Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock was down 6.75% in early afternoon trading on May 3. Shares of the company have now fallen 3.2% in 2018 and challenges are mounting as we reach the midpoint of 2018. Founder and CEO Elon Musk held an earnings call after trading closed on May 2 that took a bizarre turn.
Musk opened the Q&A session stipulating that the questions be “good” to warrant an answer. A question from Sanford’s Toni Sacconaghi, who asked about Tesla’s position in terms of capital requirements, was dismissed as a “boring, bonehead” question. Joseph Spak, Managing Directors at RBC Capital Markets, asked about Model 3 reservations and configuration. “We’re going to go to YouTube,” Musk replied. “Sorry. These questions are so dry. They’re killing me.”
The Tesla founder also sounded off on what he viewed as dishonest and sensational reporting about autonomous vehicles, and increasing pressure from regulators in response to those stories.
As for the earnings themselves, adjusted earnings per share came in at a loss of $3.35 per share which exceeded analyst expectations. The company reported revenue of $3.41 billion compared to the $3.28 billion consensus. Production was up 40% quarter-over-quarter as Tesla rolled out 34,494 vehicles in Q1. Model 3 production issues continued, however, and production in the final week of March missed Musk’s 2,500 projection by 20%.
In responding to concerns about the stock, Musk said that the company was not concerned about day traders and urged those concerned about volatility to sell.
