Tesla (TSLA) -) shares moved lower Monday, sending the stock to a fresh four-month low, as a Department of Justice probe into the carmaker's claims over driving range, as well as expanded spending plans, added to a growing list of investor concerns.
Tesla said Monday that the DoJ has requested documents related to the group's autopilot system, as well as "certain matters associated with personal benefits, related parties, vehicle range and personnel decisions".
The group also said its 2023 capital spending will likely top its previous estimate of between $7 billion and $9 billion, as it ramps-up production of key models, including the Cybertruck, while expanding its new facilities in Germany and Texas.
"Our capital expenditures are typically difficult to project beyond the short-term given the number and breadth of our core projects at any given time, and may further be impacted by uncertainties in future global market conditions," Tesla said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
"We are simultaneously ramping new products, building or ramping manufacturing facilities on three continents, piloting the development and manufacture of new battery cell technologies, expanding our Supercharger network and investing in autonomy and other artificial intelligence enabled training and product," the filing noted.
Tesla shares were last marked 1.4% lower in early Monday trading to change hands at $209.23 each, after hitting a four-month low of $202.51 earlier in the session.
Last week, CEO Elon Musk cautioned that its Cybertruck will likely weigh on cash flows over the coming year as it accelerates production of the long-awaited flagship in an unusually cautious update that followed disappointing third quarter earnings.
Musk noted that "stormy' economic conditions, rising interest rates and uncertain demand have clouded the group's near-term outlook and appeared to back away from the company's stated goal of growing overall deliveries by 50% each year.
Tesla did, however, reiterate its 2023 delivery target of 1.8 million vehicles – which will require a fourth quarter tally of around 477,000 to achieve – following a muted September quarter.
Tesla's third quarter profits were down 37% from last year to 66 cents per share, even as revenues jumped 9.1% to $23.4 billion, thanks in part to a series of price cuts in key markets aimed at expanding the group's market share.
Adjusted automotive margins were 16.1%, Tesla said, well south of the 18.7% figure recorded over the first quarter and last year's second quarter tally of 23.2% following a series of price cuts in its biggest global markets.
Gross margins were 17.9%, down from 25.1% over the same period last year and the 18.2% figure recorded over the second quarter. Wall Street forecasts hovered between 17.8% and 18.2%.
Musk also suggested the group could delay plans to launch its latest 'gigafactory' in Mexico, citing both the growing global economic uncertainty and the relentless rise in U.S. interest rates.
"I think we want to just get a sense for the global economy is like before we go full tilt on the Mexico factory," Musk told investors last week. "If interest rates remain high or if they go even higher, it's that much harder for people to buy the car. They simply can't afford it."
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