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Tesla’s stellar Q3 performance

  • Tesla delivered nearly 343,900 vehicles during Q3 2022, an increase of 42.4% YoY
  • Logistics remains a major bottleneck for Tesla deliveries
  • Tesla can exceed 1.3 million unit deliveries by year end with current trajectory

Tesla rebounded during Q3, after experiencing a relatively weak second quarter. During Q3, Tesla delivered nearly 343,900 vehicles, a 42.4% annual increase and a sequential increase of 35%. The combined deliveries of Model S and Model X grew by more than 100% YoY, reaching 18,670 units, while the combined deliveries of Model 3 and Model Y increased by 40% YoY. China is the leading market for Tesla followed by the USA and Europe.

Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory surpassed the previous quarterly production rate and remains the main export hub supplying to most markets outside North America. The gigafactory updated its production ramp in July this year. The Berlin Gigafactory is also producing more than 2,000 units of Model Y, weekly. A lot of work is left to bring the Berlin plant to full capacity as it is only slowly reaching its planned output. As winter approaches, and it is feared that Europe will experience an energy crisis, Musk somehow remains optimistic about vehicle production in the Berlin plant and expects that no production cuts will happen.

Tesla Revenue by segment-Q3 2022_Counterpoint

Q3 financial summary:

During Q3, Tesla’s total revenue grew by almost 56% YoY, reaching $21.4 billion. Tesla generated $18.6 billion from the vehicle segment, an increase of 55% YoY. This is largely due to increased global deliveries and higher vehicle ASPs.

Although revenue from vehicle leasing during Q3 has increased significantly by 61% YoY, revenue from the sale of automotive credits grew by just 2.5% YoY.

Revenue generated from the company’s other businesses like energy storage, solar panel deployment, charging and vehicle servicing also grew by 62.5% YoY, exceeding $2.7 billion.

Gross profit, was $5.3 billion an increase of 47% YoY. But below expectation due to the high cost of raw materials, upgrading the production ramps (Berlin, Texas and 4680 cell factories) and increased logistic costs.

Tesla has been facing a serious issue with vehicle deliveries. There weren’t enough transport vehicles available with its logistic partners to handle the volume of Tesla deliveries. This increases the logistic cost which, in turn, is affecting the per-vehicle cost.

3.4% of the total revenue has been diverted towards R&D expenditure during Q3 2022. R&D spending stood at $0.73 billion, an increase of 20% YoY and sequentially growth of 10%. This is apparently due to the development of Tesla’s Optimus Robot and full-self driving (FSD) capability. This year Tesla postponed its AI Day to showcase a working prototype of its humanoid Optimus Robot whose software is very similar to the FSD system.

The FSD beta users reached 160,000 in Q3, up from 100,000 in Q2. Tesla is also going for a wider release of its FSD beta during Q4 2022. Hence, new Tesla owners will have the option to avail FSD beta immediately. Currently, there is an eligibility criteria to avail the FSD beta. With the resignation of Andrej Karpathy, Tesla’s AI and Autopilot director, it was perceived that the company’s FSD development is likely to stall, but it seems Tesla has made good progress and is confident of its path toward full autonomy, despite some alarming failures among beta testers.

 

Tesla Pdn and deliveries-Q3 2022_Counterpoint

Outlook:

Despite a weak second quarter, Tesla’s yearly deliveries may cross 1.3 million units by the end of 2022. Tesla is expected to make its first delivery of the Tesla Semi truck to Pepsi on December 1st this year. The Semi is claimed to have a range of 500 miles with cargo at ground level. We are also expecting to see the company’s long-advertised Cybertrucks becoming available by mid-2023. Alongside these, Tesla has also increased the production of its in-house designed 4680 cells. The constant production ramp upgrade in its gigafactories around the globe is likely to keep Tesla the market leader in the battery electric vehicle segment.

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China Cloud on Tesla’s Q2 2022 Numbers; Fundamentals Remain Strong

  • Tesla sold more than 254,000 vehicles in Q2 2022, an increase of 27% YoY, which was below general expectations.
  • This was the first time since the COVID-19-hit 2020 that the automaker experienced a sequential decline in sales.

