Sales were up at Tesla but so were costs and spending

Ars Technica reports on Tesla's second quarter earnings, released this afternoon: revenue surged, but profit margins got left behind. The company's electric vehicle sales climbed twenty-five percent year-over-year, generating twenty point five billion dollars—a twenty-three percent increase. Yet Tesla's profit margin collapsed to just one point four percent, down from its previously double-digit range. Part of the squeeze comes from rising expenses that outpaced revenue growth. Another part: the regulatory credits that once padded results are now gone, eliminated after the U.S. phased them out last year. Tesla's services business offered some offset, doubling to four point six billion dollars on the back of monthly subscriptions for full-self-driving. But even that wasn't enough to shield the company's bottom line from margin compression.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton