Tesla shares slide further on CFO departure after mixed Q4 report

Tesla announced on Wednesday its chief financial officer, Deepak Ahuja had retired, causing shares to slide even further after the company posted weaker than expected Q4 results.

Tesla reported a smaller fourth quarter profit, comparing with previous months.The electric carmaker made a net profit of $139.5 million at $1.93 earnings per share in three months ending December 21, comparing with a $311.5 million profit in the third quarter.

Tesla's total revenue rose 5.9% to $7.23 billion, beating estimates of $7.08 billion, while Tesla’s quarterly gaap earnings per share came in at $0.78.

Tesla promises 2019 profits and cheaper cars

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that demand for the Model 3 electric car was not an issue, after the company announced it will need to build cars in China.

It hopes to ramp up production, with 500,000 vehicles a year there by the last quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020.

Tesla also said its Model 3 production volume in California should reach 7,000 units per week by the end of the year.

The company said it would also need to lower the price of its Model 3 Sedan to make money every quarter in 2019, following weaker than expected Q4 earnings.

Musk said that it was paramount to cut costs to lower the price for a wider customer base.

‘We have to be relentless about costs in order to make affordable cars and not go bankrupt, ‘ Musk said on a conference call with analysts.

The cheapest Model 3 today is priced at $44,000 with Tesla hoping to get the cost down to $35,000.

Tesla shares slide

After announcing the departure of its CFO, Tesla shares slid 6% in afterhours trade on Wednesday.
It came not long after the company announced its Q4 results, which also pushed shares down 4.8%.