Tesla's Earnings Call Was Dire

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Happy Thursday! It's July 24, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking astatine Tesla's ever-worsening net calls, arsenic good arsenic Hyundai's tariff hit. We'll besides look astatine nan caller costs of metals successful nan U.S., and an incoming waste and acquisition woody pinch nan EU.

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Tesla had its large net telephone Wednesday, successful which nan institution admitted its income had fallen disconnected a cliff and it wouldn't make nan money it predicted it would for 2025. All this was expected. What's much concerning, though, is that nan analysts and investors who inquire questions connected these calls are progressively unmoored from reality. From Reuters:

Musk said U.S. authorities cuts successful support for electrical conveyance makers could lead to a "few unsmooth quarters" for nan institution earlier a activity of gross from self-driving package and services originates precocious adjacent year.

Tesla posted nan worst quarterly income diminution successful much than a decade and profit that missed Wall Street targets, but its profit separator connected making cars was amended than galore feared.

...

Most questions were astir Tesla's early and Musk's promises of a large-scale robotaxi work and humanoid robots.

That's been a inclination connected caller Tesla net calls, wherever questions seldom delve into Tesla's basal automotive business, nan company's capacity that 4th aliases consequential existent events involving Musk.

The presumption that net will beryllium shored up by self-driving conveyance profits by adjacent twelvemonth erstwhile nan $3 trillion-endowed HSBC bank predicted it could return up to 8 years for self-driving operators to break moreover should springiness immoderate investor region complete that scheme of attack. Especially aft their fearless leader has promising self-driving cars are coming just adjacent twelvemonth for complete a decade now. How often tin nan marketplace autumn for that? You'd besides expect questions astir Musk's governmental activities, which person intelligibly and straight affected Tesla's income and opinionated arsenic a institution connected a world scale.

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South Korea doesn't yet person a waste and acquisition woody pinch nan United States, meaning nan waste and acquisition warfare is successful afloat plaything against our friends connected nan Korean peninsula. This is simply a bully measurement to do overseas policy. Anyway, our tariffs person deed Hyundai hard, and nan worst is yet to come. From Reuters:

Hyundai Motor posted a diminution successful second-quarter operating profit connected Thursday arsenic U.S. tariffs connected vehicles and parts started to measurement connected its bottommost statement and warned of a bigger effect successful nan existent quarter.

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The South Korean automaker said it was sticking to its yearly profit target for now, but it will update nan scheme aft nan August 1 deadline for reciprocal tariffs to return effect.

It's a spot astonishing to spot that Hyundai is sticking to its 2025 profit targets, since galore different automakers person wholly abandoned their predictions for nan year. Does Hyundai cognize thing nan others don't, aliases is this conscionable earthy optimism?

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When President Donald Trump enacted tariffs connected alloy and aluminum, he did truthful successful hopes that making American materials cheaper than nan title would unit companies to move suppliers. Instead, American alloy suppliers person simply raised their prices to lucifer nan tariffs. From Automotive News:

Domestic producers of alloy and aluminum person raised their prices since President Donald Trump's metallic tariffs went into effect earlier this year, starring to higher costs for automakers and suppliers besides grappling pinch tariffs connected vehicles and parts.

Steel Dynamics connected July 21 said it sold alloy successful nan 2nd 4th for an mean value of $1,134 per ton, 14 percent higher than successful nan first quarter. That aforesaid day, Cleveland-Cliffs said nan mean value of its alloy stood astatine $1,015 per ton, up 3.4 percent from nan erstwhile quarter.

Those increases way pinch nan remainder of nan alloy market. Generally, prices person risen 10 to 15 percent since nan Trump management announced tariffs this year, said Gerrit Reepmeyer, a partner successful nan automotive and business believe astatine AlixPartners. Even stronger dynamics are astatine play successful nan aluminum market, wherever prices person risen 30 to 40 percent since nan caller tariffs were announced, he said.

Who could person seen this coming? Besides each person, I mean. Now it's conscionable much costly to make cars extracurricular of nan U.S. for our market, much costly to make them here, and each this for a marketplace that progressively cannot spend caller cars. How agelong until OEMs commencement ditching their U.S. operations?

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Europe doesn't yet person a tariff woody pinch nan United States, overmuch for illustration South Korea, because antagonizing your friends and trading partners is simply a bully measurement to do business and support nan soft powerfulness connected which your world hegemony is built. A woody is successful nan works, wherever European equipment would costs 15% more, but nary one's inked a signature yet. From Automotive News:

The European Union and nan U.S. are progressing toward an statement that would group a 15 percent tariff for astir imports, according to diplomats briefed connected nan negotiations.

Member states could beryllium fresh to judge duties astatine that level and EU officials are pushing to person them screen sectors including cars, nan diplomats said.

Steel and aluminum imports supra a definite quota would look a higher tariff of 50 percent, 1 of nan diplomats added.

It sounds for illustration cars are still very overmuch up successful nan air, if they're not definitively included successful nan 15% rate. It whitethorn beryllium immoderate clip yet earlier a afloat woody is reached, which is vulnerable for nan EU arsenic nan August 1 deadline looms. 

This screen of The Clash comes from nan documentary "I'm Leaving Now," about a Mexican migrant successful Brooklyn. I should springiness it a watch.