Tough business cycle for Tesla. 8% fewer cars sold. Net income was down 71% but the largest difference was an accounting sale from last year. Operating profit dropped from 8% to 6.8%. They say they will do better and grow this year. Plus they are trying to diversify. “Musk has been telling investors in recent quarters to focus less on the core business as it exists today and more on a future of autonomy and robotics.” Tesla sold no robots. Tesla fourth-quarter results miss estimates as automotive revenue drops 8% Tesla reported disappointing results on the top and bottom lines. The stock initially fell in extended trading before rebounding. Automotive revenue fell 8% from a year earlier
Well in this case, I actually agree that Tesla has never really been a car company. The ones they do make are prestige toys for rich people. Fit and finish issues galore and basically junk after five years. Should have pivoted to EV tech innovators and suppliers from the start, not assembly and sales. They'd be ready to sell the physical car business to some actual automaker for billions and then move on to dominate from the inside. But the "robots" thing is a little weird, unless he just means hiring fewer people (automation.) And that also isn't anything pioneering. President Musk is somehow trying to claim this non-existent King of Efficiency thing, even though he is just describing management concepts that are as old as management. He talks about the former idea, licensing tech for self-driving vehicles, but that ain't go so well for Tesla. While they were busy pumping out body panels that don't fit together they got lapped as their own tech turns their vehicles into literal ambulance chasers (and catchers.)
This is the standard Silicon Valley line for everything though. Tesla isnt a car company despite the fact they make cars, Uber isnt a taxi service despite it being a ride for hire service, Google isnt a search engine company, despite that being what it is, WeWork isnt just an office rental company, despite it renting offices. The things you do are boring, you have to pitch yourself as something else to get that sweet VC money.
I think there is an old Sarah Silverman bit about Jewish people driving Mercedes Benzes, I wish I could remember it
a mark to market adjustment (acquisition historical cost to fair value) on Tesla’s crypto currency reserves… a Microstrategy like play.
refusing to accept cybertrucks as trade-ins on their 8th recall customers turning to lemon laws to get rid of them Tesla Is So Cooked That It's Now Refusing to Accept Cybertrucks as Trade-Ins And those currently in possession of one are often struggling to get rid of them. As Electrek reports, Tesla is refusing to accept its own Cybertrucks as trade-ins, due to a massive backlog. That's bound to sting, as used Cybertruck prices have fallen off a cliff, down 55 percent year over year. Some owners are reportedly being forced to go through the Lemon Law process, which some states have implemented to protect car buyers by requiring carmakers to repurchase or replace vehicles with significant defects. The Cybertruck, which Musk has previously claimed should be able to float in water and eventually be capable of roaming the surface of Mars, has quickly turned into a massively expensive and issues-prone liability. And that's not to mention the sheer amount of hate being directed at it. As anti-Elon Musk sentiment continues to spike due to his embrace of far-right extremism and dismantling of federal agencies, the Cybertruck has become astonishingly unpopular.
fun fact. Nobel prize in econ to Akerlof was primarily due to his hugely influential paper about the mkt for lemons. It blew open the door to the study of mkts with asymmetric information. The Market for Lemons - Wikipedia
They're pretty badass to drive and super clean inside. I'd own one if I had money to blow on a second car I didn't need.
