Tesla Q2 earnings: downturn continues after Musk White House exit

Tesla’s financial position is getting worse as the fallout continues from CEO Elon Musk’s politics

Tesla’s financial position is getting worse as the fallout continues from CEO Elon Musk’s politics.

The electric automaker reported Wednesday that both revenue and profits fell in the second quarter of the year compared with a year ago. It’s the second straight negative earnings report from the company, which has suffered damage to its brand and become a lightning rod for street demonstrations.

While Tesla is still the No. 1 seller of electric vehicles in the United States by a wide margin, the earnings report shows a deteriorating situation with no obvious quick fix for Musk, the world’s wealthiest person.

On a conference call with analysts, Musk laid out aggressive plans to try to expand Tesla’s nascent robotaxi service beyond its limited service area in Austin, Texas. He said he wants to make self-driving Tesla taxis available to half the U.S. population by the end of the year — an extremely ambitious goal that he acknowledged depends on both regulatory approvals and the service’s safety record.

Tesla’s Austin robotaxi service is small and still uses human safety observers in the vehicles, putting Tesla far behind Google spinoff Waymo, the market leader in robotaxis.