Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the official opening of the new Tesla electric car manufacturing plant on March 22, 2022 near Gruenheide, Germany.
Christian Marquardt | Getty Images
Electric vehicle maker Tesla is set to deliver a first quarter earnings update after the bell on Wednesday.
Here’s what Wall Street is expecting, according to estimates from 25 analysts compiled by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $2.26 expected
- Revenue: $17.80 billion expected
Early this month, Tesla reported vehicle deliveries of 310,048 for the first quarter, the closest approximation of sales disclosed by the company. Model 3 and Model Y vehicles comprised 95%, or 295,324, of deliveries in the period ending March 31, 2022.
Wednesday’s earnings call comes amid news of CEO Elon Musk’s hostile takeover bid for Twitter, the social media platform he has relied on to promote Tesla and his own public image for years.
Musk no longer leads or speaks on every Tesla earnings call. But ahead of Wednesday’s update, he said that he plans to be on the call, which starts at 5.30 p.m. ET.
Tesla recently opened two new factories outside of Berlin, Germany, and Austin, Texas, and the CEO appeared for both grand opening events.
Investments in these massive new facilities are part of Tesla’s effort to localize production and lower the cost and speed of distributing vehicles from factories to customers in major markets throughout Asia and Europe.
At the same time, Tesla has been facing semiconductor chip and other parts shortages, as well as inflationary pressures that are impacting the entire autos industry stemming from the pandemic, and exacerbated by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
In the last days of the first quarter, Tesla’s vehicle assembly plant in China was forced to suspend production due to extreme Covid control measures in and around Shanghai. The company is now reportedly resuming some production there, and asking employees to sleep at the factory.
Meanwhile in the U.S., Tesla’s labor and other business practices are under the microscope.
A court filing on Monday revealed that in addition to previously reported investigations by the SEC and DOJ, Tesla has been dealing with a previously undisclosed probe by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination.
The EEOC probe preceded a lawsuit by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, in which the state civil rights agency alleged that Tesla has ignored and enabled anti-Black harassment, discrimination and rampant racism at its Fremont factory. Tesla disputed the allegations and accused the DFEH of targeting the company to create a press spectacle.
Some investors are interested in how Tesla plans to address these allegations, according to questions submitted to Tesla ahead of earnings calls via Say Technologies.
But more shareholders want to know about Tesla’s progress on new products and scaling production in Germany and Texas.
Among other things, they are seeking updates on Tesla’s ability to produce and use 4680 battery cells in its cars and energy storage products. They also want more details on a “futuristic” driverless robotaxi that Musk teased at an Austin factory event recently, and on the company’s experimental driver assistance system, FSD Beta.
This story is developing; please check back for updates.