After the market closed on Wednesday, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shared its third quarter financial results. Subsequently, its shares experienced an decrease of more than 3% in extended trading.
Relative to Wall Street expectations, based on research from LSEG (formerly Refinitiv), Tesla reported an adjusted profit of 66 cents per share, versus an expectation of 73 cents. Tesla demonstrated revenue of US$23.35 billion, against the projection of US$24.1 billion.
Standing out in revenue, the automotive segment totaled US$ 19.63 billion, while the energy storage and generation segment obtained US$ 1.56 billion. Notably, regulatory credits reached US$554 million, showing significant growth compared to previous quarters.
Analyzing annual performance, Tesla had recorded US$ 1.05 per share on US$ 21.45 billion in the same period in 2022. Gross profit showed a drop of 22% compared to the previous year, and the operating margin fell to 7.6%.
In a statement, the company cited reductions in production costs, with emphasis on the decrease in the cost per vehicle in the last quarter. Although challenges were faced in the new factories, progress was made towards lower unit costs.
Investments in research and development grew, reaching US$ 1.16 billion. This increase was driven, in part, by the expansion of AI training computing, focusing on the Optimus robot project. Elon Musk emphasized reinventing driver assistance systems by applying advanced machine learning techniques.
On the energy front, Tesla expanded energy storage by 90%, but saw a drop in solar installations.
Vaibhav Taneja assumed responsibility as CFO following the departure of Zachary Kirkhorn. Meanwhile, on the sales scene, the company launched a new version of the Model 3, called Highland, bringing notable changes such as the “stemless blinker”.
Throughout the quarter, Tesla adjusted the prices of its vehicles in several markets and changed the value of its driver assistance software. The company reinforces the need for continuous attention from drivers when driving their vehicles.