PART OF THE WEEK: Wall Street investors seek reassurance as Tesla unveils its first-quarter earnings
After a bumpy few weeks for Tesla, investors on Wall Street will be looking for some much-needed reassurance when the company reports its first-quarter results on Tuesday.
The electric vehicle (EV) maker has already indicated its finances are likely to be hit after posting its first decline in car sales in four years earlier this month.
The Delaware-based automaker, led by billionaire Elon Musk, delivered 386,810 vehicles in the three months to the end of March.
This was more than a fifth less than the previous quarter and about 9 percent less than the same period in 2023.
It was the first year-on-year sales decline since 2020, when the business was effectively brought to a standstill by the Covid-19 pandemic.
To make matters worse, Musk said he would cut 10 percent of Tesla’s workforce — costing about 14,000 jobs worldwide. The tycoon told staff he didn’t hate anything anymore, “but it has to be done.”
Looking ahead to next week, analysts at AJ Bell say Musk is likely trying to provide “comfort” to shareholders, who have suffered as share prices fell by more than a third in the past year.
But Danni Hewson, an analyst at the broker, warned they are likely to be disappointed.