Tesla\'s third-
The company sold 5,500 vehicles in the first quarter, nearly 10% higher than the sales promised in the previous quarter.
Total revenue was high, reaching $0. 603 billion compared to the $0. 554 billion consensus on Wall Street.
But with the share price more than four times higher in 2013, it is clear that investors are looking for any excuse to sell, so Tesla\'s share price fell about 10% after the sale to below $157 per share.
Short aside-
The fundamentals of the market look strong.
Gross profit margin reached 22%, excluding the benefits of zero emission car credit.
This leaves the company not far from its announced goal of reaching a profit margin of 25% by the next quarter.
In addition, assuming 50 weeks of production, production is now running at a rate of 550 vehicles per week, or at a rate of 27,500.
Tesla expects nearly 6,000 vehicles to be delivered to drivers next quarter, completing the delivery of 21,500 vehicles for the whole year, compared with the target of 20,000 vehicles set in early 2013.
But that is not enough for investors who expect faster results, so stocks have been suppressed.
Otherwise it is difficult to explain this disappointment.
Tesla began delivering cars in Europe, 1,000 in the third quarter
Quarterly goods were delivered there.
It has also opened a showroom in China, its first step into Asia.
Although CEO Elon Musk used to call China a \"foreign card\", he is not sure if China can surpass Tesla\'s relatively modest short --
Sales expectations, it is clear that the company is actually ahead of schedule set up a year ago.
At that time, Tesla focused on delivering about 20,000 S-cars, and the upcoming X-SUV produced about 30,000 cars a year.
Tesla\'s recent battery deal with Panasonicrepresented has more than tripled from the original order, the company said today.
There are 8 billion cells in the next four years. -
About a million cars a quarter. -
\"It should be seen to be more like a floor than a ceiling.
\"With that, that\'s what Tesla had to say on the earnings call.
A full update will be made later.
Friday afternoon: Musk reiterated confidence in the 25% gross profit margin target.
The production of the company is limited and the demand is limited.
\"What people still don\'t quite understand is that we are fundamentally different from other car companies.
\"They won\'t try to expand their needs if they can\'t meet them.
Production restrictions are expected to be eliminated next year. (
In other words, we didn\'t sell more, we were good, don\'t be disappointed. )
PM 5. 37: say battery is a limiting factor but due to Panasonic trading it should be eased in the future.
Friday afternoon: Musk was asked about a long-term pricing strategy.
\"We want to price Gen III cars for about $35,000.
Musk said: \"When you consider the savings in gasoline, it\'s like buying a $28,000 gasoline car in the United States. S.
Or a $22,000 car in Europe.
\"In the long run, like solar cities, I think leasing is the road for electric cars. . . .
With a lease, you don\'t have to worry about saving money over a period of time.
\"5: 41 in the afternoon: next year, Tesla will be in the third-
On behalf of the car (
That\'s cheaper).
\"It will take a while for us to build capacity for the third project.
Replace the car.
\"Musk makes 500,000 cars every year from the NUMMI factory. . .
Talking about how many batteries they need, it says: \"It\'s bigger than all the lithium-ion products in the world today, or at least in part.
PM 5. 44: Musk warned against inferring the battery agreement as a sales figure.
Note that Tesla will produce more cars at the end of the transaction (
Accounted for in my previous post).
But in order to produce the third generation of cars, some new battery capacity that does not exist will have to appear. 5:46 pm:U. S.
Demand continues to grow, Musk said, \"but we have to starve demand in North America to meet demand in Europe.
\"I think we can maintain 20,000 cars or more in North America,\" he added . \"
But he is not interested in \"Enlarging demand. e.
Unless they can make cars, marketing, etc.
Demand in Europe, Musk, may be \"similar\" to demand in North America \". . .
This seems to be achievable for me.
\"But he reiterated the caution to push this forward before they can make a car.
5: 48 in the afternoon: there are some discussions about the increasing \"on the way\" of inventory.
60% of Tesla\'s sales are outside the United States. S. (
While some assembly has happened elsewhere, like in the Netherlands, all production is here).
He is not worried about the cost of capital on the grounds of \"low cost\"cost funding.
Musk added: \"These cars will be customer-facing compared to dealers\", so it is not difficult to get inventory financing in transit.
5: 50 pm: Musk was asked about a new plan to limit car licenses in China and whether Tesla is eligible for an electric vehicle licence.
He hopes to sell publicly in China in February, and the car has met the \"certification requirements \"(i. e. localization-specific stuff).
Tesla will be licensed for electric vehicles.
5: 52 pm: \"We didn\'t even try [in China yet]
Musk added, but there is a strong interest in this product.
PM 5:53: the question arises as to whether Tesla should build its own battery plant.
In order to meet Tesla\'s battery needs, Musk has a new buzzword \"Ji processing factory \".
He speculated to build a factory \"from soup to nuts\", from cells to finished packaging, the factory will build everything and hope to build it in North America, but \"look elsewhere \".
\"They are not ready to announce anything and will do so with their partners \".
\"But it\'s clear that Tesla plans to build a plant to make the Gen III battery pack.
Musk added, \"raw materials are not a problem. . .
There\'s a lot of lithium outside.
\"5: 56 in the afternoon: the release of Model X is still on track at the end of next year, but it is expected that there will be\" mass production \"around 2015, with the output equivalent to Model S.
5: 58 in the afternoon: he called Daimler (aka Mercedes)
Tesla is providing power systems for \"the most compelling and affordable electric vehicles.
\"Next year is coming, Musk seems sincere in his excitement.
6: 00 in the afternoon: now I am talking about Nethelands (
Mentioned above)
And how challenging it is to do different things for a dozen different countries.
\"There are nuances to the grid in almost every country,\" and Tesla is making sure that cars work properly on a variety of European infrastructure.
PM 6:01: Musk admitted that Tesla did try to accelerate delivery of products to Dutch customers before a tax credit that could expire.
He called it \"false alarm\", but Tesla thought it was the right thing to do, and now things are normalising.
6: 02 in the afternoon: the battery \"Ji processing factory\" will be a green factory with solar energy, recycled in the factory and not discharged.
\"The factory is the machine that makes the machine,\" he said . \"
\"What\'s the right way to get the first version of The Giga factory.
\"Will be available with all lithium-
Produce ions in a factory. 6:05 pm: 3-
4 months lead time for European orders. . .
In China, if you order nowto late-Q2.
He is now offering buy advice to Chinese customers, \"The longer you wait, the longer you have to wait\" because the order will increase the backlog. So get in now!
6: 07 p. m. Musk drives the Model S home road trip across the country and is now scheduled for spring break.
\"I want to make sure they like the trip,\" he said . \" So it doesn\'t seem like a good idea to travel in the short winter months.
PM 6: 09: when asked about a slight drop in North American delivery, Musk rejected the idea that early adopters were met and that demand would fall.
Tesla reiterated that there are not enough cars, and if there is, demand is rising in North America.
Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja is here to cheer for a few times and points out that reservations in North America have arrived.
6: 12 p. m. Musk and ahujia both said a few good things about improving cash flow.
Ahuja pointed out that ZEV credit was fairly insignificant in the quarter, at gross margin.
6: 13 p. m. : discuss improving production efficiency by reducing the number of people working on each vehicle.
Hire more staff, but let them build more staff by improving efficiency.
PM 6: 15: Musk said Panasonic will improve the battery in chemical and other aspects.
All this is vague, but it is recommended that a better battery will appear.
\"Our overall goal is to make meaningful improvements in [battery packs]. . .
\"Every four years,\" he said.
Little change in the short term, but 2-
3 years, when they reach the sign of four years.
The main reason will be the third-
But it will also be \"good for S-cars \".
\"6:17 in the afternoon: as Tesla executives told me a while ago, Musk hinted that Tesla might disrupt the basic battery size in the current battery pack.
This is not much different from 18650 cells, he said (
18mm x 65mm high)
Since they will continue on a flat package, there are many reasons to believe that Tesla will be a little bigger in the \"Giga factory\" mentioned above.
\"This will slightly reduce the number of batteries per pack, making the building easier, while possibly retaining the safety advantage of the existing design.
PM 6: 19: if the Model X is as popular as the Model S, Musk will throw out the demand number of 100,000 (
By the way, not as popular as other luxury SUVs relative to the sedan).
If they want to be able to build both Model S and Model X at the same time, they will have serious work to do, but they are not worried, he noted.
6: 20 in the afternoon: this is a summary.
Follow me on Twitter.
Find the rest of my Forbes post.