Tesla made extra money in 2022 than ever earlier than, however its future nonetheless seems to be rocky

Amid flagging demand, steep worth cuts, and ongoing drama surrounding Elon Musk’s stewardship of Twitter, Tesla revealed its fourth quarter earnings report by which the corporate stated it earned $3.7 billion in web earnings on $24.3 billion in income. That represents a 59 p.c enhance 12 months over 12 months in comparison with $2.8 billion in income in This autumn 2021.

It was additionally Tesla’s third 12 months ending within the black, with $14.1 billion in web earnings for 2022, in comparison with $5.5 billion in revenue in 2021 and a mere $721 million in 2020. Tesla turned that revenue on over $81.5 billion in income. 

The earnings come on the heels of a manufacturing and supply report by which Tesla stated it delivered 405,278 automobiles to clients over the previous three months and 1.3 million automobiles for all of 2022 — narrowly lacking its objective of reaching 50 p.c progress 12 months over 12 months.

It was 1 / 4 of distinctive struggles for Tesla, which included declining demand, an growing old lineup, and elevated competitors from legacy automakers. Musk’s buy of Twitter led to a subsequent sharp decline in Tesla’s inventory worth, which plunged by as a lot as 65 p.c over the course of the 12 months. The rout shaved billions from Musk’s personal web price, main him to assert the unlucky designation as the primary particular person in historical past to lose $200 billion, in response to Bloomberg.

Within the run-up to the earnings report, analysts have been touting the replace as one of the crucial necessary but for Musk and his firm.

“After experiencing unprecedented hyper progress over the previous few years within the EV market which was primarily created by Musk, now Tesla faces a darker macro in 2023 with fierce competitors coming from all angles,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a be aware previous to the Wednesday earnings report. “Including to that backdrop is Musk who has primarily gone from a superhero with a pink cape to a villain within the eyes of many buyers after the continued Twitter fiasco has solid a darkish shadow over Tesla’s inventory.”

The view of Musk as “asleep on the wheel” and distracted by his new possession of Twitter has additionally harm the model’s picture with shoppers, who immediately have a brand new crop of EVs not named Tesla to select from. 

As a worldwide chief in EV gross sales, Tesla has lengthy been considered as a bellwether for the electrification of the auto trade. Analysts imagine that the corporate’s current worth cuts are simply the newest signal the EV market could also be getting into the “shake-out” section by which there are actually many EVs in the marketplace, shorter wait instances, and falling costs. Tesla slashed its costs, first in China after which later within the US, which specialists say was an try to juice demand earlier than the tip of the 12 months. 

But when Musk stays CEO at Twitter, it’s not clear that any quantity of worth cuts may help restore Tesla’s picture. “Tesla is Musk,” Ives writes. “And Musk is Tesla.”