Tesla reported Wednesday another quarter of sparkling earnings growth, but shares fell amid questions over the resilience of electric vehicle demand, CEO Elon Musk's embattled Twitter transaction and other issues.
The electric vehicle (EV) maker scored a more than doubling of profits in the third-quarter to $3.3 billion on increased auto deliveries
But shares retreated in after-hours trading after the company reported revenues of $21.5 billion, a 56 percent increase over the year-ago period, but about $500 million below analyst forecasts. The company flagged battery supply chain bottlenecks as a constraint on EV growth and noted that logistics volatility was an "improving" challenge.
"Knock on wood, it looks like we'll have an epic end-of-year," Musk said during an earnings call. "The factories are running at full speed and we're delivering every call we make."
The results follow Tesla's disclosure earlier this month that deliveries and production grew solidly in the third quarter after diving in the prior period due to a coronavirus-related factory closure at the company's Shanghai plant.
The automaker has avoided setting specific annual delivery targets, but analysts have benchmarked a target of about 1.4 million for all of 2022.
Tesla is on pace for a 50 percent increase in production this year, but could fall shy of that goal when it comes to getting the cars to buyers, chief financial officer Zach Kirkhorn said on the call.
Tesla is working on smoothing out a "crazy delivery wave" at the end of each quarter, Musk told analysts.
"There weren't enough boats; there weren't enough trains; there weren't enough car carriers to actually support the wave, because it got too big," Musk said.
Tesla watchers are expecting a strong fourth quarter with a restored Shanghai factory and the ramp-up of plants in Texas and Germany.
- Immune to inflation? -
But Covid-19 remains a wildcard in light of China's continued adherence to its zero-tolerance approach to fighting the virus.
Another question concerns whether Musk's company will continue to remain immune to macroeconomic concerns, especially inflation.
The cheapest version, the Tesla Model 3, currently lists for about $48,500. With US inflation showing no signs of easing, analysts wonder whether demand for the pricey vehicles will remain robust.
