Tesla profit falls 55% as shares jump on plans for cheaper vehicles | Technology

The Texas-based company reports first-quarter profits of $1.1 billion, down from $2.51 billion a year ago.

Tesla reported a 55% drop in profit amid fierce competition in the electric vehicle market, but shares rose on plans to speed up production of more affordable models.

The Austin, Texas-based company on Tuesday reported first-quarter profits of $1.1 billion, down from $2.51 billion a year ago.
But Tesla shares rose 11% after CEO Elon Musk said production of new, more affordable vehicles would begin in the second half of next year, “if not the end of this year.”

The models “will use new aspects of the next-generation platform, as well as aspects of our current platform,” Musk said on a conference call with analysts.

“So it’s not dependent on any new factories or a massive new production line.”

Musk did not provide details about the new vehicles, saying more details would be released in August.

“I think we’ve said everything we wanted to say on that front,” he said.

Musk, who has touted autonomous robotaxis for years as a growth engine for the company, also spoke at length about the promise of autonomous vehicles, saying Tesla “should be thought of as an AI robotics company.”

“If someone doesn’t believe Tesla is going to solve autonomy, I don’t think they should be an investor,” he said.

Tesla, the second-largest producer of electric vehicles after China’s BYD, has had a difficult year, in part due to supply chain disruptions caused by Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and an arson attack by environmental activists at a facility. production in Germany. .

Vehicle deliveries fell 8.5% in the first quarter and the company’s shares have lost almost half their value since July last year.

Musk earlier this month told employees in a memo that the company would lay off more than 10% of its global workforce to be “lean, innovative and eager for the next cycle of the growth phase.”