Tesla set to report second-quarter earnings after the bell Tuesday

Tesla is set to report second-quarter earnings after the bell on Tuesday.

Here’s what Wall Street is expecting based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 62 cents expected
• Revenue: $24.77 billion expected

After a rocky first half of the year, in which Tesla cut more than 10% of headcount and saw its first- and second-quarter vehicle deliveries decline, the EV maker will try to refocus investors on what’s working and what lies ahead.

Although Tesla reported vehicle deliveries of 443,956 in the second quarter, a 4.8% decline from the year-earlier period, those numbers were better than analysts had expected.

The company also reported that its energy generation and storage division, which sells and installs backup batteries and solar photovoltaics, had deployed 9.4 GWh of energy products in the period ended June 30. That more than doubled the record it had set in the prior quarter.

Tesla remains the top seller of electric vehicles in the U.S. by far, but is losing market share to a growing number of rivals due in part to its aging lineup of sedans and SUVs and the impact CEO Elon Musk’s incendiary and political commentary is seen to be having on a segment of its left-leaning buyers.

Musk has reportedly said he is planning to pledge about $45 million a month to a newly formed super PAC backing former President Donald Trump, but has yet to donate to that group as of the end of June, according to its latest quarterly financial filing. Musk publicly endorsed Trump after the assassination attempt at a political rally on July 13.

While only 13% of Republican and right-leaning voters are interested in purchasing a fully electric vehicle this year, according to Pew Research, 45% of Democratic and left-leaning voters are very or somewhat interested.

Rival automakers saw a 33% year-over-year jump in fully electric vehicle sales in the U.S. during the first half of 2024, while Tesla sales dropped by 9.6% in that time frame, according to data tracked by Cox Automotive, InsideEVs reported.

But Musk and his stalwart Tesla bulls and broader fan base have ambitions for the EV maker beyond making and selling cars.

The company’s other bets will be in focus, along with its financial health, on the call Tuesday afternoon.

Musk (who also serves as CEO of SpaceX, while running Neuralink, the Boring Company, X Corp. and his latest startup xAI) has been promising since about 2016 that Tesla will turn its existing EVs into self-driving vehicles with software updates. The company is still working on that, and has promised investors to “unveil” a new dedicated robotaxi later this year as well.

In 2021, Musk also began to promise that Tesla would develop and produce humanoid robots capable of factory work, at least. On Monday, Musk said in a tweet he expects Tesla will have some of these robots working in its factories next year with more available for use by other companies in 2026.

More details on the Optimus humanoid robot and forthcoming CyberCab autonomous vehicle are expected on Tuesday’s call.

Shares of Tesla closed around 5% higher on Monday at $251.51 per share in anticipation of Tuesday’s call.

Tesla “deliveries” are not an audited financial metric, but are the closest approximation to sales reported by the company.

Wall Street is largely split on Tesla’s outlook, CNBC Pro reported. Of the 50 analysts who cover the company, just 22 have buy or strong buy ratings, according to LSEG.