or $2.27 per share, in the same quarter last year. The previous year’s net income was boosted by a $5.9 billion one-time noncash tax benefit.

Tesla cited reduced average selling prices across its Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X lines as a major reason for the decline. The company offered various discounts on inventory vehicles and special discounts for North American buyers referred by another Tesla customer. In China, Tesla cut prices on its popular Model Y SUVs before launching a refreshed version, the Model Y Juniper.

Tesla did not provide specific guidance for this year but expects the vehicle business to return to growth in 2025. The company reiterated plans to unlock an unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) option and launch its driverless ride-hailing business later this year in parts of the U.S. CEO Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla would be launching unsupervised FSD as a paid service in Austin in June.

Tesla’s energy business performed better than its core automotive unit, reporting energy generation and storage revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, up 113% from the same period last year.