In a turbulent year for Tesla (TSLA), the electric vehicle (EV) giant's stock tumbled to new year-to-date lows on Tuesday as CEO Elon Musk outlined autonomy as the next "phase of growth," leaving investors and analysts wary of the company's strategy. With details lacking, concerns are mounting ahead of the upcoming earnings call.

Tesla and Musk had already signaled that 2024 would be a challenging year for the company, starting with the fourth-quarter earnings call in late January. Adding to the uncertainty, news emerged on Monday that Tesla had trimmed its global workforce by more than 10% due to sluggish demand for EVs and increased competition.

Furthermore, a report indicated that Tesla had postponed its highly anticipated $25,000 next-generation vehicle to prioritize efforts on autonomy and its robotaxi program. Analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities, a long-time Tesla supporter, called it a "dark day" and stressed the need for Musk to address Wall Street's concerns on the earnings call next week.

"The string of bad news over the last few months has been a horror show for investors," Ives stated on Monday. "We need to hear the rationale for the cost cutting, the strategy going forward, product road map, and an overall vision from Musk, otherwise many investors might head for the elevators during this Category 5 perfect storm of weak global demand that Tesla is experiencing in 2024."

Ryan Brinkman, an analyst from JPMorgan, expressed similar skepticism, suggesting that the significant layoffs should dispel the notion that the delivery miss in Q1 was solely due to supply issues rather than reflecting a demand problem. Brinkman added that the workforce reductions could have far-reaching implications for Tesla's hypergrowth narrative and pose downside risks for the stock.

As a result, Tesla's stock dropped by 3.1% to $156.40 during Tuesday's market session, reaching a new low for 2024 and breaking below the previous low of $160.51 set on March 14. The stock had already declined by 5.6% on Monday, closing at $161.48.

With Tesla's first-quarter earnings report scheduled for next Tuesday, Wall Street is bracing for more disappointing news. Analysts project a 38% decline in Q1 earnings to $0.52 per share, while sales are expected to drop around 2% to $22.80 billion. If these estimates hold true, it would mark the lowest quarterly earnings level since Q2 2021 when Tesla earned $0.48 per share.

In early April, Tesla reported Q1 deliveries of 386,810 vehicles, which fell short of even the most conservative estimates. This figure represents the lowest quarterly deliveries since Q2 2022 when the company delivered 344,000 vehicles. Tesla attributed the underperformance to production ramp-up issues with the updated Model 3 and factory shutdowns.

The recent developments suggest that Elon Musk is placing bets on the potential of autonomy as EV demand slows down. Reports emerged in April indicating that Tesla had canceled its promised next-generation $25,000 vehicle to prioritize the development of its self-driving robotaxi platform. While Tesla initially challenged the veracity of the report, subsequent reports from Electrek confirmed the change in focus.

At the same time, Tesla reduced the price of its Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature from $199 to $99 per month and offered a one-month free trial for April in the U.S. These moves align with Musk's statement about preparing for the "next phase of growth" and Tesla's commitment to revolutionary technologies in the auto, energy, and artificial intelligence sectors.

As Tesla stock continues to struggle in 2024, falling below the 50-day moving average after a 13% decline in March, Wall Street consensus paints a gloomy picture with expected earnings declines for the year. Analysts project Tesla's earnings per share to be $2.70 in 2024, representing a decline of over 13% compared to last year's $3.12.

Looking further ahead, Wall Street estimates for Tesla's EPS in 2025 have fallen to $3.70 from the earlier projection of $5.29 at the end of 2023. This downward trend raises concerns about the long-term economic value of Tesla's traditional consumer model for EVs.

Despite the challenges, Tesla remains determined to pursue its vision of autonomy and the robotaxi service. With the earnings call approaching, all eyes will be on Elon Musk as he addresses investor concerns and provides insights into the company's strategy for navigating the evolving EV landscape.