Tesla Q1 Earnings: Robotaxi in 2024, Cybertruck in 2023, Record profit

Tesla continues to simplify the manufacturing process

Financial Results

Tesla just reported first-quarter results for 2022 and beat analysts' expectations on the top and bottom lines. Despite factory shutdowns, inflationary pressures and semiconductor chip shortages, the automaker delivered 310,000 vehicles, up 81% YoY.

Revenue also rose 81% to $18.6 billion from $10.39 billion a year ago, thanks to higher average car prices and increased vehicle sales, the company said.

For the period ending March 31, 2022, Tesla reported $3.22 earnings per share. Since posting a record profit, shares have risen as much as 6% in after-hours trading.

Tesla vehicle deliveries since 2018

Challenges This Quarter

In its letter to investors, Tesla said supply-chain problems and raw-material prices costs have increased “multiple-fold”.

"Our own factories have been running below capacity for several quarters,” Tesla said in its shareholder deck. The company did not give detailed guidance on deliveries going forward, but said it expects 50% annual growth on a multi-year basis, and warned that supply chain constraints are likely to continue through 2022."

Tesla said that a spike in COVID-19 cases caused a temporary shutdown of the Shanghai factory and shortages in the company’s supply chain.

Tesla had its most profitable quarter

“Although limited production has recently restarted, we continue to monitor the situation closely,” the company said.

The ramp-up in the newer Texas and Berlin gigafactories will also depend on supply-chain obstacles, Tesla said.

“Factory ramps take time, and Gigafactory Austin and Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg will be no different.”

The company also stated it would release its Full-Self Driving to all U.S. customers that opted for the $12,000 package “before the end of this year.”

Energy

Tesla’s solar deployments dropped by 50% YoY to 48 MW this past quarter. The company deployed 846 MWh of battery storage systems, up 90% YoY, but down from the previous quarter. The company said declines in solar deployments were caused by supply chain constraints on certain components.

Insurance

Tesla says they are the 2nd largest insurer of Teslas in the state of Texas, and could be the largest by the end of next quarter. Tesla is now a fully integrated provider of insurance in the states (list of states) where they have released their insurance product.

Cybertruck and Robotaxi

On the earnings call, Elon confirmed Cybertruck production to begin in 2023 and a vehicle built for autonomy, without a steering wheel or pedals to be produced in 2024 which would be "a massive driver of Tesla's growth."

Elon also reiterated his stance on Tesla's optimus robot, saying that it has more potential opportunity than the car business over time.

When asked about raw materials and scaling to extreme size, Elon stated that Lithium mining is the limiting factor to production. He later said that "Tesla will likely need to help the industry on this."

When asked about the future of EV affordability, Elon stated that the robotaxi will provide the lowest cost per mile of transport ever, a 5x-10x reduction, making it accessible to everyone. Based on their projections, it appears that a robo taxi will cost less than a subsidized bus/subway ticket.

Earnings Overview

Twitter user @DBurkland put together this overview of everything that was discussed during the earnings call.

Opening remarks from Zach Kirkhorn

• Per unit vehicle costs increased due to inflation, raw material costs, and supply chain constraints
• Slight shift towards more profitable vehicles like the Model Y
• Energy business continues to be impacted by macro conditions more than vehicle business (chip constraints)
• Achieved record operating margin over 19% amidst construction of 2 new factories (Giga Berlin & Giga Texas)
• Tesla has reduced debt (excluding product debt) to nearly 0
• Lost 1 month of build volume lost due to COVID-related shutdowns at Giga Shanghai (will dramatically affect Q2 delivery numbers)
• Inefficiencies of ramping process at Giga Berlin & Texas will affect bottom line
• Tesla still believes 50% YoY growth w/ vehicle production in 2022 is still achievable

