Tesla Q4 results miss estimates, warns of lower volume growth in 2024 By Investing.com

Investing.com — Tesla reported Wednesday fourth-quarter results that missed Wall Street estimates and the electric vehicle warned of annual production growth will be “notably” slower this year amid a weaker backdrop for electric vehicle demand.   

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:) shares fell 3% in afterhours trading Wednesday, following the release of the results.

Tesla adjusted EPS of $0.71 on revenue of $25.17 billion, missing Wall Street estimates of $0.73 and $25.61B, respectively. 

Tesla delivered 484,507 EVs in the fourth quarter, up from 435,059 in Q3, but the EV maker had to cut prices to shift inventories, pressuring margins.  

Gross margins excluding the credits that Tesla sells to other automakers to build EVs, slipped to 17.6% in Q4 from 23.8% in the same period a year earlier.

The fall in margins were driven by price cuts, increased in operating expenses, and the cost of Cybertruck production ramp.

Looking ahead, the company said production will be at slower rate than in 2024. 

“In 2024, our vehicle volume growth rate may be notably lower than the growth rate achieved in 2023, as our teams work on the launch of the next-generation vehicle at Gigafactory Texas,” the company said in its fourth-quarter report.