美国国家公共电台 NPR--Tesla investors have much to mull as the automaker prepares to reveal earnings

Tesla investors¹ have much to mull as the automaker prepares to reveal earnings³

Transcript⁴

Elon Musk⁵ and Tesla face multiple lawsuits⁶, and the pioneering company's stock value has cratered⁷ as more EV options come on sale. The company reports earnings on Wednesday.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The world's most valuable carmaker, Tesla, releases its latest earnings report today. And it comes at a turbulent time for the company and its CEO, Elon Musk.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Tesla is likely to show a profit. But that may not be enough to win over disappointed investors. Its stock recently crashed. And Musk is on trial for securities fraud.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Camila Domonoske is here to talk about this. So why might this particular update on profits be a big deal, even to people, maybe, that don't own Tesla stock?

CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE⁸: Well, I mean, this is Tesla that we're talking about. It's an incredibly influential⁹ company. It reshaped the auto² industry in its own image, in many ways. So its relationship with investors has big implications for the fight against climate change, for the vehicles that are available for shoppers in the future. Analyst¹⁰ Dan Ives is calling this one of the most important earnings calls in Tesla history. And that's because it's coming at this really pivotal moment, with the stock price way down and competition way up.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. So how are investors feeling, then, right now?

DOMONOSKE: Yeah, not great. Tesla was a star on Wall Street. The stock seemed almost unreal. I mean, it was like magic how high it was. And, yeah, that's not the case anymore. The question now is, can the company win these investors back over? Tesla did have record sales last year. But those sales were also, actually, a disappointment because they didn't hit targets. So coming into this call, pretty good profits and revenues definitely aren't going to do the trick. Investors have gotten used to seeing super rapid growth from Tesla. And the question now is if the company can keep that up or if it's going to slow down.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. So is that why Tesla's stock has lost value?

DOMONOSKE: You know, it's part of it. But the stock went down 70% last year, even though the company grew, right? The losses were ridiculous. You can argue that's because the price was ridiculously high to start with. But obviously, this is about more than just sales coming in a little under expectations. It also wasn't just the broader stock market decline. Factors included Elon Musk himself, his purchase of Twitter, investors worrying that he was distracted. And a big component¹¹ was growing competition in the electric vehicle space. The entire industry is embracing battery-powered vehicles. You've got things like the Ford¹² Mach-E, the Volkswagen ID.4, Kias, Hyundais, new models from Chevy. Tesla still dominates the space. But there are a lot more options out there now.

MART?NEZ: So how is Tesla responding to this crowded e-room?

DOMONOSKE: Yeah. Well, they're trying to make a lot of vehicles and sell them for less money, basically. Tesla just announced an expansion of its campus in Nevada, including a new truck plant and more battery production. And they've cut prices up to 20% for some models, which is dramatic. That was frustrating¹³ for some people who own Teslas already. But for people who are shopping for cars - Jessica Caldwell is with Edmunds. And she says it caught everyone's attention.

JESSICA CALDWELL: Someone may not want a Tesla product. But all of a sudden, you drop the price on something, people start to forget about all the other things that are going on and just focus on what that price is.

DOMONOSKE: Tesla's popular Model Y SUV is now cheaper than the average new vehicle, at least for buyers who qualify for federal tax credits. Whether Tesla can make money on these prices is going to be a big topic later today.

MART?NEZ: And on top of all this, Musk is being sued. And he's been testifying in court this week. What's the latest there?

DOMONOSKE: Yeah. So we listened to him earlier this week. He tweeted about funding secured to take Tesla private, which was not true, it turned out. He says he didn't intend to deceive anyone and that you can't prove it affected¹⁴ Tesla's stock price.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Camila Domonoske. Thanks a lot.

DOMONOSKE: Thank you.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

5 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

6 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

7 cratered   

adj.有坑洞的，多坑的v.火山口( crater的过去分词 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• The surface cratered with the constant dropping of water. 表面因经常滴水而成坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Artillery cratered the roads. 炮击后大路布满了弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

10 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

11 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

12 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

13 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。