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Sunday, July 2, 2023

Tesla Delivers -- 2Q23

Locator: 45876TSLA.  

Comments

Tesla doing Tesla things. 
  • deliveries were up 83% YoY to 466,140. 
  • production increased 85% YoY to 479,400.
  • both records. 

Tracking / Forecasts
Various
(link here)

EVs: in round numbers --

  • 2022:
    • F: sold 61,575 EVs in 2022: became second-largest EV manufacturer in the US, behind Tesla
    • GM:
      • sold fewer than 25,000 EVs in 2022
  • 2023:
    • Tesla: 1.1 million EVs; see below: 1.82 million in 2023.
    • F: 500,000 EVs -- original estimate
      • run rate
        • F-150 Lightning: 150,000 annual run rate
          • on track to triple production y/y
          • sold 3,600 through February, 2023
          • list price: $52K to $97K
      • Mustang Mach-E: 210,000 annual run rate
    • GM:
      • to deliver 400,000 EVs by end of 2023, link here
      • will build a third factory to build thee Silverado EV
      • currently: Factory Zero and the Orion assembly plant

Deliveries

Forecast:

  • IBD: 445,000.
  • CNBC note: 445,924

Actual:

  • CNBC note: 446,140
  • no update on forecast for full year (2023) numbers (last estimate/forecast: 1.1 million vehicles)
Later, from The WSJ:
Sunday’s results mean Tesla’s rate of growth can slow in the second half to 24% compared with the same period a year ago and still meet Wall Street expectations for 1.82 million deliveries this year. Some investors are hopeful that Tesla’s price cuts hit a bottom in the second quarter.

*************************
Actual

Link here.

Total deliveries Q2 2023: 466,140.
Total production Q2 2023: 479,700.
The numbers beat analysts’ expectations and indicate that deliveries rose 83% year-over-year for Tesla after Elon Musk’s auto business added manufacturing capacity, and ramped up production at its vehicle assembly plant in Austin, Texas.
Tesla groups deliveries into two categories but does not report individual model or region-specific numbers.
The second quarter of 2023 marked the fifth period in a row when Tesla reported a higher level of vehicles produced compared to deliveries.
During the second quarter of last year, Tesla reported 254,695 deliveries, and in the first quarter of 2023, Tesla reported 422,875 deliveries.
During the second quarter of 2022, Tesla produced 258,580 vehicles and last quarter it produced 440,808 vehicles.
Deliveries are a carefully watched number by Tesla shareholders and are the closest approximation of sales disclosed by the company.
Wall Street was expecting Tesla to report deliveries of 445,924 for the period ending June 30, 2023.

**************************
Forecast

Locator: 45076TSLA.

Link here.

Tesla is slated to announce record deliveries for the second quarter, probably on Sunday, July 2, 2023.
Wall Street predicts Tesla deliveries growing 74% to 445,000, according to FactSet.
The big year-over-year increase reflects easy comparisons to Q2 2022, when Tesla's Shanghai plant was shut down for Covid lockdowns for several weeks. Also, the Berlin and Austin, Texas, plants were slowly ramping up output.
On Monday, Deutsche Bank raised its TSLA stock price target to 230 from 200, and maintained a buy rating on the shares. The firm revised its estimates for Q2 deliveries to 448,000 units, above analyst consensus. Deutsche Bank predicts about 168,000 vehicles sold in North America, 153,000 in China, 87,000 in Europe and 23,000 in the rest of the world.

Backwardation -- Saudis Could Be In Big Trouble -- July 2, 2023

Locator: 44875WTI.  

Backwardation

See this post, from just this past week, June 27, 2023 the Saudis "cry wolf" too many times.

Now, just a few days later, July 2, 2023, an article in The WSJ corroborates my thinking:

The oil market has sent a warning to Saudi Arabia and everyone else betting that prices are poised for a rebound: Don’t count on it.
The petroleum-rich kingdom throttled back output starting this weekend, part of a high-stakes gamble unveiled last month to crimp supply. Saudi officials think that demand will outstrip production later this year, teeing up a rally that will restore a gusher of profits to oil producers.
Analysts at the International Energy Agency and Wall Street banks agree that demand could return in the second half of 2023.
Trouble is, the oil market appears to be at odds with them. A key market indicator suggests traders believe that supplies won’t shrink for months.

