Tesla has already reported vehicle shipment numbers in the second quarter. Now, its full Q2 2022 financial reports (pdf) shows that it is dealing with inflation, the overall economic downturn, as well as a plunge of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices. Tesla executives reveal that 75 percent of their Bitcoin holdings have been sold, which has added $936 million to the company’s balance sheet.
Tesla announced last year that it would accept Bitcoin payments and made a $1.5billion investment in Bitcoin. Tesla began accepting Bitcoin in March and then reversed its decision in May, 49 days later.
Tesla’s latest report states that the remaining value of its “digital assets” has reached $218 million. This is a significant increase from the $1.2 billion it reported in the previous quarters. Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated last July that he might “pump”, but he doesn’t want to dump. I don’t believe in selling, getting the price up, or any other such thing. I want to see Bitcoin succeed.”
Musk spoke out about the cryptocurrency selloff during an investor call. He said that the sale was not to be taken as a verdict on Bitcoin. Instead, Tesla sold its Bitcoin “because it was concerned about the overall liquidity of the company given COVID shutdowns in China.” Musk stated that “we have not sold any Dogecoin.” He later called cryptocurrency “a sideshow”.
The company reported that it earned $2.26 billion this quarter in profit from its business of making electric vehicles. This is a 31% decrease on the quarter last year when it earned profits of $3.3 million. The company also reported $16.9billion in revenue in Q1. This is a decrease from Q1.
The company’s profitability is still higher than in Q2 2021 when it earned $1.1 billion from $11.9 billion of revenue. This is due to a number of factors including a lower stock-based compensation expense, more vehicle deliveries than last year, and a higher average selling price. This is the first quarter in which Tesla has raised prices by more than 10 percent on all its vehicles. It also raised prices for a few models in June. The company broke with its tradition of making more per car every quarter, despite the price hikes. Its gross automotive margin was 32.9 % in Q1. It was 27.9 % in the quarter.
Tesla earlier this month announced that deliveries had slowed down by 18 percent in Q1. This quarter, it also produced 15% fewer cars than last. Tesla stated in its earnings report that while it experienced “limited production and shutdowns in Shanghai for most of the quarter”, it maintained its production at its new facilities, Berlin and Austin, Texas.
The automaker also reports increased costs in all areas, including logistics and raw materials, as well as higher fixed costs per vehicle due to closures in Shanghai.
Comparatively to the previous quarter, the company’s revenues from selling regulatory credit to other automakers fell by nearly 50 percent. It made $344 million in Q2 from the credits. In Q1, it earned $679 million. Credits are available to other companies that don’t produce enough clean vehicles to comply with regulatory standards in the US or EU.
It’s been a difficult quarter for Tesla culturally. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla sold billions of shares to pay for Twitter in April. This deal was a disaster and now it is headed to Delaware’s Court of Chancery. Elon tried to cancel it. Musk also said that he had a “super bad feeling about the economy” when he announced the layoffs and hiring freezes. These layoffs have had an impact on the autopilot team. Tesla is also accused of violating labor laws after allegedly letting go over 500 Gigafactory workers. This month, the company lost its head for AI.
However, it hasn’t been all bad news. According to an Uber report in June, Tesla’s partnership is going well with Uber and Hertz. Qualified rideshare drivers can rent EVs to transport passengers. According to a White House fact sheet, it appears that 2022 will see non-Tesla electric vehicles gain access to the Supercharger network.
