Gary Zhou 
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 Earnings Call this evening after markets close. Investors will be keeping a close eye on what the company reports in terms of financials and plans moving forward after a rough year on Wall Street that saw Tesla’s stock price decline by over 60 percent.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives said the Earnings Call this evening could be one of the most pivotal in the history of Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, claiming the automaker will have to justify plans for production growth after missing growth goals last year.
Additionally, the automaker’s recent price cuts, which will reflect gross margin figures on next quarter’s earnings call, will still need to be discussed tonight as investors should expect less profit per vehicle.
Wall Street is expecting a fourth-quarter earnings estimate of $1.15 per share, according to both Wall Street Journal and TipRanks estimates. MarketWatch lists $1.13 per share. Additionally, revenue consensus estimates fall between $24.6 billion and $25.3 billion.
These figures were trimmed slightly after Tesla missed delivery expectations with 1.313 million vehicles delivered last year. However, the automaker accomplished a major feat in delivering 1 million vehicles in a year for the first time.
Tesla beat EPS estimates in Q3 but missed revenue expectations by roughly half a billion dollars.
OUTLOOK AND EXPECTATIONS
Tesla should provide additional details regarding its $3.6 billion Semi manufacturing plant, which it announced yesterday. The Semi is arguably the biggest development in recent history for the automaker as the company aims to revolutionize commercial logistics.
More details regarding production output increases at the company’s Berlin and Texas Gigafactories could also be expected. Tesla is set to begin Cybertruck production within the next six months, with mass production slated for the end of the year. With Tesla missing production growth targets last year due to stoppages at the Shanghai production facility and other factors, investors could be interested in hearing the company out regarding its plans for 2023.
Finally, CEO Elon Musk’s plans for balancing both Tesla and Twitter, the social media platform he acquired last year. Investors and analysts have been concerned about Musk’s attention to the automaker. Musk is currently in a trial against shareholders regarding his 2018 “funding secured” Tweet.