Opening remarks from Elon Musk

• Record deliveries and production even with many headwinds
• Even with COVID shutdowns in Giga Shanghai Elon believes they still have a shot at 60% YoY growth for 2022
• Two new factories opened in Q1 and exponentially ramping (Giga Berlin & Giga Texas) with higher production volumes achievable by end of this year
• Just crossed 1m units in the last year however long way to go as Tesla aspires to produce 20m units per year (only 5% towards their goal)
• Elon never more excited for Tesla and their future then he is now
• Robotaxi
  • Highly optimized for autonomy (no steering wheel or pedals)
  • Numerous other innovations
  • Fundamentally optimized for lowest fully considered cost per mile, accounting for everything (very powerful product)
  • Expect to reach volume production of Robotaxi in 2024
• CyberTruck
  • On track for volume production in 2023
• Optimus
  • Elon surprised people weren’t more excited for this but he thinks folks will fully understand its capabilities & impact will be greater than FSD or vehicle businesses
• Energy
  • Battery & solar production will improve as supply chain issues are resolved

Q&A

FSD Development Progress

• Elon has never seen more false dawns than with the development of FSD. Real world AI has to be solved for (nobody has solved yet) and with our roads designed for humans, NNs & cameras have to be solved in a way that is on-par with (and exceeds) the capabilities of humans. Elon still believes they will deliver on FSD in 2022. Best way to realize this is participate in FSD beta program and experience it for ourselves as they’ll be expanding the program later this year. Still targeting new FSD release cadence of every 2 weeks.

Giga Shanghai Shutdown

• Production is coming back with a vengeance and Elon expects weekly production records to be broken as they work to catch up. Still possible to match / exceed Q1 numbers however Q3 & Q4 are expected to be record quarters in terms of production. Elon believes Tesla will easily be able to produce 1.5m vehicles this year.
• It’s important for new factories to target limited configurations during ramp and that is why both Giga Berlin & Giga Texas are hyper-focused on producing the Model Y.
• Ramp period (5k per week) takes typically 9-12 months from start of production however it’s possible for Tesla to ramp sooner based on their experience.

Price Increase

• Elon says it is understandable that there are many folks questioning price increases especially amidst record profitability however the price increases are there to account for an increase in raw materials costs and potential supply chain constraints in the future (since vehicle deliveries are a year out).

State-based Dealership Laws

• Tesla would love federal-based laws that allows direct sales across the country however congress is not willing to take up this sort of legislation at this time (so Tesla is approaching it on a state-by-state basis)

800V Battery Architecture

• Tesla is not ignoring the reality that they can go to a higher voltage however there is not any compelling reason to change at this point
• Going from 400V to 800V might save them $100 per vehicle (however requires changing all of the backend infrastructure)
• Switching to 800V might make sense down the road however Tesla needs to increase vehicle volume to absorb the cost of moving from 400V to 800V first
• For larger vehicles where higher power on the battery side and/or charging side is required (where current requirements go up), savings can be seen by increasing voltage as it would reduce semiconductor needs (and thus save $)
  • Tesla is considering different voltages for CyberTruck and Semi
  • For 3, Y, and Robotaxi they see no need to switch

4680 Batteries

• Tesla is working in all areas that they described during the battery day event and making good progress
• Going to take several years to achieve the cost savings and performance numbers they described during battery day
• 4680 structural pack will be competitive with the best alternatives later this year and exceed the best alternatives next year
• New chemistries hinted at however will be included in 4680 production later on
• Based on Giga Texas factory construction, the 4680 production equipment cost 5x less than what it would have been with other battery cell designs
  • Cost model well understood, rate and yield will be better understood as they ramp over next few years
• Giga Berlin will transition to 4680s from 2170s later this year
• Giga Texas has the capability to produce non-structural pack for 2170s (mitigation)
  • Volume production for 4680s in Giga Texas targeted by end of Q3, for sure Q4
  • Sizable cell inventory thanks to Giga Shanghai shutdown and allows them to be more deliberate in 4680 development (gives them some breathing room during ramp)
  • 4680 production not a risk to achieving vehicle production target in 2022 however would be in 2023

