Tesla Faces Scrutiny as Shareholders Await Q1 Earnings Results and Future Developments

Tuesday, April 23, is an important day for Tesla as the company prepares to announce its first quarter earnings results and hold a 1-hour earnings call to address questions from analysts and shareholders. The anticipation for this event is evident, with over 2,300 queries submitted by both individual and institutional investors using the Say Technologies Platform. A total of 8,680 shareholders have engaged in the Q&A sessions, representing approximately 7.13 million shares.

Shareholders on the Say Platform are particularly interested in updates on several key areas. These include Tesla's next-generation platform, advancements in Robotaxi development, progress on Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, and the scaling up of production for the 4680 cells.

The most up-voted questions revolve around the 4680 cells initiative, followed by inquiries about the Optimus project and updates on Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology. Shareholders are interested in understanding the current status and output of the 4680 cells, as well as Tesla's assessment of the pathway toward regulatory approval for unsupervised FSD in the US.

Another pressing query concerns the timeline for launching a revenue-generating Robotaxi network following the upcoming Robotaxi reveal scheduled for August. Shareholders are also keen to know the progress on the development of a cheaper next-generation vehicle and whether any legacy automakers have approached Tesla regarding licensing FSD in the future.

The top-voted question, representing 3.3 million shares, seeks insights into the development status and specifics of Tesla's 4680 battery cells. Previously, Tesla mentioned that it was running one production line and one assembly line, with four more to be installed in the third quarter. It also stated that it had weeks of finished cells in inventory. In mid-March, Tesla announced that it had produced over 1,000 Cybertrucks' worth of 4680 cells at its Giga Texas.

Meanwhile, the second most popular question, representing 3.2 million shares, pertains to an update on Tesla's robot, Optimus. Elon Musk shared a video showcasing Optimus folding a shirt in a Tesla factory, garnering significant attention. Musk later confirmed that Optimus is not yet capable of autonomously folding a shirt but hinted at future developments.

Regarding rumors about a $25,000 model, sources and company messages reported that Tesla was abandoning the plan. However, Elon Musk dismissed this report without providing further details. He instead announced the highly anticipated robotaxi unveiling scheduled for August 8th, which is expected to be based on Tesla's next-generation vehicle platform.

Amidst the speculation surrounding the $25,000 model, analysts are debating whether the focus has shifted towards autonomous driving technology, potentially delaying the release of the Model 2. Tesla's stock recently hit a 15-month low of $145.05 per share, causing its market capitalization to dip below $480 billion.

In other news, Tesla expanded its 0 percent interest financing program to the German market, similar to its initiative in China. The company also announced a workforce reduction exceeding 10%, affecting over 14,000 employees globally. Despite the recent announcement of the production of 433,371 vehicles, falling short of Wall Street's expectations, Tesla continues to draw attention as shareholders eagerly await the Q1 earnings results and future developments.