- Upbeat on Tesla future and product offerings
- New Tesla products hinted at as Cybertruck assembly line readied
- Production ramps to be smoothed out
- Tesla poised to deliver first Semi electric truck to Pepsi
Elon Musk has promised that the long awaited Cybertruck will soon be ready for production, and more Tesla products are on the way.
The comments came as the EV maker reported a record operating profit, although Wall Street was reportedly not excited by the better-than-expected quarter.
On the back of what was also a record quarter for EV production (365,000 units), Tesla reported a free cash flow of $US8.9 billion ($A14.2bn) for the past 12 months, $US21.45 billion ($A34.2bn) in revenue and a record quarterly operating profit of roughly $US3.7 billion ($A5.9bn).
This operating profit for the September quarter beat the previous high of $US3.6 billion reported in the first quarter of 2022, but was marginally below analyst expectations of around $US3.9 billion. In after-hours trading the EV maker’s shares jumped to $US228 ($A363.55) before dropping 6.25% to $US208.16 ($A331.86).
In terms of market share, Tesla is nearing 3.5% of all new car sales in the US, and nearing 2% in China and Europe.
Source: Tesla
Upbeat on Tesla future and product offerings
Despite the cool reaction from investors, Musk was upbeat about the company’s near and long-term future.
“We’re delivering every car we make and keeping operating margins strong,” said Musk at the company’s third-quarter earnings call today.
The new Berlin gigafactory has ramped to 2,000 cars a week, he said, while Austin is close to achieving that also.
Model Y production in Berlin. Source: Tesla
Musk also said he thinks the company could be worth more than that of Apple and Saudi Aramco combined (excluding its plans for an Optimus robot,) but it would take dedication and effort to achieve that.
New Tesla products hinted at as Cybertruck assembly line readied
He added: “I think we’ve got the most exciting product portfolio of any company on earth, some of which you’ve heard about some of which you haven’t.”
The Tesla boss did not give any more hints about what the unknown products would be, but gave an update of the Cybertruck.
“We’re in the final lap for the Cybertruck,” he said, adding that the company is in the midst of building the assembly line for the electric utility truck at its factory in Austin, Texas.
“Sorry it took longer than expected but you know there were a few things that got in the way like insane global supply shortages,” said Musk.
He added that Tesla is “making progress on the robotaxi platform design,” and said progress is also continuing on its 4680 battery cells.
Image source: Tesla
Production ramps to be smoothed out
Tesla’s characteristic end-of-quarter production will be leveled out, added Musk. Tesla has historically delivered some one-third of output in the final two weeks of each quarter.
However – perhaps in addition to the stress this puts on employees – Tesla is now finding that as its production capacity increases it cannot secure enough transport for end-of-quarter ramps to be delivered in a timely manner.
Tesla said it is “transitioning to a smoother delivery pace,” and customers were warned there could be a bottleneck this quarter. However, the EV maker expects the smooth logistics will result in lower costs per vehicle.
Tesla Semi at Tesla factory. Image: Tesla
Tesla poised to deliver first Semi electric truck to Pepsi
Musk also reiterated that Tesla will deliver its first production Semi electric truck to soft drink giant PepsiCo on December 1.
Having first announced the delivery date and a range of some 800km earlier in October, Musk added that he will be personally present at the long-awaited delivery event.
Then, the production ramp for the Semi is expected to take 12 months. “We’re tentatively aiming for 50,000 units in 2024,” said Musk.
Keyword: Cybertruck in “final lap” as more Tesla hints at more products on their way