Tesla Faces Tough Q1 2024 Earnings After First Delivery Drop in Years
Tesla prepares to report a difficult first quarter marked by its first year-over-year delivery decline in a long time. Analysts expect significantly lower revenue and earnings due to frequent price cuts and missed delivery targets.
Tesla releases its Q1 2024 financial results after the market closes, marking a challenging period for the automaker. The company reports its first year-over-year delivery decline in a long time, with total vehicles reaching just 386,810 units. This significant miss heavily impacts expectations as automotive deliveries remain the primary driver of Tesla's financial performance despite CEO Elon Musk's focus on AI and robotics.
Wall Street and crowdsourcing platform Estimize both predict revenue of roughly $22.2 billion for the quarter. However, accurately forecasting this number proves difficult because Tesla frequently changes its average vehicle price through aggressive price cuts and discounts across global markets. The fact that Estimize's revenue prediction sits slightly below the Wall Street consensus highlights how unusual and disappointing this quarter's delivery miss is for the company.
Analysts expect a sharp drop in earnings per share compared to the same period last year. Wall Street consensus points to a profit of $0.49 per share, while Estimize predicts a slightly higher $0.52 per share, both down significantly from the $0.85 per share earned in Q1 2023. These lower profits reflect how ongoing price cuts continue to dig into Tesla's previously industry-leading gross margins.