Raw Materials Required To Scale

• Tesla needs to think about tonnage of Nickel, Iron Phosphate, Graphite, Separators, Electrolytes for the world as a whole
• Then take action on limiting factors that get in the way of the advent of a sustainable energy future
• Tesla is thinking about mining & refining Lithium is a current limiting factor and responsible for cost growth per cell as of late (single biggest on a percentage basis)
• Lithium only makes up only 2-3% of a Li-Ion cell (5kg per car)
• Cathode (Nickel & Iron Phosphate) is the heaviest in terms of cost and raw materials composition of a battery cell
• Exciting announcements on the raw materials topic in the months to come, Elon hinted to a follow up call / event
• Tesla committed to recycling at all cell factories, recycling 50T per week in Reno (ramping to 150T) which is putting materials right back into their Cathode supply chain
• As they are building new vehicles at new factories, Tesla is recycling everything they can from a raw materials perspective
• Tesla figured out they can recycle cast aluminum wheels from retired ICE cars and throw it into their aluminum melting pot and use for vehicle body production for 3 & Y
• Half of Tesla’s products were LFP-based in Q1 2022 which shows how nimble they are regarding battery chemistry
  • Also looking at other cathode options to give Tesla further agility
• Some of the challenges with Lithium market are not related to supply & demand fundamentals (frustrating to Tesla)

Giga Berlin & Texas Ramping related to Giga Shanghai

• Elon thinks they need to ramp Berlin & Texas faster than Shanghai as they are more experienced now and have learned so much in the simplification of Model Y production
• Body line for front & rear cast underbody + structural pack is 60% smaller than it would be otherwise in terms of equipment required
• If you are waiting for the best Tesla ever you will be waiting forever as they are constantly improving

Robotaxi

• Unveiling event sometime next year, Elon doesn’t want to go into too many details until then
• Volume production in 2024
• Sizable investment required to build robotaxi production lines

Prices Over Time

• Elon wants to make EVs as affordable as possible however this has become very difficult due to inflation (40-50yr high)
• Likely to continue for remainder of 2022
• Long term contracts with suppliers have helped Tesla keep costs down longer than expected but eventually they run out
• 20-30% cost increase from suppliers over last year which is why Tesla has raised their prices
• Lithium margins are practically software margins right now (Elon encouraging more to get into this business)

CyberTruck

• Ignoring battery cells Tesla believes the CyberTruck is made of 20-30% less parts than a typical pickup truck

Giga Nevada

• Room for expansion there and the plan is to expand production at Giga Nevada further
• Majority of battery cells will be produced at Giga Texas going forward

COVID Shutdowns in China

• Elon doesn’t think recent COVID shutdowns in China will negatively impact production elsewhere

Elon compensation

• No plans or talks to increase Elon’s compensation further

3rd Party Access to Supercharger Network in USA

• Tesla plans to provide 3rd party vehicle access to the entire world and remains committed to that
• Tesla is pursuing a technical solution to address the difference in charging connector in the US (magic dock)
• Growth of Supercharger network is being accelerated to match increase in vehicle production 

Tesla Insurance

• In state of Texas Tesla is the second largest insurer of Teslas and should be #1 in the next quarter
• Working to get 80% of states access to Tesla insurance by end of year at which point they’ll look to expand to other markets
• Having realtime feedback for driving habits (safety score program) is proving helpful to Tesla owners w/ Tesla insurance as it directly relates to a lower rate
• When a crash happens it gives Tesla a new feedback loop to improve vehicle design, reduce costs, etc (End-to-end visibility)

You can also find outlines from previous earnings calls on his website DBurkland.com.

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Tesla Announces the 2025 Spring Update: B-Pillar Recording, Dashcam Viewer Improvements, Avoid Highways and More

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Tesla has just announced the contents and features of its 2025 Spring Update. There’s a lot of new content that we expected, as well as some stuff we didn’t see coming that will be arriving in Tesla’s next major release. Awesome new features, such as Adaptive Matrix High Beams, will finally become available in North America, while others like Grok’s voice assistant aren’t quite ready yet.

