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This might be the most hyped Tesla earnings in recent memory. And not for all the right reasons.<\/p>\n
Tesla has taken many hits<\/a> this year as its CEO Elon Musk leans further into right-wing politics and oversees DOGE<\/a>, the advisory body that President Trump has bestowed the power to slash federal spending.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Tesla, that has meant watching both its stock price and global sales plummet. And that\u2019s not even taking into account pressure from competitors in China, Europe, and North America.<\/p>\n As Tesla bull and Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a note this morning, Tesla is facing the lowest margin expectations this quarter in 12 years. How Tesla\u2019s stock performs will be reliant on the company\u2019s ability to explain why its profit margins are worse than Volkswagen\u2019s amid \u201clikely cash burn,\u201d instill confidence in its autonomy plans, and wrangle Musk\u2019s attention away from the White House.\u00a0<\/p>\n Analysts surveyed by Yahoo Finance are expecting revenue of around $21.41 billion, which would be flat year-over-year and down from $25.7 billion in Q4 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tesla\u2019s Q1 2025 earnings call is at 2:30 p.m. PT \/ 5:30 p.m. ET. The public can listen along to the call by tuning in here<\/a>, here<\/a>, or on X. <\/strong>Here\u2019s what we\u2019ll be listening for.\u00a0<\/p>\n During Tesla\u2019s last earnings call<\/a>, the company said it expects its vehicle business to \u201creturn to growth in 2025.\u201d Will that still be the case, given Tesla\u2019s unimpressive delivery numbers for Q1 and weak customer demand driven in part by Musk\u2019s politics?<\/p>\n Tesla recorded 336,681 deliveries<\/a> in the first three months of the year, its worst quarterly performance in more than two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n The automaker does have some tailwinds. It is better positioned than other OEMs to weather Trump\u2019s tariff storm due to its domestic sourcing and high degree of vertical integration. That said, Musk\u2019s proximity to Trump probably doesn\u2019t help his popularity in China, one of Tesla\u2019s biggest markets. That dynamic could drive more customers<\/a> into the open arms of rival BYD.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sources at Tesla have told us that the company has all but abandoned its plans for a cheap EV<\/a>, though others have reported the automaker has merely delayed the car\u2019s rollout<\/a> by months. Either way, we\u2019ll be listening out for updates there.\u00a0<\/p>\n During Tesla\u2019s full-year 2024 earnings call, Musk said the company would launch a paid ride-hailing robotaxi service in Austin<\/a> starting this June. He has said in the past that Tesla would first use Model Y and Model 3 vehicles with \u201cunsupervised\u201d FSD, rather than its two-seater Cybercab concept that\u2019s built without a steering wheel or pedals.\u00a0<\/p>\n As research analysts at Cantor said: \u201cTesla has not yet quantified the commercialization of its Robotaxi segment, or disclosed initial routes\/territory.\u201d So investors and analysts will be on the lookout for more concrete details of Tesla\u2019s Austin plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n The automaker has also said that it plans to launch in California this year, but has been mum on those details.<\/p>\n We\u2019re also hoping to hear some updates on Tesla\u2019s Cybercab<\/a>. Federal regulations don\u2019t currently allow for operators to mass produce and deploy autonomous vehicles without human controls built-in without an exemption. Musk will likely bend that regulation to his will, as he is wont to do, so we might get some insights later into when Tesla plans to start production on those futuristic-looking vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Q4, Musk said he expected Tesla to start using Optimus humanoid robots<\/a> internally this year, particularly for the \u201cboring\u201d tasks. We\u2019ll be listening for a timeline for that, as well as when Tesla says it will begin high volume production of Optimus, and when it expects to begin initial deliveries.\u00a0<\/p>\n Musk and Tesla have been quiet on Dojo since August 2024, a surprise given how gung ho they were about the supercomputer that would help the company achieve its full self-driving dreams. Then there\u2019s Cortex, which is Tesla\u2019s other new giant AI training supercluster being built at Tesla HQ in Austin to help solve real-world AI. In Tesla\u2019s Q4 shareholder deck<\/a>, the company shared updates on Cortex, but nothing on Dojo.\u00a0<\/p>\n The latest update we\u2019ve seen show some kind of computing cluster came from the Tesla AI X account <\/a>with the words, \u201cQuiet please. The machines are learning.\u201d Though it\u2019s not clear if it\u2019s Dojo or Cortex.\u00a0<\/p>\n Per Jonas\u2019s note, investors will be searching for \u201cany signs of Tesla\u2019s CEO reprioritizing the efforts of Tesla versus politically oriented endeavors.\u201d<\/p>\n Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst and other Tesla bull, said in a note Sunday that Musk is facing a \u201cCode Red Situation.\u201d He reiterated his previous stance that Musk needs to distance himself from DOGE so that the Tesla brand ceases to be a political talking point. <\/p>\n<\/div>\nUpdated EV sales guidance<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Any mention of the cheap EV<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Robotaxi rollout<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Cybercab production<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Optimus updates<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Dojo or Cortex<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The reprioritization of Elon<\/strong><\/h2>\n