Tesla stock dips on raised 2023 capex forecast

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares are trading around 1.5% lower in pre-market Monday after the electric vehicle (EV) maker increased its capital expenditures forecast for this year.

Elon Musk’s company now expects its capex between $7 billion and $9B in 2023 and each of the following two years, the company said in a filing.

Tesla was previously expecting capex between $6-8B in 2023 and then $7-9B each of the next two years.

“We are simultaneously ramping new products, ramping manufacturing facilities on three continents, piloting the development and manufacture of new battery cell technologies and investing in autonomy and other artificial intelligence enabled products, and the pace of our capital spend may vary depending on overall priority among projects, the pace at which we meet milestones, production adjustments to and among our various products, increased capital efficiencies and the addition of new projects,” Tesla said in a filing.

The company also added it expects to see “heightened levels of capital expenditures during certain periods depending on the specific pace of our capital-intensive projects and rising material prices and increasing supply chain and labor expenses resulting from changes in global trade conditions and labor availability associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Finally, Tesla said it expects to its ability to be self-funding to continue “as long as macroeconomic factors support current trends in our sales.”