Tesla's Turbulent Start to 2024 Ahead of Q4 Earnings Result

EV manufacturer Tesla will publish its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday 24th January (5:30 p.m. ET), after record-breaking deliveries and an expected revenue of US$25.88bn. However, one month into 2024 and the company has already faced several difficulties, from recalls to supply-chain disruptions.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, recently said that he wants more voting control of the company. He currently owns 13% of Tesla and has voiced his concern over Tesla's investments in AI features.

"I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI and robotics without having 25% voting control. Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla," he posted on X, which Musk also owns. Musk sold a large amount of his Tesla shares to buy the social media platform, then-called Twitter in 2022. 

However, X posts and shares are powerless against supply chain disruptions, which are also hitting the EV manufacturer.

Tesla halts German manufacturing amidst Red Sea conflict

After the past three years, manufacturers have become hardened to supply chain delays. Yet manufacturers, such as Tesla, have been impacted by the conflict in the Red Sea.

Tesla announced that it has paused manufacturing at one of its German factories, due to a delay in the delivery of certain essential car parts.

Although manufacturing has slowed down, that’s not stopping Tesla from taking its products across the world.

EV showdown in China with Tesla’s Cybertruck showcase amid Autopilot recall

Earlier this month, Chinese EV-maker BYD revealed that it sold 526,000 battery-only vehicles in the final quarter of 2023, outrunning Tesla for the first time. One of BYD’s sources of success is that it builds its own batteries, instead of using third-party manufacturers. Batteries are easily the most expensive part of an electric vehicle and it is this flexibility which BYD believes has supported its sales.

Now, Tesla is preparing for a tour across China, where the global EV giant will showcase its Cybertruck pickup against the success of BYD’s own EVs.

This is good timing for Tesla, after the company announced that it needs to recall 1.62m Chinese vehicles, due to an Autopilot safety issue. The vehicles will be fixed for free, using an over-the-air update, to support the features which ensure drivers pay close attention while using Tesla's driver assistance system. This update will also include other controls and alerts, designed for driver safety.

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