MarketsJan 29, 2025
Tesla Disappoints With A Rare Double Miss To Conclude Its 2024 Earnings Slate — Its Stock Rose Anyway
Automotive Margins
Noah Weidner
Discover
Tesla ($TSLA) CEO Elon Musk spent the last few months scoring big wins — landing SpaceX’s next-generation heavy rocket, helping win a US election, and seeing his net worth rise more than $237B in 2024. But unfortunately for investors, the EV trailblazer didn’t have what it took to take home a final “W” in its last earnings report of the year.
Service light, on: Since Donald Trump won the 2024 election, shares of Tesla have risen more than 55%, spurring optimism that Musk’s proximity to the President would be good for business. But despite efforts to win over consumers with end-of-year discounts and price cuts in some markets, Tesla foreshadowed a disappointing earnings report by announcing its first-ever decline in vehicle deliveries. And on Wednesday evening, investors got to see the damage as the automaker issued a rare double miss in its Q4 2024 earnings.
Tesla’s disappointing Q4 rendered volatile trading in after-hours, falling as much as 3.7% before rallying more than 2%. And, like with any Tesla earnings report, conversations about its dramatic valuation took center stage.
2025 outlook: Tesla notes that it might continue to see vehicle sale prices tested — and may also grapple with changing consumer behaviors, including the end of the EV tax credit that helped the company reach profitability in the first place. Ultimately, its fortunes are tied to its real principal asset — Elon Musk, now worth over $400B. But after openly aligning with far-right politics and taking a job alongside Trump in office, Musk’s popularity has been waning. With 2025 shaping up to be another pivotal year for Tesla, can he balance his political aspirations with his business ones without alienating buyers?