So, without further ado, let’s get cracking and take a look at everything in this awesome update.

Adaptive High Beams

The headliner feature of this update is the much-awaited Adaptive High Beams for North America - specifically the United States and Canada. We’ve been waiting a little over a year since it was launched in Europe last year. Tesla faced some regulatory delays in getting this approved, but it’s finally arriving for vehicles with newer headlights.

Adaptive High Beams reduce glare for traffic ahead of you by individually dimming specific pixels on the LED matrix. The feature shipped with the refreshed Model Y first and is now arriving for all other vehicles with matrix headlights. This includes newer Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y vehicles - but not the Cybertruck.

The adaptive headlights in action.

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The Cybertruck’s signature headlights are too small to fit the LED matrix, and as such, this feature won’t be supported on the Cybertruck for the time being. Hopefully, Tesla will figure something out, but given that this is a hardware limitation, we don’t expect to see much here.

You can check out our guide on how to determine whether your vehicle is equipped with Matrix Headlights. If your vehicle has the hardware, you will see an Adaptive Headlights option under Controls > Lights > Adaptive Headlights after receiving the Spring Update. This feature will be enabled by default.

Improved Blind Spot Camera for Model S / X

The new blindspot camera in the driver's instrument cluster.

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In a surprise addition, Tesla is improving support for the Blind Spot Camera on the 2021+ refreshes of their flagship vehicles. Previously, the blind spot camera on these vehicles would only appear on the primary infotainment screen, not the driver’s instrument panel, which was essentially copied over from the Model 3/Y.

Now, drivers will have the option to choose which display the blind spot camera appears on. A setting under Controls > Display > Automatic Blind Spot Camera will allow drivers to choose “Driver Screen”, so that the blind spot camera appears to the left or right side of the instrument cluster, depending on which turn signal you activate. For these vehicles with an instrument cluster directly in front of the driver, this is a much better implementation of the feature than how it was originally designed.

Dashcam Update - B Pillar Cameras

As part of a much-requested update, given the increased and misguided vandalism against Tesla vehicles, Tesla’s team has finally updated their software to record the B-pillar (upper side) cameras as part of both Dashcam and Sentry Mode.

While this means that Dashcam and Sentry Mode footage will now likely take up more room on your USB drive due to recording two additional cameras, it also means that your vehicle is much better protected. Dashcam and Sentry Mode now record from every camera except for the additional front-facing cameras and the interior camera.

Note: It looks like this feature will be limited to newer vehicles, likely those with AI4.

Improved Dashcam Viewer

The updated dashcam viewer.

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The Dashcam Viewer in the vehicle is also being improved with this update. Taking a page from the Tesla app, the app in the vehicle will now display multiple camera feeds at the same time, with users having the option to focus on an individual feed if desired.

Due to the additional cameras being recorded, Tesla is now laying out all the camera feeds along the bottom, instead of at each corner of the screen.

The new UI also reveals that there will be buttons to jump back or forward in 15-second increments, while at the top right, you’ll have a link to the next video, instead of having to go back to the list of videos.

Requirements for Dashcam and Sentry Mode Updates

Unfortunately, there is some bad news regarding compatibility with the B-pillar camera recording and this improved Dashcam Viewer. Tesla says the Dashcam updates will only apply to newer “S3XY” vehicles, but they don’t specify the exact requirement.

Based on previous Tesla posts, where they usually list if a feature requires the AMD Ryzen infotainment processor, this requirement doesn’t sound like an Intel vs AMD issue, but instead one that relies on AI4 hardware, which is responsible for processing the video feeds.

Tesla’s “S3XY” requirement also leaves out the Cybertruck, but this seems like an oversight. Given some previously leaked footage of this feature, we expect the Cybertruck to also receive this feature with the Spring Update.

