San Francisco, Apr 20 (IANS): Tesla's operating income decreased 24 per cent to $2.7 billion in Q1 2023 as the Elon Musk-run EV maker continues to cut prices of its vehicles.

However, the total revenue grew 24 per cent (year-on-year) in Q1 to $23.3 billion owing to price cuts.

Tesla shares fell 4 per cent in after-hours trading late on Wednesday.

In an earnings call with analysts, Musk said Tesla will start delivering its long-delayed Cybertruck in the third quarter of 2023.

"It takes time to get the manufacturing line going, and this is really a very radical product. It's not made in the way that other cars are made," said Musk.

"One thing I am confident of saying is that it's an incredible product. It's a Hall of Famer," he added.

In the first quarter, Tesla's automotive revenue reached about $19.9 billion, an 18 per cent increase YoY.

Tesla ended the March quarter with free cash flow of $441 million, down 80 per cent from the same period last year.

"While we continue to execute on innovations to reduce the cost of manufacturing and operations, over time, we expect our hardware-related profits to be accompanied with an acceleration of software-related profits," the company said.

Tesla delivered 422,875 vehicles in the first quarter.