And also:

Happy Fourth Of July -- July 2, 2023

Locator: 44873B.  

 I hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July weekend. Without question, a Tuesday for a holiday like the Fourth of July is the best possible day -- it's a five-day weekend for many / most and in one's mind, I suppose for all.

I will be posting again later tonight but am now gong back into the pool. Whoo-hoo!

I've posted so much and so fast the last 72 hours I've got a lot of typographical errors to fix, some formatting that needs to be done, and some updating of stories to accomplish.

I couldn't possibly be in a better mood.

Saw Wes Anderson's Asteroid City last night for the third time.

Wells Coming Off The Confidential List This Next Week -- July 2, 2023

Locator: 44871B.

Wednesday, July 12, 2023: 62 for the month; 1170 for the quarter, 425 for the year
39395, conf, Crescent Point Energy, CPEUSC Matilda May 2-29-32-158N-100W-MBH-LL,
38683, conf, Hess, GO-Ron Viall-156-98-2513HH-4,

Tuesday, July 11, 2023: 60 for the month; 168 for the quarter, 423 for the year
37404, conf, Liberty Resources, Esther 158-93-28-33-20MBH,
37364, conf, Liberty Resources, Albertson 158-93-27-34-1MBH,

Monday, July 10, 2023: 58 for the month; 166 for the quarter, 421 for the year
39175, conf, CLR, Clyde Hauge 4-13H,
38944, conf, Iron Oil Operating, Antelope 5-32-29H,

Sunday, July 9, 2023: 56 for the month; 164 for the quarter, 419 for the year
39442, conf,  Kraken, Orbit 24-13-12 5H,
39176, conf, CLR, Clyde Hauge 5-13H,

Saturday, July 8, 2023: 54 for the month; 162 for the quarter, 417 for the year
39441, conf, Kraken, Orbit 24-13-12 4H,
39178, conf, CLR, Clyde Hauge 6-13H,

Friday, July 7, 2023: 52 for the month; 160 for the quarter, 415 for the year
39440, conf, Kraken, Orbit 24-13-12 3TFH,

Thursday, July 6, 2023: 51 for the month; 159 for the quarter, 414 for the year
36567, conf, WPX, Skunk Creek 13-18-17-16HU,

Wednesday, July 5, 2023: 50 for the month; 158 for the quarter, 413 for the year
39439, conf, Kraken, Orbit 24-13-12-2H,
36568, conf, WPX, Skunk Creek 13-18-16H3A,

Tuesday, July 4, 2023: 48 for the month; 156 for the quarter, 411 for the year
39438, conf, Kraken, Orbit 24-13-12-1H,
39426, conf, CLR, Bice Federal 9-32H1,

Monday, July 3, 2023: 46 for the month; 154 for the quarter, 409 for the year
35680, conf, Liberty Resources, Albertson E 158-93-27-34-4MBH,

Sunday, July 2, 2023: 45 for the month; 153 for the quarter, 408 for the year
39425, conf, CLR, Bice Federal 8-32H,
37898, conf, BR, Lillibridge 2A MBH,
35679, conf, Liberty Resources, Albertson E 158-93-27-34-3MBH,

Saturday, July 1, 2023: 42 for the month; 150 for the quarter, 405 for the year
39424, conf, CLR, Bice Federal 7-32H1,
35678, conf, Liberty Resources, Albertson E 158-93-227-34-2MBH,

iPhones

Locator: 44870AAPL. 

 To be populated later.

See this post for background.

Apple -- The Scorecard -- The Players

Locator: 44869AAPL. 

Chips, semiconductor: link here.

Apple, a $3-trillion-market cap company. Right, wrong, indifferent, I break it down this way:

  • $1 trillion: hardware with integrated software, e.g., watches, iPhones, laptops, desktops, Vision Pro.
  • $1 trillion: services, e.g., cloud services; TV+; music; Siri; medical (oxygen monitor); apps; browser, maps.
  • $1 trillion: Apple Silicon, the chip division.

See this post for background.

