Earnings per share totaled 13 cents. Including discrete items, the figure reached 41 cents, exceeding Wall Street forecasts of 36 cents.
Revenue, on the other hand, however, came in below analysts’ expectations, rising to $22.39 billion (19.14 billion euros), mainly due to a 16 percent increase in revenue from the automotive business, Euronews specified.
Problems remain
At the same time, the publication notes that both profits and revenues remain well below the peaks recorded during the period when Tesla cars were rapidly gaining market share. Now the trend has reversed: European and Chinese competitors are pulling customers to their side.
Last year, the company lost the title of the world’s largest electric car maker to China’s BYD.
Musk has repeatedly downplayed the extent of the company’s problems with car sales, emphasizing that Tesla’s future lies not so much in selling cars as in providing unmanned cab services.
The company reported that robotaxi mileage doubled in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of last year. These services are now operating in San Francisco and three Texas cities, including Austin, where Tesla is headquartered.
Musk’s optimism
Musk also highlights Tesla’s development of robots for homes and businesses.
In a conference call with investors on Wednesday, he talked about a breakthrough project to build a factory in Texas to produce these robots, known as Optimus, with a potential capacity of up to 10 million units a year.
“I believe Optimus will be our biggest product,” Musk said, adding, “not only Tesla’s biggest product ever, but probably the biggest product in the world in general.
The company also noted that it has started producing so-called Cybercabs – cars without pedals or a steering wheel.
Musk also intrigued investors by suggesting that Tesla could unveil a new manually controlled Roadster sports car in the next month or two.
The company is aggressively investing in its transformation, with capital expenditures totaling $2.5 billion (€2.14 billion) last quarter, up 67% from the same period a year earlier.
Musk said spending will rise “very significantly” going forward. Tesla expects capital expenditures of more than $25 billion (€21 billion) this year.
While investors were digesting the CEO’s statements, Tesla shares fluctuated sharply: they briefly jumped during trading, but then turned around and closed with a slight decline.
