02:11 PM EDT, 04/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Tesla's (TSLA) management addressed key concerns heading into the electric vehicle maker's first-quarter results and "revitalized the growth narrative" for the company, BofA Securities said Wednesday.

While reporting its March-quarter financial results, Tesla said late Tuesday it planned to accelerate its launch of new vehicles, some of which will be more affordable models. "I previously mentioned start of production in the second half of 2025," Chief Executive Elon Musk said on an earnings conference call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. "So we (now) expect it to be more like the early 2025, if not late this year."

The company recently announced a restructuring plan that would trim its global headcount by more than 10%. The move is expected to generate savings "well in excess of" $1 billion on an annual run-rate basis, Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja told analysts.

Tesla "essentially knocked out the recent negative catalysts with facts or reasonable explanations," BofA analyst John Murphy said in a note. The company's slow volume growth may persist until it launches new products next year, but it may be supported in the interim by lower pricing. "Price cuts had been expected to weigh on gross margins, but (Tesla's) cost-saving efforts resulted in margins that were far better than feared," the analyst wrote.

The brokerage upgraded its rating on the EV maker's stock to buy from neutral while maintaining its $220 price objective. The stock was up nearly 12% in Wednesday afternoon trade.

Tesla likely has several positive catalysts building through the rest of the year, with its Aug. 8 robotaxi event expected to showcase full self-driving, or FSD, and the next-gen platform, according to BofA. Another positive catalyst is a potential licensing of FSD as early as the end of the year for one to two major original equipment manufacturers.

"Admittedly, the combination of all of these may not structurally change the long-term path of the company, but in the near-term the tide in news flow appears to suggest the risk to the stock is skewing more positively," Taneja said. The brokerage lowered its annual earnings outlook for Tesla from 2024 through 2026 following a first-quarter miss.

Tesla's first-quarter revenue declined 9% year over year to $21.3 billion, trailing the consensus on Capital IQ for $22.26 billion. Adjusted earnings slumped to $0.45 a share from $0.85 a year earlier, below Wall Street's view of $0.50.

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