Tesla shares drop after earnings miss, negative free cash flow
Business
Tesla shares dropped over 14% on Thursday, closing below $320, after the company's latest earnings report missed expectations.
Even though Tesla delivered a record number of cars, profits took a hit from rising costs and lower average selling prices.
Negative free cash flow added to worries about the company's financial outlook.
Elon Musk defends $5.8B capital spending
Elon Musk defended Tesla's huge investments in AI, self-driving tech, and robots, even as these moves pushed capital spending to $5.8 billion last quarter and led to a negative free cash flow of $1.1 billion.
While Musk is confident these bets will pay off long-term, investors are uneasy for now.
The stock slide also shaved nearly $19 billion off his own net worth.