The Blog -- July 2, 2023

Locator: 44868B.

The Bakken: in 2009, with some posts as early as 2007, I started blogging about the Bakken because I was curious about the coming shale revolution. Over time the blog evolved. It was never an investment site. But in the process of blogging about the Bakken I became much more disciplined in my investing. Whether I've done better, from a dollar point of view, had I not blogged, I will never know, but I do feel much more relaxed and much more comfortable about investing since starting to blog. Much more could be said, maybe later.

Apple: I was the original Fanboy #3. Several others lay claim to that title, but let's see who has an e-mail address with some variation of that handle. I have followed Apple much, much longer than I've followed the Bakken. I started following Apple in 1984, well before EOG, Harold Hamm, Slawson, and the others probably even knew of the Bakken's potential (link here.) Like the Bakken, I never followed Apple for investing reasons. 

The fork in the road.

The Bakken: consciously, provides me little insight with regard to investing. Subconsciously and emotionally, blogging about the Bakken probably pays a significant role. But for those who are much, much more knowledgeable about oil and the Bakken, one might argue, the easy money has been made. By the time Buffett jumps into something, in this case OXY, it's like Bruce Springsteen making the cover of Time and Newsweek. By that time ... 

Apple: for me, AAPL might be where the Bakken was in 2000 (Montana) or 2007 (North Dakota. [Digression: I'm using the "Bakken" as a metonym, not as the geological play that straddles ND, MT, and Saskatchewan]. 

If I'm right, this offers a second, or a third, or a fourth opportunity for investors who missed AAPL in 1984, 2011, and 2020. See history of Apple.

For me, Apple-2020 is very, very similar to Bakken-MT-2000 and Apple-2023 is very, very similar to Bakken-ND-2007 in terms of a "break-out."

The Bakken broke out in 2007 but didn't hit its stride until 2012 / 2013 by which time investors (repeat: investors, not traders) had planted their seed corn and were now starting to harvest some of the early crops and rotating others.

The very same thing is happening now. The really, really smart folks following Apple (unfortunately not me) planted their most recent seed corn in 2020 and saw the fruits of those plantings on June 30, 2023. 

We will now see some significant harvesting, but two things are going to happen. One, not necessarily first, there will be a rotation among the various [existing] varieties of seed corn. Two, not necessarily second, there will be a scramble by investors [and traders] looking for new varieties.

See World Economic Forum, January 14, 2016, or wiki.

[By the way, the Germans got the technology right but the Germans were unable to capitalize due to Greta, the greens, and subsequent failed energy policies. One wonders to what extent the CIA and Al Gore orchestrated this German, then pan-European, failure.]

What does this mean for blogging?

TheMillionDollarWay blog is not an investment site. It never has been and never will be. 

My posts are a combination of facts, factoids, opinions, and trolling. And it's very, very difficult to sort things out -- everything needs to be fact-checked and I continue to post links to help folks get started. I may not always provide the sources, but I always try to provide the links.

[Trolling has a bad name in social media but in fact, it can be quite profitable. There's a reason that those who like to fish, often troll.]

Most importantly: I tried to organize the blog to make it somewhat easier to follow the Bakken. I've always maintained the sidebar at the right and the links at the top are more important than the daily posts.

Likewise, I am reorganizing the blog to make it easier to follow Apple.

More to follow.

Storm clouds are gathering and I'm on my bike.

Part Two

With regard to the Bakken (the metonym), investors are mostly simply re-arranging the chairs, the chairs being the operators and the acreage in the various plays. Most folks who have followed the Bakken since 2007 are probably quite familiar with most of the "chairs."

Very little of that is going on in comparison to Apple. One, there are way more "chairs" involved with Apple [and we will now start using "Apple" as a metonym, also]. Two, the "chairs" have changed significantly since 2011. 

Following the June, 2023, WWDC there's going to be a lot more new "chairs." Which means .... ta da ... we need another scorecard.... link here.

 

Apple: The Password Issue -- June 29, 2023

Locator: 44867AAPL.

Links:

 ********************************
The Password

Link here

I use the passkey for one or two apps and it is simply awesome. The problem: too much trouble to set up.

It looks like Apple is about to end that.