Tesla announced that its profits fell from $2.51 billion in 2023 to $1.13 billion (£910 million), a shocking drop in the first three months of the year.
It caps a difficult period for the electric vehicle (EV) maker, which has faced falling sales and announced thousands of layoffs.
Businessman Elon Musk remains optimistic about the prospects, telling investors that the launch of new models will be brought forward.
Its share price has risen, but analysts say it continues to face challenges, including from low-cost rivals.
The company has been hurt by falling demand and competition from cheap Chinese imports, causing its stock price to fall 43% by 2024.
For the first quarter of 2024, the numbers revealed revenue of $21.3 billion, below analysts’ estimates of just over $22 billion.
However, Tesla’s decision to bring forward the launch of new models from the second half of 2025 sent its shares up about 12.5% in after-hours trading.
He did not make a statement about the pricing details of the new vehicles.
Elon Musk has made it clear that their ambition is even greater, citing Tesla’s proficiency in artificial intelligence and plans for driverless vehicles; he even said that thinking of it as just a car company was the “wrong perspective.”
“If someone doesn’t believe Tesla will solve problems, I don’t think they should be an investor,” he said.
But such thoughts have been questioned by analysts, with Deutsche Bank saying driverless cars face “technological, regulatory and operational challenges”.
Some investors wanted the company to focus on launching a lower-priced, mass-market EV instead.
Tesla is already on a charm offensive by trying to win new customers by lowering its prices in a number of markets in the face of falling sales.
Tesla cuts prices in major markets as sales decline
He also made it clear that his situation was not unique.
“Global EV sales remain under pressure as many automakers prioritize hybrids over electric vehicles,” he said.
Despite plans to feature new models originally planned for next year, the company is reducing its workforce.
Tesla said it would lose 3,332 jobs in California and 2,688 jobs in Texas as of mid-June.
The cuts in Texas represent 12% of the total workforce of about 23,000 people in the region where Tesla’s gigafactory and headquarters are located.
But Mr. Musk tried to downplay the move.
“Tesla has now created over 30,000 manufacturing jobs in California!” he said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
Another 285 jobs will be lost in New York.
Tesla’s total workforce grew from about 100,000 at the end of 2021 to more than 140,000 at the end of last year, according to the company’s filings with U.S. regulators.
Elon Musk’s salary;
The auto company is also facing other problems, and the fight over Mr. Musk’s compensation is still ongoing.
On Wednesday, Tesla asked shareholders to vote on its proposal to accept Mr. Musk’s severance package, once valued at $56 billion, which was rejected by a Delaware judge.
The judge found that Tesla’s executives breached their fiduciary duty to the company by paying Mr Musk.
Due to the decline in Tesla’s stock value, his compensation package is now estimated to be around $10 billion less – but still more than the GDP of many countries.
In addition, Tesla also wants its shareholders to agree to move the company from Delaware to Texas; Mr. Musk requested this after the judge denied his payday.
