The Texas-based company reports profits of $1.1bn in the first quarter, down from $2.51bn a year ago. But shares of Tesla soared by 11 percent after CEO Elon Musk said that production of new, more affordable vehicles would begin in the second half of next year “if not late this year”, Al Jazerra reported. 

Tesla shares rise on plans to accelerate launch of ‘more affordable’ models, FT said. Revenue fell by 9% year over year, the worst decline since 2012. Auto sales dropped 13% from the same period in 2023. Free cash flow turned negative. The stock’s rally picked up steam during the earnings call as Musk veered to the future, CNBC said. He casually mentioned that the company’s robotaxi, which he has long said is coming, will be called the CyberCab. In a shareholder deck that Tesla published before the call, the company featured a “preview of ride-hailing in the Tesla app.”

Tesla’s latest plans

Tesla is accelerating the launch of less-expensive cars in a bid to revive sagging demand following another disappointing quarter. The EV maker aims to start production of new models as soon as this year, well ahead of the late-2025 timing it had previously pledged. The decision sent shares soaring 13% late Tuesday, stemming what has been the worst rout among stocks in the S&P 500 Index this year. The news overshadowed a substantial shortfalls for the company’s first-quarter earnings, sales and margins. Elon Musk said Tesla is an AI company, saying on a conference call it aims to operate fleets of robotaxis as well as enable owners to rent out their own rides, in an arrangement similar to home-sharing platform Airbnb, Bloomberg reported.

Tesla will lay off 6,020 employees in Texas and California ahead of its quarterly results on Tuesday, Reuters said. “Tesla has now created over 30,000 manufacturing jobs in California!” Musk said in a post on his social media platform X on Tuesday.

/Tesla, X, Al Jazerra, FT, CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters/