Why it's a "Stretch" for Tesla to Turn a Profit This Year
Tesla shares rose more than two percent Friday after [CEO Elon Musk tweeted](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/984705630106673152) that the electric carmaker does not need more capital because it will turn a profit by the end of the year.
Not all investors bought Musk’s ambitious projections. “I think that’s a stretch,” said Gene Munster, the managing partner of Loup Ventures. He said in an interview with Cheddar that it would take Tesla “11 quarters” to reach profitability.
Munster compared Musk’s optimism with Apple’s Steve Jobs. “Jobs had this reality distortion field where he truly believed that things that were not happening could happen, and I think Elon Musk, for better or worse, has some of those same symptoms,” Munster said.
Tesla’s profitability likely depends on sales of the mass-market Model 3 sedan, but production of the car has been slower than expected.
Musk projected last December that the company could produce 20,000 Model 3 vehicles a month. But the company only managed to make 1,000 cars a week that month.
Supply bottlenecks for some parts has limited production, which barely reached 2,000 vehicles a week last quarter. Musk took charge of production management himself last week in an effort to ramp up production.
Munster said Tesla will eventually get to the 20,000 mark. “That’s not in the reality distortion field conversation,” he said. But Model 3 production delays are already a drag on the company’s stock.
Goldman Sachs this week lowered Tesla’s share price target from $205 to $195, citing difficulties with the Model 3.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/markets-recover-at-weeks-end).
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