Use our guide to find out if you have HW3 or HW4, also known as AI4, if you’re not sure what’s included in your vehicle.

Updated Routing Options — Avoid Highways

We recently covered routing options on the site, and we believe a lot of people will be pleased with these additions, so if you’ve been craving improved routing options, keep reading.

There are three new routing options to check out. Users will now be able to pick from three types of routing options when choosing a destination. We originally saw these as part of the navigation source code discovered in December 2024.

Fastest: This offers the quickest path to the destination, ignoring any attempts at efficiency or stopping more often to do short charges.

Best Amenities & Fewer Stops: This routing mode minimizes your charge stops in exchange for making them longer, but also allows you to stop near highly rated restaurants, shops, and restrooms for a more relaxing trip.

Avoid Highways: This much-requested feature will enable you to keep your navigation routing away from highways unless they are absolutely required to reach your destination. Hurray for the country roads and relaxed driving.

Requirements: While we’re not sure yet which vehicles will receive these options, we expect it to arrive on all vehicles except for potentially legacy Model S/X.

Trunk Height Based on Location

Another neat and useful little feature: you will now be able to save your trunk opening height based on location rather than applying a general maximum trunk height. If you didn’t already know, you could set the maximum height your automated trunk opens, which can help prevent it from hitting a lower garage ceiling.

This feature is already available on the refreshed Model Y but is now coming to all Model Ys, all Model 3s with automated trunks, and the 2021+ Model S and Model X.

In order to set your height, manually adjust the liftgate to your preferred opening height, and then press and hold the trunk button until you hear a chime in the vehicle, indicating that the height for this location has been set.

Save Frunk Height - Cybertruck

Tesla didn’t forget about the Cybertruck either - you can now do the same with the opening height for the Cybertruck as well. You’ll have to press the exterior (below the bottom center) frunk button and hold it until you hear a chime for the Cybertruck. Pressing the in-frunk button will simply close the frunk.

Accessory Power Option Enables 12V Sockets

Tesla is finally re-enabling 12V accessory power sockets throughout its cars with a new “Accessory Power” option, enabling anyone to use the 12V power sockets in Tesla’s vehicle lineup when they’re away from their vehicle, without needing Camp Mode. This also applies to the USB ports and wireless phone chargers throughout the vehicle.

The Model Y and Model X include a 12V socket in the rear left pillar of the vehicle, alongside a 12V socket in the front of the vehicle. The Model 3 and Model S only have a 12V socket in the front of the vehicle.

You can turn this feature on by going to Controls > Charging > Keep Accessory Power On. This feature is disabled by default and is turned off once the vehicle battery drops to 20% or below. Tesla warns that this feature will use additional power, so it’s best to only use it when needed.

Comfort Drive Mode on the Cybertruck

Following the recent addition of the Comfort Mode option in the Model 3, Tesla is adding the feature to the Cybertruck as well. This feature will automatically switch the vehicle dynamics to “Comfort”, which includes a higher ride height, softer suspension and steering response, and reduction in acceleration profile to Chill Mode while FSD or TACC are active.

You can enable or disable this feature from Controls > Autopilot > Use Comfort Mode in Autopilot. This feature will be enabled by default.

Lane Departure Avoidance on the Cybertruck

Interestingly, the Cybertruck launched without several Autopilot safety and assistance features - namely, because Basic Autopilot itself is missing from the Cybertruck - only FSD and TACC are available. As part of an improvement to safety, Lane Departure Avoidance has now arrived on the Cybertruck with the Spring Update.

This will show a blue indicator on the screen if you begin or are about to begin crossing a lane marking. You will have three options, just like with other Tesla vehicles, including None, Warning, and Assistance. Assistance will provide active feedback and move the vehicle back into the lane lines, while the warning will sound an audio tone and provide visual and physical feedback (vibration) to the steering wheel.

This feature will be enabled by default with Assistance selected and can be changed from Controls > Autopilot > Lane Departure Avoidance.

