Companies usually set the date for earnings announcements weeks in advance. Tesla Inc. prides itself on being unusual. On Monday evening, Elon Musk’s electric car company popped a surprise: It said it will release third-quarter results and hold a conference call Wednesday afternoon, with less than 48 hours’ notice. The Oct. 24 date is also more than a week earlier than usual. With few exceptions, Tesla has scheduled its third-quarter earnings releases for the first week of November. Why it’s doing this, Tesla hasn’t said. The company did not respond to a request for comment. Speculation on social media ran wild, from bulls saying Tesla doesn’t want stellar results to be drowned out by the midterm election, to bears saying the company has bad news and wants the earnings call over and done. Advertisement Alma Angotti, managing director at the Navigant consulting firm and a former senior counsel at the Securities & Exchange Commission’s enforcement division, said the Palo Alto automaker is “probably trying to get public information out there as quickly as possible” to address stock-market uncertainty in the aftermath of Chief Executive Musk’s recent settlement with the SEC on fraud charges. Musk has promised to show profits and positive cash flow starting in the third quarter and into the future. He did build in some wiggle room, though, saying that force majeure events — that is, situations outside the company’s control — could crimp those forecasts. Stock analysts generally expect the positive cash flow part to come true, what with Tesla’s report that it delivered 55,840 of its Model 3 sedans during the quarter, three times as many as the quarter before. Analysts differ widely on profit forecasts. The earnings estimates of 18 analysts listed on FactSet range from a loss of $1.75 a share to a gain of 88 cents a share. Los Angeles investment manager Andrew Left of Citron Research, a fierce Tesla critic who last month sued the company and Musk, alleging stock manipulation, issued a report early Tuesday saying he changed his mind about Tesla’s prospects. The Model 3’s sales performance, he said, has proved that “Tesla is destroying the competition.” Tesla shares surged $33.19, or 12.7%, to $294.14 on Tuesday, even as the overall stock market finished down slightly. Short sellers and other Tesla skeptics say the company has yet to prove Model 3 sales are sustainable or profitable enough to justify the company’s relatively high stock price. Those issues are unlikely to be resolved in Wednesday’s earnings report and conference call. Tesla stock is especially volatile and prone to large movements based on good and bad news, providing opportunities for day traders to make money on the roller coaster ride. Advertisement Recent turmoil in Tesla’s share price began Aug. 7, when Musk tweeted that he had secured funding to take the automaker private at $420 a share. In the weeks that followed, it became clear no investor had formalized a deal to bankroll the plan, and the SEC accused Musk of fraud. In their lawsuit, the regulators sought to have him banned from leading any publicly traded company. The suit was quickly settled, with Musk and Tesla agreeing last month to pay $40 million — $20 million each. Musk agreed to relinquish his role as chairman of the automaker for three years, and the company is required to install an independent chairman and two new board members. Musk will remain on the board and keep his CEO role. He and Tesla did not admit wrongdoing. Separately Tuesday, Musk said on Twitter that Tesla would reduce “many” interior configurations on the Model S and Model X to simplify manufacturing. “Order now to be sure of the one you want,” he tweeted. Earlier this year, Musk tweeted that Tesla had trimmed its exterior color offerings from seven to five, also to simplify manufacturing. Advertisement russ.mitchell@latimes.com Twitter: @russ1mitchell UPDATES: 3:05 p.m.: This article was updated with closing stock market data and Tesla’s decision to eliminate some auto interior options. Advertisement 11:10 a.m.: This article was updated with comment from Navigant’s Alma Angotti and with background information about Tesla’s recent stock-price fluctuations. This article was originally published at 10 a.m.<doc-sep>Tesla’s next set of quarterly earnings is this Wednesday, with big questions around upcoming vehicles, production plans, and the status of ongoing projects. These calls are an ideal way for investors to grill CEO Elon Musk about the state of the business, understand the future of the company and dig into how the electric car maker’s plans are panning out. It’s been a big quarter for Tesla. Musk claimed in last quarter’s earnings call that the company has now reached profitability and the company aims to be cash flow positive from each quarter going forward. The company reached record high production rates for its entry-level Model 3 vehicle, despite questions around a “delivery logistics hell.” At the same time, plans to take the company private led to a costly settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Here’s what to expect: Tesla Q3 2018 Earnings Call: When is it? Tesla confirmed on Monday that its third-quarter earnings call will take place at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time on Wednesday, October 24. The call was moved by an hour on the request of a number of investors. The company will make a recording of the call available on the website around two hours later. The call will be broadcast for others to listen in, taking place at these times around the world: 6:30 p.m. Eastern time 11:30 p.m. British Summertime 12:30 a.m. Central European time (Thursday) 