Bianniushi reported today

On October 24, Tesla released its third-quarter report for 2024 after the close of the U.S. stock market on October 23, showing revenue of $25.182 billion in the third quarter, up 8% year-on-year; and net profit of $2.167 billion, up 17% year-on-year, exceeding market expectations of $1.78 billion in net profit.

Data showed that analysts generally predicted that Tesla's profit would decrease by 9% in the third quarter, while revenue would increase by 9%.

After the earnings report was released, Tesla's share price rose more than 12% in after-hours trading, erasing the shadow cast by the previous Robotaxi press conference.

The earnings report showed that in terms of production and sales, Tesla produced a total of 469,796 vehicles in the third quarter, including 443,668 Model 3/Y and 26,128 other models. Deliveries in the third quarter amounted to 462,890 units, up 6% year-on-year, including 439,975 Model 3/Y and 22,915 other models.

During the investor conference call, Musk projected that Tesla's vehicle sales growth rate would reach 20% to 30% next year. Additionally, Cybercab is expected to enter mass production in 2026, with a target annual production of at least 2 million units.

The earnings report stated that the Cybertruck has become the third best-selling electric vehicle in the United States, following the Model Y and Model 3. Simultaneously, the Cybertruck achieved a positive gross margin for the first time.

Musk attributed this optimistic forecast to lower vehicle production costs and the emergence of autonomous driving technology.

Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Tesla reported a gross margin of 19.8% for the quarter, slightly higher than the 18% reported in the previous quarter and the third quarter of 2023. Tesla stated that its cost per vehicle was at an all-time low of $35,100.

Regarding autonomous driving services, Musk indicated that driverless taxi services would be available in Texas and California as early as 2025. Currently, the autonomous taxi app is under testing and awaiting regulatory approval.

Cybercab, Tesla's latest autonomous taxi, relies entirely on Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology.

During the earnings call, Musk also revealed a key piece of information: a cheaper model. Priced below $30,000, this model is expected to be launched in the first half of next year. Musk further disclosed that Tesla would not produce cheaper models without autonomous driving capabilities.

According to Tesla China's official website, the cheapest model currently on sale is the Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive version, priced at RMB 231,900, equivalent to approximately $33,000. This suggests that Tesla's cheaper model will be priced below RMB 210,000. Following the common promotional tactics in the Chinese market, the final price of this model is likely to be below RMB 200,000, as the slogan of "under RMB 200,000" is more appealing than "under RMB 210,000."

This also indicates that Tesla is encroaching on BYD's territory, suggesting that the competition between the two companies will intensify.

Tesla's operating cash flow in the third quarter was $6.3 billion, and its free cash flow was $2.7 billion. Tesla stated that its cash and investments increased by $2.9 billion to $33.6 billion in the third quarter, setting a new record. Tesla expects capital expenditures to exceed $11 billion in 2024 and to range between $8 billion and $10 billion in 2025 and 2026.

Tesla also announced several operational milestones in the third quarter: 1) Tesla increased its AI training compute capacity by over 75% in the third quarter of 2024; 2) As of the third quarter, FSD had accumulated over 2 billion miles of driving, with over 50% of those miles driven on FSD V12.

Musk revealed that FSD V13 is expected to be launched soon, and it is anticipated that V13 will increase the mileage between interventions by 5-6 times. "We don't need to wait for Robotaxi to achieve full self-driving capabilities; we expect to achieve this through existing models next year," said Musk.

As of press time, Tesla's pre-market gains remained solid, with shares up nearly 13%.