Tesla (TSLA) shares were down Thursday even as the company's second-quarter deliveries beat Wall Street's expectations, while Truist Securities said the electric vehicle maker didn't provide any updates on key topics.
Tesla delivered 480,126 vehicles in the June quarter, up from 384,122 a year earlier and 358,023 in the prior three-month period. The consensus forecast on FactSet was for 427,000 units.
The company's shares were down 7.8% in afternoon trade, bringing its year-to-date losses to nearly 12%.
"We view (artificial intelligence) developments as far more important than auto deliveries for (Tesla's) long-term cash generation and stock performance," Truist Managing Director William Stein said in a note to clients.
"The most important of these, near-term, is (Full Self-Driving) and related projects (robotaxi and cybercab), which (Tesla) did not update today," Stein wrote. "We continue to view progress in this area as positive, but imperfect."
Full Self-Driving is a driver assistance software offered by Tesla.
The brokerage reiterated its hold rating on the EV maker's stock while raising its price target to $430 from $400.
Tesla produced 451,758 vehicles in the second quarter, compared with 410,244 a year earlier and 408,386 in the March quarter. Truist was looking for 473,000 units in the latest quarter, according to the note.
Separately, Rivian Automotive (RIVN) on Thursday raised its delivery projections for this year after its second-quarter numbers exceeded expectations. Ford Motor (F) reported a 10% annual drop in new US vehicle sales for the three months to June.
Rivian shares were up 8.5% intraday, while Ford saw a 2.7% drop.
On Wednesday, General Motors (GM) said US vehicle sales fell 4.2% year over year in the second quarter due to a smaller EV market, discontinued vehicles and inventory constraints.
Tesla is scheduled to report its second-quarter financial results July 22.
Price: $393.83, Change: $-31.47, Percent Change: -7.40%


