Detroit & Austin — On Tuesday, General Motors announced it beat expectations for earnings in the third quarter. The following day it was EV maker Tesla with more positive news to report.
First, I’ll start with the financials from GM. The Detroit-based automaker reported revenue of $48.76 billion, about 10 percent higher than what analysts predicted of $44.44 billion. Also, GM reported earnings per share of 2.96 compared to the prediction of 2.43. That caused GM stock to skyrocket almost $5 per share at end of day.
GM CEO Mary Barra said during the conference call: “The competition is fierce, and the regulatory environment will keep getting tougher. That’s why we are focused on optimizing our ICE and EV margins. We have a very strong record in ICE, and we are on track to produce and wholesale about 200,000 EVs in North America this year and make our portfolio variable profit positive this quarter. This is a first step.”
“At Investor Day, we focused on the business drivers for 2024 and 2025 that are within our control. They include a wide range of new and redesigned ICE SUVs that are more profitable than the outgoing models; steadily improving EV profitability as we scale production and expand our portfolio; fixed cost discipline; capital efficiency and improved results in China. We are building momentum in all of these areas.”
The CEO reminded investors the company is offering Chevrolet Silverado work trucks with EV ranges of up to 500 miles per charge. Pricing starts at $57,000 and those customers are eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit.
Barra said the new Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave are growing their volumes in retail market share with very strong pricing. Meanwhile, the new gas version of the Chevrolet Equinox is arriving in dealerships in greater volumes.
“EV consideration is much stronger among luxury customers than the mainstream market, about nine points higher, so we expect it to grow faster. These customers want beautiful designs, advanced technology, performance and range, everything Cadillac delivers with the LYRIQ, OPTIQ, VISTIQ and the Escalade IQ. No other luxury brand has so much to offer.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Tesla reported revenue of $25.18 billion while analysts were expecting $25.49 billion, just 1.19 percent lower. However, the EV maker says it beat expectations for its earnings per share of 0.72, a 20 percent increase over the prediction by analysts.
“So it is notable that Tesla is profitable despite a very challenging automotive environment,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “And this quarter actually is a record Q3 for us. So we produced our 7-millionth vehicle actually just yesterday. So congratulations to the teams that made it happen in Tesla. That’s staggeringly immense amount of work to make 7million cars.”
On Oct. 10, Tesla held its “We, Robot” event to showcase its vision for an autonomous future. It featured 50 autonomous vehicles including 20 Cybercabs and 30 Model Ys. Musk said the company wants to build as many as 2 million Cybercabs a year when it reaches volume production by 2026.
He added: “So, regarding the vehicle business, we are still on-track to deliver more affordable models starting in the first half of 2025. This is I think probably people are wondering what should they assume for vehicle sales growth next year. And at the risk of – to take a bit of risk here, I do want to give some rough estimate, which is I think it’s 20% to 30% vehicle growth next year.”
Musk says Tesla’s energy storage business is growing rapidly with its Megapack and Powerwall. In addition, the company is making big progress on its 4680 battery cells.
“The Lathrop Megapack factory, reached 200 Megapacks a week, which is now a 40 gigawatt hour a year run rate,” he added. “And, we have a second factory in Shanghai that will begin with a 20 gigawatt hour a year run rate in Q1 next year, so next quarter. And, that will also scale up. It won’t be long before, we’re shipping a 100 gigawatt hours a year, stationary storage at Tesla.”
Tesla is looking to roll out a ride-hailing service that will begin in California and Texas then roll out to more states. This new service would offer autonomous rides to passengers.
“So it’s, I’d say, like, we’re — we’ll definitely have available at Texas, and probably have it available in California subject to regulatory approval. And then — and maybe some other states actually, next year as well, but at least California and Texas. So that’d be very exciting. There’s really a profound change. Tesla becomes more than a sort of vehicle and battery manufacturing company, at that point.”
Tesla stock shot up by $46 to close at $260 on the day after the positive earnings report.
Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. will release its earnings on Monday, Oct. 28.