6:30 a.m. China Standard time (Thursday) 9:30 a.m. Australian Eastern Daylight time (Thursday) Tesla Q3 2018 Earnings Call: The Big Questions Investors are going to want to know more about the settlement, which sees Musk and Tesla handing over $20 million each and Musk stepping down as chairman. The company now needs to find someone new to serve as head of the board, a move the company resisted when shareholder Jing Zhao suggested something similar back in April. Questions may also circle around future production plans. Tesla produced a staggering 80,142 vehicles in the quarter, 53,239 of which were Model 3s, but the company isn’t stopping there. It’s building a Gigafactory in Shanghai, planning further expansion into Europe with further Model 3 production, introducing the Model Y sports utility vehicle sometime next year, and also releasing its Semi electric truck to the markets. Investors may also ask about the solar roof, as CNBC report last month claimed the Buffalo factory producing tiles is still not at full capacity. Musk also unexpectedly announced a new A.I. chip to power full autonomous driving during the last earnings call. He could take the opportunity to provide more details about this project, which he claims will be shipping in all production cars within the next six months. Tesla Q3 2018 Earnings Call: How to Listen Listening along is easy, thanks to Tesla’s straightforward investors page. Here’s how to get connected and listen: Go to the Tesla investor relations event page, linked here. You should see a listing for the second quarter 2018 results, followed by a link to the webcast. Follow the webcast link. At this point, you will see the option at the bottom of your window to test your setup. The site will display a checklist for compatible browsers, screen size, relevant plugins and connection speed. It’s best to complete this test with no other applications using the internet connection. When you’re done testing, return to the first screen. Enter your first name, last name, and e-mail address. The company field is optional. Click submit, and you’ll be taken to the conference call. And that’s it! The call normally lasts for just over an hour, with the first 15 minutes or so covering the questions followed by a lengthy question and answer session.<doc-sep>
By Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has announced the date for the release of its third-quarter 2018 financial results report; as well as its following earnings call. In a recent announcement on its Investor Relations page, Tesla stated that it would be posting its financial results for Q3 2018 after the market closes on Wednesday, October 24, 2018. The company would also be issuing a brief advisory with a link to its Q3 2018 Update Letter, which would be accessible from Tesla’s Investor Relations website. A live Q&A session is set for 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (6:30 p.m. Eastern Time), an hour later than the company’s recent earnings calls, which were usually held at 2:30 p.m. PST. An update on Tesla’s announcement states that the earnings call’s time had been moved due to requests from a number of analysts. Tesla’s Q3 earnings call comes at a time after the company completed yet another record quarter in terms of Model 3 production and deliveries, manufacturing a total of 80,142 electric cars including 53,239 Model 3, as well as delivering a total of 83,500 vehicles, comprised of 55,840 Model 3, 14,470 Model S, and 13,190 Model X. By the time the third quarter ended, 8,048 Model 3 and 3,776 Model S and X were also in transit to customers. Since ending the third quarter on a strong note, Tesla has been showing signs that its production ramp for the Model 3 continues to be consistent. In the first two weeks of October alone, Tesla registered more than 30,000 new Model 3 VINs. Leaked emails from Elon Musk during the final days of Q3, such as those teasing that Gigafactory 1 has hit a production pace of 10,000 drive units per week, as well as a message stating that the company is “very close to profitability,” also invoke an optimistic outlook for the electric car maker. Tesla’s earlier-than-expected Q3 2018 earnings call seems to bode well for the company. Tesla’s Q3 2018 earnings calls are usually conducted on the first days of November, such as in 2015 and 2017. Tesla held an earlier-than-expected third-quarter earnings call back in October 2016, and it proved to be the one quarter where the company actually posted a profit. During Q3 2016, Tesla posted a $21.9 million profit (GAAP) or 14 cents per share, while non-GAAP EPS was at 71 cents per share. “We set new records for vehicle production, deliveries and revenue, which led to GAAP profitability and positive free cash flow (cash flows from operations less capital expenditures). At the same time, GAAP total automotive gross margin and gross profit per car increased substantially,” Tesla noted then. It remains to be seen if Tesla is conducting its third-quarter earnings call due to positive news on profitability, especially considering that the company revealed the date of the Q3 2018 earnings call less than 48 hours before it is scheduled to be held. That said, all eyes will be on Tesla as it is expected to release some notable updates on the company’s ongoing initiatives, from the quick progress of Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, the introduction of the new 260-mile Mid-Range Model 3 RWD, as well as updates on future products like the Model Y and the Tesla Semi. Tesla’s announcement for its Q3 2018 earnings call can be accessed here. Tesla to hold Q3 2018 financial results and earnings call on Oct 24