• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Tech

3 key takeaways from Tesla’s blockbuster fourth-quarter earnings

By
David Z. Morris
David Z. Morris
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Z. Morris
David Z. Morris
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 29, 2020, 9:25 PM ET

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and CFO Zachary Kirkhorn sounded plenty optimistic on a conference call with investors Wednesday night. But not all of the insights they provided were upbeat.

The call came after Tesla released financial results for the fourth quarter. For the second time in a row, the electric vehicle maker blew away Wall Street projections, and the stock jumped more than 11% in after-hour trading.

But the investor call focused less on the past than on what to expect in 2020 and after, including some clear headwinds, as Tesla continues to pursue growth. Here are the most important things Musk and Kirkhorn revealed.

Full self driving is months away, and may not work well

Easily the most surprising part of Tesla’s conference call with investors on Wednesday was a significant shift in the expected release schedule – and even capabilities – of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving features. Thousands of Tesla customers have already paid substantial deposits for the technology, which Musk said as recently as October he hoped could be released in 2019.

That goal wasn’t met, and Musk’s statements about a new date of availability were somewhat vague.

“We got pretty close,” said Musk. “It’s looking like we might be feature complete in a few months,” suggesting that Tesla drivers shouldn’t expect the feature during the current quarter, and that investors shouldn’t expect its associated revenue.

Musk also downplayed the near-term functionality of FSD, which despite its name, is not synonymous with fully autonomous driving. “Feature complete just means [the car] has some chance of going from your home to work without intervention. That doesn’t mean the features are working well.” Musk further specified that the FSD software will provide an “above zero” chance that your car can successfully guide itself from one place to another.

The New Year could be rocky

Kirkhorn was surprisingly direct in warning that Tesla’s results for the first quarter of 2020 could be underwhelming compared to the second half of 2019. “For Q1, keep in mind that the industry is always impacted by seasonality,” the CFO said.

This could be read, at least partly, as confirmation of analyst warnings that the expiration of tax incentives in key markets helped boost fourth-quarter results, at some cost to the current quarter.

Profits will also be impacted by continued spending. Kirkhorn highlighted continuing heavy investment in increasing production capacity, such as a new factory in Germany. Musk and Kirkhorn also emphasized Tesla’s efforts to increase its battery production capacity, which they framed as a limiting factor for overall vehicle production.

“We’re spending money as fast as we can spend money in sensible ways,” said Musk.

A challenging first quarter in 2020 would continue something of a trend for Tesla, which also posted disappointing results in the first half of 2019 – and despite its two banner quarters, finished $775 million dollars in the red last year.

China may not save the day

Finally, Kirkhorn revealed that Model 3s being produced in a new Shanghai factory may not have a huge impact on Tesla’s profitability overall. There has been some expectation that lower costs in China would translate to the bottom line, but Kirkhorn reminded investors that the sales price of Chinese Model 3s will also be lower. That, Kirkhorn said, means the profitability of Chinese-made Teslas will be about the same as those produced in the U.S.

Finally, the call revealed that the coronavirus outbreak in China will likely have a material impact on Tesla. Kirkhorn said there will be at least a one-week or one-and-a-half-week delay in the ramp-up of Model 3 production in Shanghai because of a government-mandated factory shutdown. That, of course, could become more serious depending on conditions on the ground. And with growth in the U.S. slowing, China is increasingly vital to Tesla’s overall growth trajectory.

About the Author
By David Z. Morris
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Big TechSpaceX
Elon Musk’s proposed pay package in SpaceX’s IPO filing reveals what the company actually is: a $1 trillion monster built to colonize Mars
By Eva RoytburgMay 20, 2026
4 hours ago
elon
SuccessIPOs
SpaceX IPO targets $28.5 trillion total addressable market, mission to ‘make life multiplanetary’ and understand ‘true nature of the universe’
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
6 hours ago
Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia
AINvidia
Nvidia tells skeptical investors that AI is ready to go mainstream
By Ian King and BloombergMay 20, 2026
6 hours ago
SpaceX finally files IPO prospectus, reveals revenue is up–but losses are too
Big TechSpaceX
SpaceX finally files IPO prospectus, reveals revenue is up–but losses are too
By Allie Garfinkle and Alexei OreskovicMay 20, 2026
6 hours ago
Elon Musk sits with his fists together, looking up.
Commentaryspace
SpaceX will be worth trillions, but the space station that made it possible is worth even more — if we don’t squander it
By Tejpaul BhatiaMay 20, 2026
7 hours ago
Antler CEO Magnus Grimeland says Silicon Valley doesn’t have a monopoly on tech: ‘People can innovate from almost anywhere’
AsiaAsia Agenda
Antler CEO Magnus Grimeland says Silicon Valley doesn’t have a monopoly on tech: ‘People can innovate from almost anywhere’
By Angelica AngMay 20, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
4 days ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
13 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
Workplace Culture
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
Travel & Leisure
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
By Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 18, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.