Tesla beats expectations with $3.4B in revenue
Numbers:
- 1Q Adj Loss/Shr $3.35, Est. Loss/Shr $3.41- 1Q Rev. $3.41B, Est. $3.32B- Tesla reported 19.7% gross margins for Q1, beating Wall Street estimates. Model S and Model X are now above 25%,- Cash burn in the quarter looks to be $1.05 billionMisc:- Customer deposits up to $984 million from $854 million- says it will reach full GAAP profitability in Q3 and- company had $3.2 billion in cash on hand.-  says it can get to 5,000 Model 3 units a week in about two months.- Solar City seems done as a consumer product, After installing just 87 megawatts in the fourth quarter, it deployed even less in 1Q -- 76 megawatts.- Tesla's 5.3% bonds are unchanged at 89 cents on the dollar,- Tesla will not offer a leasing option on the Model 3 this year. Translation, Telsa needs cash and needs it right now in a big way.- "Our Model 3 general assembly line consists of fewer than 50 steps, which is about 70% less than conventional assembly lines. All Model 3 vehicles use only one standard body frame, down from more than 80 for Model S, a wiring harness that has 50% less mass than average vehicles, and a fraction of the number of controllers, connectors and CPUs."- "At this stage, we are expecting total 2018 capex to be slightly below $3 billion, which is below the total 2017 level of $3.4 billion."  Open Question... how do you ramp up car manufacturing from 2500 to 5000 to 10,000 per week and reduce CapEx at the same time.  Seems like eithr Capex estimates will blow out or prodcution will but both can't coexists.  Check bond yields....- Tesla spent $146 million on interest payments in 4Q -- roughly the same interest expense as GM, a company with approximately 10 times more revenue. Interest expenses rose to $149.5 million last quarter.