Tesla is turning away from cars to concentrate its autonomous Cybercab and robotics business.
It has confirmed no current plans to expand its vehicle range, other than build a niche roadster, reports Fleet News.
The financial results for Q4 saw a 3% drop in revenues to $24.9 billion (£18.2bn), while the business also saw a 61% year-over-year decline in net profit to $840 million (£613m) driven by increased competition and lower vehicle deliveries.
The indication from this latest earnings call from Tesla shows that it is moving away from expanding its retail model line-up to compete with competition from Chinese manufacturers directly and betting on market leadership with robotaxis instead.
The only exception to this will be the Tesla Roadster, which is due to be revealed in the spring but will not be a volume challenger.
Elon Musk, Tesla chief executive, spoke about how the business is continuing to focus on its autonomous vehicle technology and robotics plans, with production capacity for the Model S and X, which have not been sold in the UK for some time anyway, making way for the capacity to build millions of the company’s Optimus robots instead.
The brand’s move away from retail sales will slowly erode Tesla’s position as a direct competitor to franchised dealerships and the decision must impact their used cars’ residual values.
