The electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla said on Wednesday that its earnings for the second quarter dropped roughly one-third from the first quarter as a result of a slowdown in deliveries brought on by shutdowns and shortages of raw materials at the carmaker’s facility in Shanghai.
Tesla said that its profit for the period was $2.3 billion, which is a significant decrease from the record-breaking $3.3 billion profit it posted in the first quarter. Sales decreased from $18.8 billion in the first quarter to $16.9 billion in the second quarter.
A precipitous decline in the value of bitcoin was another factor that contributed to the automaker’s financial woes. At the beginning of 2021, Tesla said that the company has invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency. On Wednesday, the corporation said that as of the end of June, almost 75% of its Bitcoin holdings had been sold.
Profit roughly quadrupled as compared to the previous quarter, the second quarter of 2021. And results for the quarter were better than anticipated by industry analysts. Investors are keeping a closer eye on Tesla’s success, or lack thereof, from one quarter to the next since the firm is expanding at such a rapid rate.
While established automakers such as Toyota and General Motors are seeing sharp reductions in sales, Tesla continues to lead the worldwide market for electric cars and is expanding its market share. However, the last three months were choppy.
When compared to the first three months of the year, Tesla’s car deliveries from April through June were down 18 percent, which is an uncommon fall for a business like Tesla that, in previous years, has consistently shown good improvements from quarter to quarter.
The Shanghai plant in China, which accounts for approximately 40 percent of Tesla’s sales, has been plagued by shutdowns connected to the pandemic and to shortages of essential parts and supplies. In China, the epidemic has caused shortages of crucial components and materials. Production at Tesla’s new plants in Austin, Texas, and near Berlin has not been able to rise as projected despite the company’s best efforts.
In an interview that took place a month ago with members of a corporate fan club, he described the Austin and Berlin facilities as “money furnaces,” claiming that they cost the corporation billions of dollars but only produced a small number of automobiles. According to him, the most important thing for Tesla right now is getting those production lines back up to speed at the Shanghai facility and getting operations back to normal there.
Tesla said that manufacturing in Shanghai had improved in June, and the company also mentioned that its plants in Berlin and Austin were making headway. During its results presentation, Tesla said, “We are focused on a record-breaking second half of 2022.” [Citation needed]
Traditional automobile manufacturers are closing the gap between themselves and Tesla in the increasingly competitive market for electric automobiles. In comparison, Tesla’s market share in the United States has decreased, while that of Hyundai, Kia, and Ford Motor Company has increased significantly. According to numbers provided by Kelley Blue Book, Tesla’s share of the market for electric vehicles in the United States dropped from 78 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 66 percent at the end of the second quarter.
In an email, Laura Hoy, a stock analyst at the financial firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said that the majority of Tesla’s troubles are just temporary, and the company’s profitability should begin to recover in the coming months. On the other hand, she voiced worry over Tesla’s exposure to Bitcoin.
Following the events that transpired in Shanghai, Mr. Musk said that Tesla had liquidated its Bitcoin assets in order to strengthen its cash reserve. On Wednesday, he made the following statement: “This should not be construed as any conclusion on Bitcoin.” According to him, Tesla has not yet disposed of its ownership in another cryptocurrency known as Dogecoin.
