11:43 AM EST, 01/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tesla's (TSLA) Q4 financial results excluding the roughly $600 million gain from the mark-to-market of its Bitcoin investment were "materially weaker" than expected due to the impact of lower average selling prices and increased incentives on gross margins, BofA Securities said in a note Thursday.

Higher operating expenses related to artificial intelligence and research and development investments also put pressure on gross margins, according to the note.

The firm said the planned Robotaxi service launch in mid-2025 in Austin, expected rollout of two new vehicle models during the year, and gains in energy storage deployments are positives for the company.

Tesla's Q1 results, meanwhile, will be impacted by production halts related to shifting of factories to manufacture the updated Model Y, with the company forecast to lose 100,000 vehicles of production from the changeover, BofA added.

The brokerage reiterated its neutral rating on Tesla's stock and kept the price objective at $490.

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