Tesla Inc (TSLA)

Pretax margin

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Earnings before tax but after interest (EBT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	9,996,000	11,783,000	13,360,000	12,798,000	13,688,000	12,338,000	10,582,000	9,375,000	6,218,000	3,958,000	2,634,000	1,502,000	1,013,000	807,000	459,000	-55,000	-752,000	-737,000	-578,000	-893,293
Revenue (ttm)	US$ in thousands	96,773,000	95,924,000	94,028,000	86,035,000	81,462,000	74,863,000	67,166,000	62,190,000	53,823,000	46,848,000	41,862,000	35,940,000	31,536,000	28,176,000	25,708,000	26,022,000	24,578,000	24,420,000	24,941,000	22,593,000
Pretax margin		10.33%	12.28%	14.21%	14.88%	16.80%	16.48%	15.75%	15.07%	11.55%	8.45%	6.29%	4.18%	3.21%	2.86%	1.79%	-0.21%	-3.06%	-3.02%	-2.32%	-3.95%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Pretax margin = EBT (ttm) ÷ Revenue (ttm)
= $9,996,000K ÷ $96,773,000K
= 10.33%

The pretax margin, which measures the percentage of each dollar of revenue that turns into pre-tax profit, has exhibited a declining trend over the last eight quarters. In December 2022, the pretax margin was at 17.22%, and it decreased to 10.50% by December 2023. This signals a potential concern regarding the company's ability to control its operating expenses and generate profit before accounting for taxes. It would be important to further investigate the factors contributing to this decrease and assess the efficiency of Tesla Inc's cost management and revenue generation strategies.