After achieving phenomenal growth in Q1 2022, Tesla’s global sales during Q2 2022 grew by just 27% YoY to over 254,000 units, falling short of expectations. In QoQ terms, the sales fell 18%. Business during Q2 2022 was affected by COIVD-19-related shutdowns in China. Production units in and around Shanghai were closed temporarily due to strict lockdown measures. As a result, Tesla sold just 89,000 cars across China during Q2 2022. Cumulative sales in China during April and May fell by more than 66% YoY. The situation improved only after the production returned to full capacity in June.

It was expected that the Berlin Gigafactory would boost Tesla’s sales in Europe after becoming operational in March 2022. But the production was lower than expected. A few rumored reasons for the low production are litigation with the German government and a shortage of human resources. The Berlin factory is currently focusing on the production and deliveries of the Model Y across Europe.

Tesla bets on in-house battery cell manufacturing

Tesla delivered its first batch of cars equipped with the in-house 4680 battery cells and structural battery packs during this quarter. These cells use a little amount of lithium. With lithium prices soaring worldwide, 4680 cells will help lower the vehicle manufacturing cost. The cells will power the Model Ys coming out of the Berlin Gigafactory. However, Tesla will shut the Berlin Gigafactory for a couple of weeks during autumn to upgrade the production system of 4680 cells.

Other businesses see 33% YoY growth

Although Tesla’s vehicle sales in Q2 2022 failed to meet expectations, its other businesses like energy deployment and storage, charging and other services grew more than its vehicle segment. Energy deployment, energy storage, charging and other services grew by 33% YoY. Tesla deployed 106 MW of solar panels and 1.13 GWh of energy storage during Q2 2022. It installed 247 new superchargers worldwide, bringing its global supercharger number to 3,971 units with more than 36,000 connectors.

Tesla converts 75% of its Bitcoins to fiat currency

During Q2 2022, Tesla also converted 75% of its Bitcoins to fiat currency. This was done to have a better cash position against the backdrop of COIVD-19-related uncertainties. This conversion reduced Tesla’s digital assets to $218 million and added $936 million in cash to Tesla’s balance sheet.

 

Tesla Revenue by Segment, Q2 2021-Q2 2022_Counterpoint
Source: Tesla Q2 2022 Financials and Counterpoint Analysis

Q2 2022 Financial Results

  • During Q2 2022, Tesla sold more than 254,000 vehicles at 27% YoY growth. The Model 3 and Model Y comprised more than 93% of these sales.
  • Revenue from vehicle sales stood at $14.6 billion. Total revenue grew by almost 42% YoY, with the COVID-19 impact on China reducing the QoQ number by about 10%. Revenue generated from automotive credit also declined slightly compared to Q2 2021.
  • The company’s other services, like energy storage, charging and insurance, contributed to 14% of its total revenue. Revenue from insurance and vehicle services saw a 54.2% YoY growth, while the energy storage and charging segment grew by just 8% YoY. The energy storage business was expected to perform better but was restricted due to semiconductor-related supply issues.
  • Tesla’s gross profit during Q2 2022 reached $4.2 billion and stood at 25%. Though the shutdown in China adversely affected the business, increase in US deliveries along with the higher average vehicle price helped Tesla earn 47% more profit YoY.
  • R&D costs grew 16% YoY during Q2 2022. Tesla is trying to achieve complete autonomy by 2024 by perfecting Full-Self Driving (FSD) software. But the resignation of Andrej Karpathy, the director of artificial intelligence and autopilot system at Tesla, in mid-July is likely to stall the progress of this project, which is expected to get delayed by a year.
Tesla Production and Deliveries, Q2 2021-Q2 2022_Counterpoint
Source: Tesla Q2 2022 Financials and Counterpoint Analysis

Market Outlook

Despite experiencing a dip during the second quarter of 2022, Tesla’s future outlook seems strong and promising with strong fundamentals. Tesla has secured the supply of LFP batteries for its Shanghai Gigafactory by signing a deal with BYD. Transitioning to LFP batteries and 4680 battery cells will help Tesla reduce vehicle manufacturing costs. Moreover, Tesla expects the Berlin Gigafactory production capacity to cross 100,000 units by the end of 2022. With all these developments, Tesla is expected to cross more than 1.2 million units of vehicle deliveries by the end of 2022.

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