Elon Musk defiantly defends himself in Tesla tweet trial insisting he could have pulled the deal off
Elon Musk has concluded his testimony in a federal trial over a class-action lawsuit that alleges he misled Tesla shareholders with a tweet about an aborted buyout. (Jan. 24) (AP video: Terry Chea/Production: Chris Havlik)
AP
Tesla on Wednesday posted record net income in the fourth quarter of last year, and the company predicted that additional software-related profits will keep its margins higher than any other automaker.
Elon Musk’s American electric car maker, on track for its worst year, was facing doubts about its business after discouraging sales and a series of price cuts for Tesla vehicles across the globe.
- At the end of 2021, Tesla was a $1.1 trillion company.
- But as of Dec. 28, it was worth $353 billion, a 68% decline.
- At that same time, the stock was down over 70% year-to-date and it’s on track for its worst month, quarter and year ever.
- Shares of the same company skyrocketed by more than 1,100% from the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2021.
Tesla shares on Wednesday closed at $144.43 up more than 30% from the start of the year .
Financial results posted this afternoon
The Austin, Texas, maker of electric vehicles and solar panels said it made $3.69 billion from October through December, or an adjusted $1.19 per share. That beat estimates of $1.13 that had been reduced by analysts, according to FactSet. The company’s profit was 59% more than the same period a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter was $24.32 billion, which fell short of the $24.67 billion that analysts expected.
But the company’s automotive gross profit margin, which is revenue minus cost of goods sold, fell from 30.6% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 25.9% in the same period in 2022.
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Earlier this month, Musk broke the world record for the largest loss of personal fortune in history.
Guinness World Records reported the record after Forbes assessed the Tesla CEO lost $182 billion, although other sources suggest that it could actually be closer to $200 billion.
The drop followed a trend as, at that time, Tesla stock had plummeted 58% since the beginning of the year
In August, Musk sold nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares to get his finances in order ahead of his acquisition of Twitter, a move that frustrated investors.
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Includes information from the Associated Press. Contributing: Elisabeth Buchwald
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.