Tesla Phone Conference: Tesla praises "Optimus Prime", "boasts" AI efficiency as the most advanced, expects new vehicle to start production by the end of 2025

Tesla's Q4 2023 Profit Plunges 40%, marking the first annual profit decline since 2017, and warning of a sales decline in 2024, which disappointed the market.

In response to the underwhelming performance, Tesla stated during the earnings conference call:

Tesla is currently in between two major "waves of growth".

The first wave began with Tesla/Y's global expansion, and we believe the next wave will be triggered by the global expansion of the next generation of vehicles.

Despite Tesla's more optimistic tone compared to last quarter, it failed to reverse the market's pessimistic sentiment. Tesla's stock price continued to decline in after-hours trading, falling by more than 6% at one point.

Tesla revealed that production of the next generation of low-cost vehicles is expected to begin by the end of 2025, but cautioned that the specific timing will depend on when the Austin Gigafactory exits new manufacturing technologies. They stated that the next generation models will be produced in Austin first, and then expanded to Mexico and other Gigafactories. There will be "another factory" outside of North America.

They also mentioned that the delivery of their electric pickup truck, Cybertruck, is limited by production capacity rather than demand. Tesla stated that demand has "escaped the constraints," but did not provide any details.

When discussing the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, Tesla claimed to be "far ahead of any other company in terms of artificial intelligence efficiency". Interestingly, they pointed out that they have not seen any interest from other automakers in licensing Tesla's FSD.

It is worth noting that during the conference call, Tesla spent more time talking about their Tesla humanoid robot, Optimus Prime, than their core business of electric vehicles. Tesla emphasized that Optimus Prime is rapidly developing and may eventually become the company's largest business segment.

Finally, Tesla expressed their vision of becoming the most valuable company in the world. As of the time of writing, Tesla's market value is only $651.2 billion, making the dream of rejoining the trillion-dollar market cap club and surpassing Apple and Saudi Aramco seem increasingly distant.

Tesla: Hoping to grow Tesla in Japan, or at least larger than it is now

Tesla expressed dissatisfaction with its low market share in Japan, the world's third-largest automotive market. They had previously predicted that Japan would become Tesla's largest market outside of the United States.

"In some regions, our market share is very low, such as in Japan," they said. "We should at least have a market share comparable to non-Japanese automakers like Mercedes or BMW, but we currently don't have that." Tesla attributes this to a "lack of awareness," which he says he heard from his Japanese friends.

Next-generation vehicles to be launched by the end of 2025

Tesla stated that Tesla's production has experienced "hellish three years," and the situation with the Model Y is relatively easy. Tesla's current goal is to launch the next generation of electric vehicles by the end of 2025, including a lower-priced model.

Regarding this new model, Tesla has revealed the following information:

The price is set at $25,000;

It adopts the "Unboxed Assembly Process," which, according to Tesla, will be faster, more efficient, and lower in cost;

Increasing production may be challenging and will be carried out in the Austin and Mexico factories that have not yet been built, as well as a third factory outside of North America;

This is not a "product announcement," and the timeline for the end of 2025 is still tentative, with plans to start production in mid-2025.

Dojo is a long-term goal

When asked about the progress of the supercomputer Dojo, Tesla stated that Tesla is "seeking a dual path of collaboration with Nvidia and Dojo."

Tesla claims that Dojo is a long-term goal, but not a "definite thing", and Tesla is still training Dojo.

As for whether Tesla has enough GPUs to train Dojo? Tesla finds this question too "profound" and states that Tesla is hedging its bets with AI chip manufacturers.

Tesla praises Chinese automakers but says there are currently no "obvious" collaboration opportunities

An analyst asked if Tesla has the opportunity to collaborate with Chinese automakers.

Tesla first praised Chinese automakers as always, stating that they are the most competitive globally:

Frankly, if there were no trade barriers, Chinese automakers would almost destroy most other car companies in the world. They are very good.

But he also stated:

We have not seen any obvious opportunities to collaborate with Chinese automakers unless they use Tesla's charging network or obtain FSD authorization.

When is the next AI Day?

Tesla did not provide a direct answer to this question.

Tesla stated that competitors often imitate everything Tesla does on AI Day or Battery Day, but he also agrees that "some kind of update would be better."

He said that Tesla's main goal at the moment is to recruit talent and transform Tesla's image from a car company to an AI and robotics company.

Will Optimus Prime start shipping next year?

When it comes to Optimus Prime, Tesla claims that its value could be "far greater" than the sum of all its other products.

Tesla cars are just four-wheeled robots... Optimus Prime is a humanoid robot with arms and legs.

Tesla expects Optimus Prime to start shipping next year.

Megapack Expansion Plan

Regarding the Megapack super energy storage factory, Tesla stated that the Lathrop factory in California is adding a new production line, with production capacity expected to double this year from 20 GWh to 40 GWh.

Cybertruck Overcomes Demand Challenges

As for the highly anticipated Cybertruck, Tesla stated that the sales of this electric pickup truck are limited by production, not demand.

"Demand has overcome challenges," Tesla said, "I think we will deliver about 250,000 Cybertrucks per year in North America," but no specific timeline was given.

Tesla: Seeking More Control over Tesla

Tesla reiterated its desire to gain more control over Tesla and stated that a dual-class stock structure would help increase its stake in the company.

When asked about Tesla's recent AI statements, Tesla expressed concerns about the dangers of artificial intelligence becoming too powerful and the potential for activist investors to improperly influence decisions regarding this potentially dangerous technology.