Tesla’s second-quarter earnings report for 2024 reveals a company grappling with significant financial and reputational challenges. The electric vehicle (EV) pioneer saw a 16.3% drop in net income to $1.17 billion and a 12% decline in revenue to $22.5 billion compared to the same period last year, marking its second consecutive quarter of falling profits and sales. This downturn is largely attributed to a 13.5% decrease in vehicle deliveries, driven by softening demand and aggressive price cuts. However, Tesla’s struggles extend beyond market dynamics. CEO Elon Musk’s deep involvement in politics—particularly his $290 million backing of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and subsequent role as head of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—sparked global backlash and alienated the brand’s core liberal customer base in the U.S. and Europe. Although Musk resigned from DOGE in May to refocus on Tesla, the reputational damage has persisted, further complicating the company’s recovery efforts.
Compounding these issues, recent legislative changes pose immediate threats to Tesla’s bottom line. President Trump’s „One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed on July 4, eliminates the $7,500 federal EV tax credit effective September 30, which will make Tesla vehicles more expensive for consumers. The same legislation also removes clean-air penalties for automakers failing emissions standards, erasing a critical revenue stream for Tesla from regulatory credit sales, which plummeted nearly 50% to $439 million in Q2. Additionally, rising tariffs on imported raw materials and components have increased costs by approximately $300 million sequentially, with CFO Vaibhav Taneja warning that the full impact will manifest in upcoming quarters. These factors—coupled with ongoing price reductions and sluggish demand—paint a bleak short-term outlook for Tesla’s financial performance.
Looking ahead, Tesla faces a brutal competitive and operational landscape. Musk’s strategic pivot toward positioning Tesla as a robotics and AI leader, rather than solely a car manufacturer, underscores his long-term vision. However, the recent launch of Tesla’s invite-only robotaxi service in Austin highlighted the company’s lag behind competitors like Waymo, which already operates fully autonomous taxis across multiple U.S. cities with broader coverage. Tesla’s current robotaxi fleet remains limited and requires human supervision, revealing gaps in its self-driving technology readiness. With Musk now diverting attention to founding the America Party for the 2026 midterms, Tesla must navigate not only external economic and regulatory headwinds but also internal execution challenges. As Musk himself conceded, „rough quarters” may lie ahead, signaling that Tesla’s journey toward reinvention will be fraught with uncertainty and intensified scrutiny.
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Forrás: https://gizmodo.com/teslas-nightmare-continues-as-musk-warns-of-rough-quartersahead-2000633589.