The actual data will likely be the last thing on investors’ thoughts when Tesla releases its fourth-quarter results after markets close on Wednesday.

Instead, the spotlight will be on the company’s prospects in light of the current semiconductor shortage, plans to scale up production in two new facilities, and updated guidance from CEO Elon Musk on the debut of new models like the Cybertruck.

Following an 87% increase in sales to 936,000 automobiles last year, Wall Street analysts are raising their predictions for 2022 from approximately 1.3 million to maybe 1.4 million or more cars.

Stock is off to a rocky start

Tesla investors have had a rough start to the year.

Following the announcement of Q4 sales volumes, the stock soared over $1,200 a share, but has since plummeted by over a fifth to end at roughly $930 on Monday, owing to the deteriorating macro situation.

Investors have priced in four interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year due to surging inflation, which has hit growth businesses.

For investors, the immediate concern is adding more capacity to support Tesla’s still-strong growth story. They’ll be looking for signs about the start of production in two new plants in Texas and Germany, as their original Fremont factory in California is bursting at the seams and output in Shanghai is at record levels.

The fate of Tesla’s futuristic Cybertruck, which was first announced in November 2019, is another crucial problem Musk will need to address.

The rumored debut date has been moved back again again, this time to the first quarter of next year, despite the fact that it was originally planned for last year. As a result, Tesla will be a little slower to market than some of its competitors, who have responded to the occasion.

Price increases

Tesla is seen as a tech firm with the potential for software-industry profits, so products aren’t the sole focus.

That’s why Tesla’s road map for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software is critical to the company’s astronomical valuation; it recently traded at the same market cap as its next nine largest competitors put together.

Version 11 of FSD is likely to come soon, causing Tesla to raise the price to $12,000 in a contentious move. Consumers who are unsure whether the feature is worth the money have expressed their displeasure with the decision, while investors have praised it for the increased earnings.

All functions will be consolidated into a single “full stack” of programming code in this new updated FSD version. In principle, this should speed up development and push the date closer to when Tesla drivers will be able to transition from “hands-off” to “eyes-off” automatic driving.

Tesla’s timeframe for India, the introduction of its insurance company, the probable repercussions of its Bitcoin investment, any new plans for accepting Dogecoin, and customer blowback in Canada from heating systems malfunctioning in cold weather are all topics that could come up during Wednesday’s talks.

Lastly, China is an important topic that might be tackled. In December, Tesla sold 70,000 cars to consumers in the world’s largest EV market. This was about a third more than their previous monthly high, and it fueled the brand’s global Q4 performance.