Q2 Sales & Deliveries beat expectations

Tesla reported a smaller-than-expected 5% drop in second-quarter vehicle deliveries, thanks to price cuts and sales incentives. They delivered 443 956 vehicles, beating Wall Street's estimate of 438 019. Shares jumped over 10.2%, hitting a five-month high.

Sales dropped by 17% in China and by 36% in Europe. Subsidies were cut and fleet demand waned. Competitors like BYD and Rivian are coming along, with BYD sales up 21% and Rivian sales up 9% in the quarter. Tesla also faces challenges from high interest rates which raise vehicle financing costs. Musk has cut production costs and scaled back plans for a $25 000 model.

So far, Tesla has shown resilience, but the pressure is now on to do more than just 'facelifts' for existing models. "Electroheads" are complaining that the cars are dated.

Despite year-on-year sales declines for two quarters, Musk expects higher deliveries in 2024, shifting focus to self-driving tech with plans to unveil robotaxis in August. We know this is achievable after seeing Waymo's recent success in San Francisco.