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Tesla boss Elon Musk (L) walks with Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong during the ground-breaking ceremony for a Tesla factory in Shanghai on January 7, 2019.
- Tesla is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings after Wednesday's closing bell.
- CEO Elon Musk told investors in February that Tesla was unlikely to turn a profit in the first-quarter, reversing his prior forecast.
- Shares have fallen 21% this year amid concerns around underlying demand for Tesla's vehicles.
- Watch Tesla trade live.
Tesla is set to release its financial results following Wednesday's closing bell for a quarter Morgan Stanley described as one the electric-car maker "may want to forget."
The beginning of 2019 has been dotted with a legal battle between CEO Elon Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission, disappointing first-quarter deliveries, a plunging stock, employee layoffs, and a concern among Wall Street analysts that underlying demand has faltered.
The California automaker also unveiled its long-awaited $35,000 Model 3 in February, its Model Y crossover SUV in March, and plans for its self-driving technology this week.
Musk warned earlier this year that Tesla probably wouldn't turn a profit in the first quarter, reversing his prior forecast. He does expect Tesla to achieve profitability in the second-quarter, however.
Here's what Tesla is expected to report, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg.
- Adjusted loss per share: $1.30
- GAAP loss per share: $2.32
- Revenue: $4.84 billion
- Adjusted net income: -$222.14 million
Ahead of Tesla's results, short-sellers have appeared to ramp up their bets against the company, according to the financial-analytics firm S3 Partners. Short interest in the name now hovers around the highest level of the year, the firm's data showed.
At the same time, Wall Street analysts have become increasingly negative on Tesla, with the number of "sell" ratings on Wall Street topping "buys." According to data compiled by Bloomberg, 15 suggest "sell," 13 say "buy," and eight recommend "hold."
Tesla shares fell by as much as 2% on Wednesday, bringing the stock's 2019 losses to around 21%.
Markets Insider will be covering Tesla earnings live. Check back for updates.
Read more Tesla coverage:
Tesla's 'Autonomy Day' fell flat with analysts - now Wall Street is bracing for its Q1 results
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