The effects of Elon Musk's political activism, which began a year ago, are still being felt at Tesla, with sales and profits down significantly again in the latest quarter.
The automaker, which has been the target of months of boycotts, said on Wednesday that its revenue fell 12 percent and profit 16 percent in the three months to June as shoppers continued to hold off on purchases.
“The perception of CEO Elon Musk has completely taken the shine off a once beloved and successful car brand,” Forrester analyst Deepanjan Chatterjee wrote in a letter.
Tesla is a “toxic brand that is inextricably linked to its leader.”
The electric vehicle, battery and robotics company's quarterly profit fell to $1.17 billion (£865.8 million), or 33 cents per share, from $1.4 billion (£1.03 billion), or 40 cents per share.
It was the third straight quarter of declining profits. The company's adjusted earnings were 40 cents per share, in line with Wall Street expectations.
Revenue fell from $25.5bn (£18.8bn) to $22.5bn (£16.6bn) in the April-June period, slightly above Wall Street forecasts.
Tesla shares fell 3% in after-hours trading.
On the company’s earnings call, Musk focused less on car sales and more on robotaxis, autonomous driving software, and robotics, which he said would be the company’s future. But those areas have yet to take off, and the gap between promises and results became apparent in the second quarter.
“It looks like management's focus will now be on robotaxis rather than increasing deliveries,” Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein said of auto sales.
The main problem is that potential buyers, both in the US and Europe, are still hesitant about purchasing Tesla cars.
Mr Musk has alienated many in the car market in Britain, France, Germany and elsewhere by backing far-right candidates for European presidency. Rival electric car makers such as China’s BYD and Germany’s Volkswagen have taken advantage of the weakness to carve out share.
Tesla has launched its paid robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, and hopes to roll out autonomous taxis in several other cities soon. Mr. Musk has said he expects hundreds of thousands of the vehicles to be on American roads by the end of next year.
In a conference call after the company's results were announced, Mr Musk said the service would likely be available to “half the population of the United States by the end of the year — at least that's our goal, subject to regulatory approval.”
He added: “We are very careful. We don't want to take any risks.”
The Austin tests went largely without major incidents, though there were a few alarming instances, such as when a robotaxi drove into oncoming traffic.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
