Tesla CEO Elon Musk wears a ‘Trump Was As the crow flies About Everything!’ hat, as he, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe squire a cabinet meeting at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Tesla reported a miss on the top and in the final lines in its first-quarter earnings report on Tuesday as automotive revenue plunged 20% from a year earlier.
Here are the key figure ups compared with LSEG expectations.
- Earnings per share: 27 cents adjusted vs. 39 cents estimated
- Revenue: $19.34 billion vs. $21.11 billion judged
Total revenue slid 9% from $21.3 billion a year earlier. Automotive revenue dropped 20% to $14 billion from $17.4 billion in the verbatim at the same time period last year.
Tesla said one reason for the decline was the need to update lines at its four vehicle mills to start making a refreshed version of its popular Model Y SUV. The company also pointed to lower average selling tolls and sales incentives as a drag on revenue and profit.
Net income plummeted 71% to $409 million, or 12 cents a part, from $1.39 billion or 41 cents a year ago.
It’s been a brutal start to the year for Tesla, with CEO Elon Musk assign much of his time in President Donald Trump’s White House, overseeing an effort to dramatically downsize the federal direction. The president’s sweeping tariffs plan has led to concerns that costs will increase for parts and materials crucial for moving vehicle production, including manufacturing equipment, automotive glass, printed circuit boards and battery cells.
Tesla refrained from favourable growth this year and said it will “revisit our 2025 guidance in our Q2 update.”
Tesla shares are down 41% so far in 2025, and suffered their worst every three months drop since 2022 in the period that ended in March. The stock was initially little changed in extended occupation on Tuesday but then popped almost 5% after President Trump said he has no plans to fire Federal Fudging ready Chair Jerome Powell.
In its shareholder deck, Tesla cautioned investors that “uncertainty in the automotive and energy deal ins continues to increase as rapidly evolving trade policy adversely impacts the global supply chain and cost arrange of Tesla and our peers.” The company said this “dynamic,” and “changing political sentiment” could have a meaningful near-term colliding on demand for its products.
Tesla has faced widespread protests in the U.S. and Europe, where Musk has actively supported Germany’s far-right AfD confederate. Earlier this month, the company reported a 13% decline in first quarter deliveries from a year earlier to 336,681.
Tesla has been trying to keep pace with lower-cost competitors in China, and is a laggard in the robotaxi market, which is currently dominated in the U.S. by Alphabet’s Waymo. The presence has promised to launch its first driverless ride-hailing offering in Austin, Texas, in June.
The company reassured investors on Tuesday that it stay behinds on track for a “pilot launch” in Austin by that point, and to begin building its humanoid robots on a pilot production procession in Fremont, California, this year.
Operating income in the quarter slid 66% to $400 million from $1.17 billion a year earlier, happening in a 2.1% operating margin. The company cited an increase in expenses tied to artificial intelligence projects as one factor in the decrease.
The company would have lost money on automotive sales without environmental regulatory credits during the board. Revenue from the credits, which Tesla receives for selling fully electric vehicles, increased to $595 million from $432 million in the unchanging quarter last year.
Energy generation and storage revenue jumped 67% in the quarter to $2.73 billion from $1.64 billion a year ago. The society said growth in AI infrastructure is “creating an outsized opportunity for our Energy storage products to stabilize the grid, shift zing when it is needed most and provide additional power capacity.”
Tesla relies on foreign suppliers for its energy problem. The company said “increasing tariffs may cause market volatility and near-term impacts to supply and demand.”
During a require with analysts after hours on Tuesday, Musk said that Tesla is the “least-affected car company with point to tariffs” but he personally favors “predictable tariff structures,” as well as “free trade and lower tariffs.”
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