A shopper sits on a mobility scooter outside the Tesla Motors Inc. store at Westfield Stratford City ... [+] retail complex in London, U.K., on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013. Tesla, the electric-car maker led by Musk, had its first quarterly profits this year with a boost from selling California pollution credits. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

[7/23/2020] Soaring Emission Credit Sales Drive Teslas Q2 Beat

Tesla published Q2 2020 results on Wednesday, posting a net income of $104 million - well ahead of consensus estimates that projected a small loss. So how did Tesla manage to beat expectations by such a wide margin? Soaring regulatory credit sales were the primary reason.

The sale of regulatory credits rose to around $428 million in Q2, up from about $354 million in Q1 and just $111 million in Q2 2019. As these credits are almost pure profit (Tesla probably incurs no direct expenses to earn them), the company would very likely have reported a loss on a GAAP basis, if it didnt recognize these revenues. Moreover, we estimate that Teslas Automotive Gross Margins would have been lower by over 600 basis points (6%) in Q2 2020, if not for these sales.

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So why are Teslas emission credits sales soaring, when its automotive deliveries grew by just 3% sequentially and are down by about 5% year-over-year? Firstly, revenue recognition for these credits is quite lumpy and Tesla could sell vehicles in a quarter and recognize revenue from related credits in future quarters. Secondly, stronger demand for credits might also be driving up the price. The European Union introduced more stringent emission norms this year, requiring average Carbon Dioxide emissions per kilometre to drop to 95 grams from an average of over 120 grams in 2018 for passenger cars. Considering this, automakers need to buy credits from clean vehicle manufacturers such as Tesla in order to avoid large fines for breaking these new emissions rules. Fiat Chrysler is a large customer for Teslas credits - agreeing to buy credits worth roughly $2 billion over 2020 and 2021. [1]

To be sure, this cash cow wont last for too long. In the medium- to long-term, mainstream automotive companies will scale up their zero-emission vehicle sales, reducing the need to buy credits from Tesla.

However, Tesla should continue to improve its margins and profits via higher software sales and battery improvements (related: A Detailed Look At How Teslas Battery Costs Impact Its Gross Margins). Teslas self-driving software upgrades, which cost about $8,000 per vehicle currently, are highly lucrative and we estimate that they contributed about 400 basis points (4%) to Teslas Automotive Gross Margins of 21% in 2019. (See our analysis: How Do Teslas Software Upgrades Impact Its Margins?)

[5/1/2020] How Emission Credit Sales Helped Teslas Q1 2020 Results

Tesla posted a stronger than expected set of Q1 2020 results, despite the coronavirus pandemic, with revenues growing by ~32% year-over-year and adjusted profits coming in at $227 million, versus a loss of about $494 million a year ago. While the company benefited from strong deliveries of the Model 3 and a production ramp at its Shanghai factory, much of the improved profitability came from higher sales of emission credits which soared to about $354 million from an average of about $150 million over the last four quarters. If not for the spike in regulatory credit sales, Tesla would likely have barely broken even. Below, we take a look at how sales of regulatory credits have helped Tesla and why we believe the near-term outlook for the company looks quite challenging.

For more details on the outlook for Teslas revenues, view our dashboard analysis Tesla Revenues: How Does TSLA TSLA Make Money?

What Are Regulatory Credits And How Do They Help Tesla?

Several U.S. states and countries have Zero Emissions Vehicle regulations that require that clean vehicles account for a certain mix of auto manufacturers sales each year. If automotive companies, which still largely sell internal combustion engine-based vehicles, dont meet these standards, they can buy credits from the likes of Tesla that earn credits, as they only sell electric vehicles. Although the revenues from these credits are quite volatile they are very lucrative for Tesla, as it likely incurs no direct costs to earn them. The bump in these regulatory credit sales is likely to be partly responsible for the companys automotive gross margins expanding 300 bps sequentially to 25.5%. While its possible that such credits could become more valuable in the medium term, as new emissions regulations come into play in Europe and states in the U.S. look to enforce stricter norms, the current collapse in global auto sales could hurt revenues from ZEV credits in the near-term for Tesla.

Outlook Remains Tough For Tesla In The Near-term

Tesla is likely to face significant near-term revenue pressure and the company has put its 2020 guidance on hold, due to uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and the broader economic recovery. There is little reason for people to buy expensive cars right now and Teslas production at its Fremont facility, which accounts for about three-quarters of its annual capacity, remains suspended and theres no clarity as to when it could resume.

However, despite significant near-term headwinds, the companys stock has continued to rally, almost doubling year-to-date. The company trades at a P/S multiple of about 6x, compared to GM which trades at about 0.3x, based on trailing revenues. This means that the stock has significant valuation risk, making it react more strongly to negative news compared to its peers.

Our theme Autos Fight COVID-19 contrasts the performance of Tesla stock, which is up almost 90% YTD, with mainstream automakers, who have seen their stocks fall by about 40%.

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Behind Teslas Profits - Forbes