Tesla shares fall 6% as Musk warns of "rough quarters" ahead

Investing.com - Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares slumped by more than 5.5% in premarket U.S. trading on Thursday after CEO Elon Musk warned of a potentially "rough" period ahead for the electric vehicle titan as it grapples with soft demand and fading government support.

The company has been facing a sizable decline in automotive deliveries, while headwinds from the impending expiration of a federal tax credit designed to incentivize EV sales are also looming.

Musk, whose recent -- and now seemingly ruptured -- political connections with Trump have been a fresh source of controversy for Tesla, told analysts that the firm could see "a few rough quarters."

"I’m not saying we will, but we could -- you know, Q4, Q1, maybe Q2, but once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I think I’d be surprised if Tesla’s economics are not very compelling," Musk said.

He added in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Tesla remains in the "early stages" of its autonomous driving ambitions, which the firm is hoping will help fuel new revenue sources that can offset waning car demand.

Group-wide revenue dropped by 12% to $22.5 billion. Net income slid to $1.17 billion, compared with $1.4 billion a year earlier, while earnings per share came in at $0.40. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $0.40 cents on revenue of $22.4 billion.

Writing in a note, analysts at Canaccord Genuity said Tesla’s revenue figures may prove to be the bottom of a wider growth trend, but added that the numbers were still "ugly."

"Look, we love robotaxis. And robots. Over time, Tesla is well positioned to benefit from these future-forward opportunities. But we love growth too, in the here and now," the analysts said.

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