Connect with us

Investor's Corner

Tesla (TSLA) Q3 results pave way for upside in December: Gene Munster

Credit: Alex Voigt/X

Published

1 year ago

on

Longtime Tesla bull Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management has weighed in on Tesla’s Q3 2023 vehicle delivery and production report. In a video posted on X, Munster explained that Tesla’s results were quite in line with expectations, especially considering the launch of the new Model 3 and the minor updates to the Model Y. 

In his video, Munster noted that Tesla’s third-quarter likely sets up the company for a strong fourth quarter. He also noted that Tesla would have to deliver about 476,000 vehicles in Q4 to ensure that its self-imposed goal of hitting 1.8 million vehicles in 2024 is accomplished. 

“If you assume that they can hit that 1.8 million delivery target for the December quarter, that would imply that they deliver about 476,000 vehicles. That would be up about 18% year-over-year. So not that big of a stretch given this business should be growing in the 30% plus range, but I think that is achievable. 

“I think it’s achievable because now we’re starting to ramp the production of (Model 3) Highland. You also have some modest benefit from Cybertruck sales too. I’m not expecting a lot, but it should bode well for the December quarter. And more importantly, and equally as important is as we start to think about going to 2024, all those tailwinds should continue to benefit the company,” Munster said. 

Munster is not alone in citing the Cybertruck as a potential factor in Tesla’s fourth-quarter results. In a research note on Monday, CFRA noted Tesla has a lot of tailwinds in the future. 

“With Tesla likely to emerge as the biggest winner from the UAW strike, Austin and Berlin [factories] continuing to ramp up, first deliveries of Cybertruck expected by year-end, a forthcoming factory in Mexico, and a lower-price coupe that we believe will be introduced in 2024, we think Tesla still has plenty of tailwinds,” the firm noted. 

Fellow Tesla bull Gary Black, managing partner of The Future Fund, told Automotive News that Tesla’s rather muted third-quarter results will likely pay off in the coming quarters. Similar to Munster, Black is optimistic about the Cybertruck. 

“It’s a supply issue. It’s not a demand issue. I take the view that when you have two new models — and one is in an entire new category with the pickup truck — I think you’re going to get a halo effect on the whole franchise,” Black noted. He also stated that he sees Tesla likely reaching a production of 2.7 million vehicles per year in 2024. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Related Topics:

Simon is a reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla is ‘better-positioned’ as a company and as a stock as tariff situation escalates

Published

4 weeks ago

on

February 3, 2025

By

The Cybertruck-towed Model Y ad at Hayden Planetarium. Credit: Tesla North America | X

Tesla is “better-positioned” as a company and as a stock as the tariff situation between the United States, Mexico, and Canada continues to escalate as President Donald Trump announced sanctions against those countries.

Analysts at Piper Sandler are unconcerned regarding Tesla’s position as a high-level stock holding as the tariff drama continues to unfold. This is mostly due to its reputation as a vehicle manufacturer in the domestic market, especially as it holds a distinct advantage of having some of the most American-made vehicles in the country.

Analysts at the firm, led by Alexander Potter, said Tesla is “one of the most defensive stocks” in the automotive sector as the tariff situation continues.

The defensive play comes from the nature of the stock, which should not be too impacted from a U.S. standpoint because of its focus on building vehicles and sourcing parts from manufacturers and companies based in the United States. Tesla has held the distinct title of having several of the most American-made cars, based on annual studies from Cars.com.

Its most recent study, released in June 2024, showed that the Model Y, Model S, and Model X are three of the top ten vehicles with the most U.S.-based manufacturing.

Tesla captures three spots in Cars.com’s American-Made Index, only U.S. manufacturer in list

The year prior, Tesla swept the top four spots of the study.

Piper Sandler analysts highlighted this point in a new note on Monday morning amidst increasing tension between the U.S. and Canada, as Mexico has already started to work with the Trump Administration on a solution:

“Tesla assembles five vehicles in the U.S., and all five rank among the most American-made cars.”

However, with that being said, there is certainly the potential for things to get tougher. The analysts believe that Tesla, while potentially impacted, will be in a better position than most companies because of their domestic position:

“If nothing changes in the next few days, tariffs will almost certainly deal a crippling blow to automotive supply chains in North America. [There is a possibility that] Trump capitulates in some way (perhaps he’ll delay implementation, in an effort to save face).”

There is no evidence that Tesla will be completely bulletproof when it comes to these potential impacts. However, it is definitely better insulated than other companies.

Need accessories for your Tesla? Check out the Teslarati Marketplace:

Please email me with questions and comments at joey@teslarati.com. I’d love to chat! You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla gets price target boost from Truist, but it comes with criticism

Published

1 month ago

on

January 30, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) received a price target boost from analysts at Truist Securities, but it came with some criticisms based on a lack of information on several things that investors were excited to hear about regarding future vehicles and AI achievements.

