Tesla Inc
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Jan 29, 2024.
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FY2023 · Filed Jan 29, 2024
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Tesla, Inc.
Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Tesla, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the related consolidated statements of operations, of comprehensive income, of redeemable noncontrolling interests and equity and of cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, including the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.
Changes in Accounting Principles
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for convertible debt in 2021.
Basis for Opinions
The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Automotive Warranty Reserve
As described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, total accrued warranty, which primarily relates to the automotive segment, was $5,152 million as of December 31, 2023. The Company provides a manufacturer’s warranty on all new and used Tesla vehicles. A warranty reserve is accrued for these products sold, which includes management’s best estimate of the projected costs to repair or replace items under warranty and recalls if identified. These estimates are based on actual claims incurred to date and an estimate of the nature, frequency and costs of future claims.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the automotive warranty reserve is a critical audit matter are the significant judgment by management in determining the automotive warranty reserve for certain Tesla vehicle models; this in turn led to significant auditor judgment, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures to evaluate management’s significant assumptions related to the nature, frequency and costs of future claims for certain Tesla vehicle models, and the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to management’s estimate of the automotive warranty reserve for certain Tesla vehicle models, including controls over management’s significant assumptions related to the nature, frequency and costs of future claims as well as the completeness and accuracy of actual claims incurred to date. These procedures also included, among others, performing one of the following: (i) testing management’s process for determining the automotive warranty reserve for certain Tesla vehicle models or (ii) developing an independent estimate of the automotive warranty reserve for certain Tesla vehicle models and comparing the independent estimate to management’s estimate to evaluate the reasonableness of the estimate. Testing management’s process involved evaluating the reasonableness of significant assumptions related to the nature and frequency of future claims and the related costs to repair or replace items under warranty. Evaluating the assumptions related to the nature and frequency of future claims and the related costs to repair or replace items under warranty involved evaluating whether the assumptions used were reasonable by performing a lookback analysis comparing prior period forecasted claims to actual claims incurred. Developing the independent estimate involved testing the completeness and accuracy of historical vehicle claims processed and testing that such claims were appropriately used by management in the estimation of future claims. Professionals with specialized skill and knowledge were used to assist in developing an independent estimate of the automotive warranty reserve for certain Tesla vehicle models and in evaluating the appropriateness of certain aspects of management’s significant assumptions related to the nature and frequency of future claims.
/s/PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
San Jose, California
January 26, 2024
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2005.
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