Intense competition has raised concerns, and analysts have lowered their expectations for Tesla's (TSLA.US) Q3 deliveries and profits

Analysts are adjusting their delivery expectations for Tesla (TSLA.US) as the company's third-quarter delivery report date of October 2 approaches. Canaccord analyst downgraded its previous expectation of 480,000 vehicles to 469,200 vehicles, while Guggenheim expects 456,000 deliveries in the third quarter. The consensus expectation for the third quarter is 459,000 deliveries, compared with 443,956 deliveries in the second quarter and 435,059 deliveries in the year-ago quarter.

Some Wall Street banks also lowered their expectations for Tesla's third-quarter earnings per share to accommodate more aggressive pricing in some markets.

In China, Tesla's sales momentum has picked up, though the company is taking a zero-interest loan policy. The consensus expectation for earnings per share in the third quarter has been lowered to US$0.61. Notably, Tesla's earnings per share has not met market expectations in five of the past six quarters and in all four quarters in the past year.

Overall, Tesla's automotive gross margin has been on a downward trend over the past twelve quarters due to intensified competition in the electric vehicle market, Tesla's price cuts to maintain demand, increased spending on artificial intelligence projects and new technologies, and the overall economic conditions affecting the automotive industry and supply chain.

Still, many analysts remain bullish on Tesla. KM Capital recently gave a "strong buy" rating to Tesla. KM Capital wrote: "Dojo supercomputer and enhanced full self-driving capabilities (FSD) will unlock new revenue streams, reduce reliance on the monetary cycle, and open the Robotaxi market."

Analyst Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley said he was holding his breath for an improvement in global electric vehicle margins, but he believed that Tesla's continued demonstration of its business cost control capabilities would help investors start to appreciate the growing "surface area" between its business model and the AI theme.

Morgan Stanley said it was bullish on the long-term potential for self-driving cars to transform the ground transportation network, but urged clients to maintain good expectations in the short term. For the event disclosure, Morgan Stanley said investors could expect to see demonstrations of the latest generation of FSD on closed/semi-closed roads and fully automated "network taxis."

Regarding the moonshot plan, Jonas joked that Tesla could introduce the concept of electric aircraft, the vision of electric ships, or Optimus robots cooking burgers in the Tesla restaurant.