Last night, Tesla reported its earnings from the fourth quarter of 2024, and while it had a very tempered financial showing, missing most of the Wall Street targets that were set for it, the stock was up after hours and on Thursday due to the details the company released regarding its plans for 2025.

CEO Elon Musk stunned listeners last night by revealing plans to launch unsupervised Full Self-Driving as a service in Austin in June 2025. It will be the first time Tesla will offer driverless FSD rides in public, something it has been working with the City of Austin on since December.

Tesla to launch unsupervised Full Self-Driving as a service in Austin in June

It also reiterated plans for affordable models to be launched this year, potentially catalyzing annual growth in deliveries, something it said it expects to resume in 2025.

Tesla was flat on deliveries in 2024 compared to 2023.

The positives during the call were enough for Truist Securities analyst William Stein to raise the company’s price target to $373 from $351. However, Stein’s note to investors showed there was something to be desired despite all the good that was revealed during the call:

Stein said there was “not enough ground-truth” during the call and too much of a focus on “cheerleading” the company’s potential releases this year:

“Too much cheerleading; not enough ground-truth. In Q4, TSLA’s ASP weakness drive revenue, GPM, OPM, & EPS below consensus.”

As previously mentioned, Tesla did report weak financials that missed consensus estimates. What saved the call and perhaps the stock from plummeting on these missed metrics was the other details that Musk revealed, especially the FSD launch in Austin in June.

There were also plenty of things related to the affordable models and other vehicles, like the fact that Tesla plans to include things like Steer by Wire, Adaptive Air Suspension, and Rear Wheel Steering, that helped offset negatives.

Stein saw this as a distraction from what should have been reported:

“While CEO Elon Musk played the role of cheerleader, calling for TSLA’s path to massive market cap by leading in autonomy, management was remarkably short on two critical details: (1) info about new vehicles in 2025 and (2) milestones for AI acheivements, especially FSD. We continue to ask ourselves ‘where’s the beef?’ CY26 EPS to $3.99 (from $4.87). DCF-derived PT to $373 (from $351).”

Tesla did detail some AI milestones, like its record-breaking miles per accident on Autopilot, which was a Q4-best of 5.94 million miles. The Shareholder Deck also outlined major upgrades to AI:

“In Q4, we completed the deployment of Cortex, a ~50k H100 training cluster at Gigafactory Texas. Cortex helped enable V13 of FSD (Supervised)1, which boasts major improvements in safety and comfort thanks to 4.2x increase in data, higher resolution video inputs, 2x reduction in photon-to-control latency and redesigned controller, among other enhancements.”

Tesla shares are up 2.11 percent on Thursday as of 12:05 p.m. on the East Coast.

Need accessories for your Tesla? Check out the Teslarati Marketplace:

Please email me with questions and comments at joey@teslarati.com. I’d love to chat! You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla posts Q4 2024 vehicle safety report

Published

1 month ago

on

January 29, 2025

By

tesla-full-self-driving-unsupervised
(Source: Tesla)

Tesla has released its Q4 2024 vehicle safety report. Similar to data from previous quarters, vehicles that were operating with Autopilot technology proved notably safer. 

The Q4 2024 report:

  • As per Tesla, it recorded one crash for every 5.94 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.
  • The company also recorded one crash for every 1.08 million miles driven for drivers who were not using Autopilot technology.
  • For comparison, the most recent data available from the NHTSA and FHWA (from 2023) showed that there was one automobile crash every 702,000 miles in the United States.

Previous safety reports:

  • In Q3 2024, Tesla recorded one crash for every 7.08 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology and one crash for every 1.29 million miles driven by drivers not using Autopilot technology.
  • In Q2 2024, Tesla recorded one crash for every 6.88 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology, and one crash for every 1.45 million miles driven for drivers not using Autopilot technology.
  • In Q1 2024, Tesla recorded one crash for every 7.63 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology, and one crash for every 955,000 million miles driven for drivers not using Autopilot technology.

Year-over-Year Comparison:

  • In Q4 2023, Tesla recorded one crash for every 5.39 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology and one crash for every 1.00 million miles driven for drivers not using Autopilot technology.

Key background:

  • Tesla began voluntarily releasing quarterly safety reports in October 2018 to provide critical safety information about our vehicles to the public.
  • On July 2019, Tesla started voluntarily releasing annual updated data about vehicle fires as well.
  • It should be noted that accident rates among all vehicles on the road can vary from quarter to quarter and can be affected by seasonality, such as reduced daylight and inclement weather conditions.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Continue Reading