Tesla’s Musk Is Betting That Future Profits Will Come From Self-Driving. What Wall Street Thinks.

Electric-vehicle leader


Tesla


reported disappointing first-quarter gross profit margins on Wednesday and the stock was falling Thursday. Elon Musk doesn’t seem all that worried. The CEO is betting on future profits coming from self-driving


Tesla


vehicles. Wall Street’s views are mixed on that idea.

The quarter overall looked OK. Tesla reported first-quarter earnings per share of 85 cents, which roughly matched Wall Street estimates. But automotive gross profit margins including leases, but excluding regulatory credits came in around 19%, below the 21% analysts projected.