Minor Updates

Tesla also lists some other smaller details that will be included as part of the 2025 Spring Update, which include these features below:

• Keyboard Languages

  • Go to Controls > Display > Keyboards to switch languages on the touchscreen keyboard.

• Media search results are filtered by sources, which provides faster access to your content.

• You can now shuffle an entire Apple Music playlist that contains more than 100 songs!

• You can scroll through SiriusXM favorites by tapping the left steering wheel button left or right, similar to other services.

• You can now sign in to Amazon Music with an Amazon Music Free account. You still require Premium Connectivity or WiFi to stream music.

• YouTube Music now shows what song will play next in the Up Next view of the media player.

• If you normally connect your vehicle to your phone’s hotspot, this feature will now be enabled every time you drive instead of having you manually connect it each time.

Features We’re Hoping Come Soon

This was an awesome update, but there are always more features we’d love to see come next. Here’s our short list of features we’re still waiting and hoping for.

• Grok for Tesla

• AirPlay / Google Cast Support

• Steam Gaming for the entire lineup

• Group Texting/Chat Support

• Android Watch Support

• Phone Left on Charger Alert

• Arrival State of Charge in the Tesla App

• X App Integration

• Adaptive Headlights for Cybertruck

• Actually Smart Summon for Cybertruck

• Autoshift for Cybertruck

Release Date

Everyone’s favorite question is always, When will it be released? Well, it looks like soon. We haven’t seen any vehicles, including employees, receive the Spring Update just yet. However, given that Tesla has officially announced the update, we expect it to go out to employees as soon as this weekend.

Update: Tesla has now started rolling out this update to employees. As expected, it’ll be software update 2025.14.

If no major issues are found, we could see it start rolling out to the lucky first customers in about a week, but be prepared for a slightly longer wait if Tesla needs to reduce multiple revisions of the update before rolling it out publicly.

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Tesla to Build Ecological Paradise at Giga Texas

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Tesla’s factories are more than just gigantic locations to produce cars at an insanely fast rate - they’re also locations that live and thrive alongside the environment around them. At Gigafactory Berlin, Tesla planted over 1 million trees in 2024 to help offset the footprint of Giga Berlin. Tesla originally cut down less than half that amount of trees.

One of Tesla’s major goals is to electrify the planet and reduce carbon emissions - and what better way to do that than to create more green space. Tesla has some absolutely fantastic green-centric initiatives, and Giga Berlin really showed that off when they planted double the acreage of forest that they cut down to build the facility. 

A rendering of the expected finished locations.

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Ecological Paradise

Giga Berlin isn’t the only place that Tesla is working to bring some green to - Giga Texas is also on the list. Tesla has shown off their official renderings and plans for the upcoming Ecological Paradise that will be build around Giga Texas.

Tesla has some absolutely staggering plans for the location, and it's far more than a simple park. With nearly 70,000 residents within 15 minutes of Giga Texas and 15,000 employees commuting into work, there is a considerable number of people to appeal to. That also comes with nearly 4 miles of riverfront - so Tesla will be making the best use of the space to benefit the local community and its employees.

A map of the planned paths, routes, and areas.

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The plans for the ecological paradise include a 2-acre riverfront rain garden, as well as 6 rainwater buffer and treatment ponds - all intended to enhance, protect,  and expand the 53 acres of local wetland - for a total of 150 million gallons of reclaimed rainwater that will be recycled for landscape irrigation.

Just like green spaces, Tesla places considerable emphasis on water reuse and aims to make its factories as water-neutral as possible. This Ecological Paradise will help to offset the water usage from Giga Texas while also greening up the entire community around it - because all four of the new trailheads, as well as the riverbank, will be publicly accessible.

You can check out the entire filing for the Ecological Paradise, which includes a benefit report to the local community, at this link here. It looks like quite a bit of green space, which will go right alongside the 32,400kW of solar panels installed at Giga Texas - which is the largest single installation of panels in the world.

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