Tesla’s fourth-quarter results fall short of Wall Street estimates

Tesla’s fourth-quarter net income fell 71% from a year ago when results were boosted by a one-time tax benefit.

The latest results fell short of Wall Street forecasts.

The electric vehicle company run by Elon Musk said on Wednesday that it made 2.31 billion dollars (£1.86 billion) from October through the end of December, less than the 7.93 billion-dollar (£6.38 billion) profit it posted in the same period in 2023.

Excluding one-time items in both periods, the Austin, Texas, company’s profits rose 3% to 73 cents a share, still not enough to meet analysts’ estimate of 77 cents a share.

Tesla stock initially fell after trading closed on Wednesday, then reversed course to rise more than 5%, adding to a steep climb since Donald Trump was elected president as investors bet that Mr Musk’s advisory role in the new administration will help the company.

Revenue in the quarter rose 2% to 25.7 billion dollars (£20.68 billion), less than Wall Street forecast for 27.1 billion dollars (£21.81 billion), according to FactSet.

The slight rise in revenue came after Tesla offered a series of incentives to drum up demand for its electric vehicles including low-interest loans and lower prices.

Earlier this month, Tesla said it sold 1.79 million vehicles in 2024, the first drop in more than a dozen years despite offers of 0% financing, free charging and low-priced leases. The fourth quarter showed signs of a rebound, though, with a record 495,570 vehicles sold.

Tesla’s gross profit margin fell to 16.3% for the quarter, down 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier.

Tesla has been losing market share in several countries as traditional car makers and other EV companies, such as China’s BYD, offer customers alternatives.

In its letter to shareholders released on Wednesday, Tesla said it was working to drive the cost of its vehicles lower, highlighting that one measure fell below 35,000 dollars (£28,164), the lowest in its history.

The company said production of “more affordable” models is expected to start in the first half of the year, though at “less cost reduction” than previously expected.

It also said it hoped to offer completely unsupervised self-driving technology to Tesla customers later this year.

In a conference call with analysts, Mr Musk said the company was “focused on maximising volume”, but then quickly pivoted to other goals and parts of the business.

“AI and robotics – that will bear immense fruit,” he said, adding: “I see a path, I’m not saying it’s an easy path, but I see a path for Tesla being the most valuable company in the world – by far, not even close.”

Tesla is currently the seventh-most valuable company in the S&P 500 with a market value of 1.25 trillion dollars.

Mr Musk also said he expects to introduce self-driving that does not require drivers to intervene at any moment in California and many other regions by the end of the year.