• Tesla is set to report earnings, with Wall Street focusing on its core auto business performance.
• Analysts will be watching its profit margins amid fading hype around Tesla’s robotaxi.
• Tesla stock is down more than 12% this year, contrasting with the S&P 500’s 22% gain.

Tesla is set to report earnings on Wednesday after the closing bell.

Analysts will be watching profit margins closely. After recent hype surrounding Tesla’s robotaxi, investors will be looking closely at Tesla’s core auto business.

Earlier this month, Elon Musk revealed Tesla’s long-awaited driverless Cybercab at its “We, Robot” event. While the event generated considerable hype for Tesla, the driverless taxi plan has been met with skepticism over its feasibility and competition with rivals.

In the wake of the event, Wall Street has been shifting its focus to the company’s core auto business, as the company still gets the bulk of its revenue and profits from selling cars.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a recent note that margins will be a key focus on the conference call.

“While autonomous, FSD, and robotics is the future for Tesla, deliveries in the near-term will drive the stock and the Street will be laser focused on 3Q showing a margin/demand inflection point in the Tesla story heading into 2025,” he said.

Tesla is on track to match the deliveries it made in 2023, but profit margins have steadily deteriorated due to aggressive price cuts earlier this year. The EV-maker’s stock is also down about 12% this year compared to the S&P 500’s 22% gain.

The earnings call starts at 5:30 p.m. ET.