Top 28 Takeaways from Tesla’s Q3 2024 Earnings Call
Tesla's Q3 2024 earnings call revealed major developments and ambitious goals across various areas of their business, from vehicle production to advancements in full self-driving (FSD) technology.
Here are the top 28 takeaways:
1. 7 Million Cars Completed
Tesla hit a major milestone, completing 7 million cars yesterday, showcasing their rapid scaling capability in global vehicle production.
2. Record-Breaking Quarter
Q3 2024 is officially Tesla’s best quarter ever, highlighting their strong financial performance despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. FCF was nearly 17bn over expectations.
Highlights:
• EPS (non-GAAP): $0.72 vs. $0.58 est
• EPS (GAAP): $0.62
• Revenue: $25.18 vs. $25.4B est
• Total GAAP gross margin: 19.8%
• Net income (GAAP): $2.176B
Stock shot to $240
3. Fully Autonomous Vehicles with Zero Incidents
Tesla’s autonomous vehicles at We Robot event making strides with real-world use cases. Thousands of passengers were safely transported without any reported incidents, further emphasizing Tesla's leadership in autonomy.
4. Optimus in Action
Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, demonstrated its ability to navigate and operate autonomously in crowds, hinting at future commercial applications.
5. Affordable Models Coming in 2025
Tesla plans to launch more affordable models in the first half of 2025, including a new model referred to as the "Model 2.5" with a projected price of $25,000. This could dramatically expand Tesla’s market reach.
6. 20-30% Vehicle Growth in 2025
Tesla anticipates 20-30% growth in vehicle units next year, further accelerating their market penetration.
7. Cybertruck Production Surge by 2026
Tesla aims to ramp up Cybercab production to 2 million units per year by 2026 across two factories, with the potential to reach 4 million units globally.
8. 4680 Battery Technology Progress
Tesla’s 4680 battery cells are nearing a critical milestone, becoming the most competitive battery technology in the North American market. The company also has plans to surpass current performance with innovative improvements across battery models.
9. Reliance on External Suppliers
Despite Tesla's internal battery advancements, they will continue to source cells from other manufacturers to meet the increasing demand for vehicles and energy products like the Megapack.
10. Autonomy Breakthroughs
Tesla is seeing significant improvement in autonomous driving capabilities, with miles between human interventions dramatically increasing, especially with software update version 12.5.
11. Smart Summon and FSD 13 Launch
Tesla is preparing to roll out Full Self-Driving (FSD) version 13, which will include a smarter "Summon" feature. Tesla AI director Ashok will provide more details soon.
12. 100x Improvement in FSD Safety
Since the beginning of 2024, Tesla has seen a 100x improvement in the safety of its FSD software. Version 13 is expected to deliver a 1,000x improvement by the second quarter of 2025.
13. Human-Level Driving by Q2 2025
By mid-2025, Tesla expects their FSD to surpass the average human driver in terms of safety and reliability.
14. Increased FSD Adoption Rate
Tesla reported a significant increase in FSD take rates, especially following their successful October 10th event, showing that more consumers are adopting Tesla’s autonomous capabilities.
15. Tesla Employees Testing RoboTaxi
Tesla employees in the Bay Area are already using the Tesla app for ride-hailing services powered by autonomous vehicles. The safety driver is still present, but this signals Tesla's step toward a full-fledged RoboTaxi network.
16. Expanding Robotaxi Operations
Tesla continues to make progress on its RoboTaxi initiative, aiming to launch a broader service by leveraging its growing FSD fleet and AI technology.
17. Continued Growth in Energy Storage
Tesla’s energy storage products, such as the Megapack, are expanding rapidly, supported by global demand for renewable energy solutions. Energy storage at 30.5% gross margin!!! HIGHEST EVER! Lathrope scaling from 20 to 40 gwh and capacity heading to 100 GWH when Shanghai launches
18. Optimism Around Battery Supply Chain
Tesla remains bullish on their ability to scale battery production and secure supplies despite ongoing global shortages of critical materials.
19. Global Expansion of Charging Infrastructure
Tesla is expanding its Supercharger network globally, positioning itself as the leader in EV infrastructure, especially with cross-manufacturer compatibility. Q3 growth was higher than Q2.
20. FSD on Track for Wider Adoption
Tesla is accelerating its FSD release, which will become more widely available globally in 2025, marking another major step toward mass adoption of autonomous driving. Will also continue free 1 month trials.
🚙"v13 of FSD is going out soon" -> "a very dramatic improvement"
Unsupervised FSD in CA and TX. CA loves regulation and there is a pathway. TX is easier. 2025 for sure and before eoy beyond CA and TX. AV need Federal Approval. FMBSS is Federal already.
21. Focus on Software Revenues
Tesla’s long-term strategy includes significant contributions from software sales, particularly through FSD subscriptions and other over-the-air software features.
22. AI and Robotics Leading the Way
Tesla’s AI efforts, not only in cars but also in robotics, show the company’s ambition to revolutionize multiple industries. Pierre F: Excess Compute - the more u train the less load it takes. As u get better at driving it becomes a background task. Inference is tiny compared to a 10kw bank of GPUs - and petabytes of data are streaming in.
23. Improvements in Efficiency
Tesla is consistently driving operational efficiency across manufacturing and software development, which is contributing to their record profitability. Their goal is to eliminate service by making the cars perfect. Start at the source.
24. Tesla’s Dominance in EV Market
Tesla’s market share remains dominant, with continued growth even as more traditional automakers enter the electric vehicle space. No other OEM is even close per Elon.
25. Ambitious Expansion Targets for 2026 and Beyond
Tesla’s future growth plans include aggressive vehicle production increases across all segments, from consumer cars to semi-trucks.
26. Cybertruck’s Market Disruption
With the upcoming mass production of the Cybertruck, Tesla is poised to disrupt the pickup truck market, which could bring significant market share gains in the coming years.
27. Commitment to Sustainability
Tesla reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability with initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions and leading the transition to renewable energy. Hence the delay in the Roadster Model - cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake.
28. Strong Financial Outlook
With continued innovation and scaling, Tesla’s financial outlook remains strong for the foreseeable future, promising robust revenue growth and profitability.
Still 94% gainers to get back to ATH
Final Thoughts
Tesla’s Q3 2024 earnings call was full of bold claims and innovative developments that underscore their dominant position in the electric vehicle and autonomous technology sectors. With ambitious targets for production, affordability, and self-driving, Tesla continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in transportation and beyond.