Here’s how much you’d have if you invested $1,000 in Tesla stock just ahead of earnings

Despite expert forecasts being mixed and investors showing a lack of confidence in the wake of the ‘We, Robot’ event, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) provided a pleasant surprise with its earnings report published after the closing bell on October 23.

The report drastically changed the situation for TSLA stock and sent it rocketing in the extended session after a slight decline throughout the market day. 

Specifically, after falling 1.98% during the session to the closing price of $213.65, Tesla shares surged 11.16% to their press time price of $237.50.

Such a rise means that any investor who elected to wager the post-Robotaxi downturn is, in fact, a ‘buy the dip’ opportunity and bought $1,000 worth of TSLA shares during the latest session would, at press time, have $1,111.63 – a $111 profit within just a few hours.

Still, the surge has, so far, been contained in the after-hours of October 23, and the upside may be somewhat diminished in the pre-market. 

Additionally, it is worth remembering that the Thursday session movements are not guaranteed to continue overnight trading trends.

Why is Tesla stock up?

The October 24 Tesla direction could ultimately reflect investor trust in Elon Musk. Indeed, the third-quarter (Q3) earnings report proved somewhat mixed, if overall positive.

The electric vehicle (EV) maker beat earnings per share (EPS) expectations by a relatively large margin, reporting an EPS of $0.72 instead of the predicted $0.58.

Profit margins were also bolstered by $739 million due to automotive regulatory credit revenue, and there was an across-the-board improvement compared to the same quarter in 2023.

The biggest of these numbers is energy generation and storage revenue, which rocketed 52% to $2.38 billion from Q3 to Q3.

Simultaneously, Tesla’s overall revenue failed to impress, coming in at $25.18 billion – below the forecasted $25.37 billion.

Elon Musk expects a strong 2025

Musk’s comments about 2025, however, offered much to look forward to – provided the billionaire with a history of overpromising is to be believed – as he predicted ‘vehicle growth’ would rise between 20% and 30% during the year.

Tesla’s CEO cited factors like car autonomy and lower production costs as some of the main reasons behind the optimistic prediction. Simultaneously, Musk explained that he expected the EV maker to start offering autonomous ride-hailing sometime in 2025.

Such a prediction indicates that tech enthusiasts can cautiously look forward to ‘Optimus’ robots in their homes and ‘Robotaxis’ in the streets next year – again, provided Musk has set realistic expectations and there are no roadblocks due to a full self-driving (FSD)-related death currently under investigation.