TSLA Q1 2021 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Tesla, Inc. Q1 2021 Earnings Call
• Date: April 26, 2021 at 9:30 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Elon Musk (CEO)
  • Zachary Kirkhorn
  • Martin Viecha (VP of Investor Relations)
  • Carmen (Webcast Host)
  • Lars Moravy (SVP of Vehicle Engineering)
  • Drew Baglino (SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Tesla reported record production and deliveries in Q1 2021.
• Tesla surpassed $1B in non-GAAP net income for the first time in Q1 2021.
• Tesla generated $8B in operating cash flows and $4B in free cash flows over the past four quarters.
• Tesla invested $1.5B in Bitcoin during the quarter and subsequently sold 10% of that position, which contributed a small gain to Q1 results.
• Auto gross margin excluding regulatory credits improved sequentially and year over year in Q1 2021 despite discrete headwinds.
• Energy gross margins were negative for a second consecutive quarter driven by solar roof ramp costs and seasonality in lease/BPA businesses.
• Tesla reported positive gross margin on Model Y production in Shanghai in its first quarter of production.

Guidance

• Tesla reiterated a long-term growth target of 50% annual growth and stated plans remain unchanged on that target.
• Tesla expects initial limited production from Austin and Berlin this year and volume production from those factories next year.
• Tesla expects Q2 and Q3 to be largely driven by execution on the Model S/X ramp and continued Model Y ramp in Shanghai.
• Tesla projects 4680 cell volume production within roughly 12-18 months from the call timeframe.
• Tesla conveyed an expectation that profitability and cash generation will improve over the course of 2021 as supply constraints ease and new ramps progress.
• Tesla requested suppliers to increase cell supply and said supplier capacity is expected to more than double next year.