Tesla said its vehicle volume growth rate in 2024 could be notably lower than in 2023 as the team works to roll out next-generation vehicles at its Texas plant.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revealed a timeline for its new electric vehicle (EV) model.
The US EV maker posted revenue of $25.17 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, up 3.49 percent from the year-ago quarter and up 7.78 percent from the third quarter, according to its financial results, which were released after the US stock market closed on January 24.
That's an all-time high, but below the $25.6 billion analysts in a FactSet survey had expected.
Tesla reported gross profit of $4.44 billion in the fourth quarter, down 23.18 percent from a year earlier, despite a 6.22 percent increase from the third quarter.
Tesla's gross margin declined further to 17.6 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 17.9 percent in the third quarter and from 23.8 percent in the same period in 2022, due to price cuts and incentives offered to spur demand.
Tesla has long targeted an average annual growth rate of 50 percent over the past several years, but did not provide a delivery target for 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.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during the earnings call that the company expects to begin production of the next-generation EV, which has been long in the works, at the Texas factory in the second half of 2025.
The next-generation Tesla cars would likely be made in Austin and a yet-to-be-built factory in Mexico, as well as a third location outside North America, Musk said.
Tesla said the company is in between two waves of growth, with the first being driven by the Model 3 and Model Y, which were released in 2017 and 2020, respectively, and the second wave will begin with the next-generation vehicle platform.
Tesla did not provide more information on the new model. Yesterday, Reuters reported that Tesla has told suppliers it wants to start production of a new mass-market EV codenamed "Redwood" by mid-2025.
Tesla last year sent suppliers a "request for quotes" or invitation to bid, for the "Redwood" model and expects to produce 10,000 units per week, the report said, citing two sources.
Production will begin in June 2025, the three sources said, according to the report.
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