San Francisco, Jul 24 (IANS): Elon Musk-run Tesla has reported $1.5 billion in profit for the April-June period (Q2) this year, down 45 per cent from the same period in 2023.

Total revenue was up 2 per cent (year-on-year) at $25.5 billion, but automotive revenues was down 7 per cent to $19.9 billion, according to the electric car-maker.

“In Q2, we achieved record quarterly revenues despite a difficult operating environment. The Energy Storage business continues to grow rapidly, setting a record in Q2 with 9.4 GWh of deployments, resulting in record revenues and gross profits for the overall segment,” Tesla said in a statement.

The company is looking at a possibility of selling fewer EVs in 2024 than 2023.

It said that global EV penetration returned to growth in Q2 and is taking share from ICE vehicles.

“We believe that a pure EV is the optimal vehicle design and will ultimately win over consumers as the myths on range, charging and service are debunked,” said Tesla.

According to its CEO Musk, he will showcase Tesla’s “robotaxi” prototype during an event on October 10, after scrapping a previous plan to reveal it on August 8.

“Though timing of Robotaxi deployment depends on technological advancement and regulatory approval, we are working vigorously on this opportunity given the outsized potential value,” said Tesla.