Tesla (TSLA) Q3 2024 earnings report

Tesla reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday that topped analysts’ estimates even as revenue came in just shy of expectations.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 72 cents, adjusted vs. 58 cents expected
• Revenue: $25.18 billion vs. $25.37 billion expected

Revenue increased 8% in the quarter from $23.35 billion a year earlier. Net income rose to about $2.17 billion, or 62 cents a share, from $1.85 billion, or 53 cents s share, a year ago.

Tesla’s profit margins were bolstered by $739 million in automotive regulatory credit revenue during the quarter. The company has also been offering an array of discounts and incentives to spur sales.

Automotive revenue increased 2% to $20 billion from $19.63 billion in the same period a year earlier. Energy generation and storage revenue soared 52% to $2.38 billion, while services and other revenue, which includes revenue from non-warranty repairs of Tesla vehicles, jumped 29% to $2.79 billion.

In a shareholder deck, Tesla boasted that it reached 7 million vehicles produced on Oct. 22nd, and that its newest offering, the Cybertruck, became the third best-selling fully electric vehicle in the U.S., behind only the Model 3 and Model Y. Tesla doesn’t break out sales by model.

While Tesla’s angular steel pickup has been plagued with quality issues, the company still sold more than 16,000 Cybertrucks in the U.S. in the third quarter, according to estimates from Kelley Blue Book.

Earlier this month, Tesla reported third-quarter vehicle deliveries of 462,890. Deliveries are the closest approximation to sales reported by Tesla. The company also said it had produced 469,796 electric vehicles in the period ending Sept. 30.

While deliveries increased 6% from a year earlier, they fell shy of analysts’ expectations and followed two straight quarters of year-over-year declines.

“Despite ongoing macroeconomic conditions, we expect to achieve slight growth in vehicle deliveries in 2024,” the company said in its earnings deck on Wednesday. The company also reiterated its goal of “launching” more affordable models in the first half of 2025.

Tesla is facing increased competitive pressure, especially in China, from companies such as BYD and Geely, along with a new generation of automakers, including Li Auto and Nio. In the U.S., legacy automakers Ford and General Motors are starting to sell more electric vehicles, despite walking back prior electrification commitments.

The earnings report comes less than two weeks after a much-anticipated robotaxi event that left shareholders wanting more details, and lands about two weeks before the presidential election, which has occupied a hefty part of CEO Elon Musk’s schedule of late as he campaigns for former President Donald…