TESLA 20 PROFIT FALLS FROM 1Q, BUT IS STRONGER THAN EXPECTED

Tesla's second-quarter profit fell 32% from record levels in the first quarter as supply chain issues and pandemic lockdowns in China slowed production of its electric vehicles.

But the Austin, Texas, company still surprised analysts with a better-than-expected $2.26 billion net profit for the quarter. Tesla stuck with a prediction of 50% annual vehicle sales growth over the next few years, but said that depends on the supply chain, equipment capacity and other issues.

The company made a record $3.32 billion in this year's first quarter.

Tesla’s sales from April through June fell to 254,000 vehicles, their lowest quarterly level since last fall. But the company predicted record-breaking production in the second half and said that in June it had the highest production month in its history.

Industry analysts had been expecting lower earnings after the lower sales figures and tweets by CEO Elon Musk about laying off10% of the company’s work force due to fears of a recession. In an interview, Musk described new factories in Austin and Berlin as “money furnaces” that were losing billions of dollars because supply chain breakdowns were limiting the number of cars they can produce.