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When Tesla unveiled its (TSLA) planned roadster in 2017, it rolled onstage in deep red with rock-and-roll blaring, CEO Elon Musk setting a target of 2020 for its availability. That didn't happen, but on Tuesday Musk said it could arrive next year.

"We've completed most of the engineering, and I think there are still some upgrades we want to make to it, but we expect to be in production with the Roadster next year," Musk said during a conference call with investors last night, a transcript of which was provided by AlphaSense.

The roadster has ambitious specs: The company is advertising a race to 60 miles per hour in under two seconds, more than 600 miles of range, a top speed above 250 miles per hour and seats for four. A reservation costs $50,000, with the vehicle expected to cost several times that.

Musk had earlier this year said to expect an "unveiling" this year and a goal of shipping vehicles in 2025.

The roadster news was part of a raft of updates Musk and Tesla offered Tuesday following the announcement of its latest quarterly results.

Tesla stock was recently down more than 10% in Wednesday trading, with the shares extending their move back into the red for 2024 after recently moving back above that line.

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For some economists, July is the new September.

That is, some economists believe the Federal Reserve should begin cutting interest rates at its next meeting at the end of the month. These economists argue recent economic data is enough evidence that inflation is falling toward the central bank's annual goal of 2%. In a recent survey of economists, 24.6% held that view.

“If the case for a cut is clear, why wait another seven weeks before delivering it?” wrote Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius in a separate commentary this week.

However, only a slim percentage of economists believe a cut is likely to happen this month: 98.5% of economists surveyed by said the Fed will make its first interest rate cut sometime after the July meeting. The majority of economists believe central bankers will cut in September, a view that's also held by financial market participants.

The Federal Reserve has held its key interest rate at a 23-year-high for the past 12 months, putting pressure on consumers and businesses, as part of an effort to cool the economy and tame inflation. Inflation trended downward since hitting its peak in June 2022, but progress has faltered some in the last year.

However, Hatzius argues, recent economic data has pointed to higher unemployment and potentially slower GDP growth, which could become an issue if the Fed lets it go unchecked for too long.

Former New York Fed president Bill Dudley added fuel to the call for July rate cuts this week citing "deteriorating labor markets."

"When jobs are harder to find, households trim spending, the economy weakens and businesses reduce investment, which leads to layoffs and further spending cuts," Dudley wrote in an opinion column for .

Central bankers, for their part, are keeping an eye on these factors. In fact, in recent weeks, members of the policy-making committee, including Chair Jerome Powell, have said they are keeping a close eye on the labor market to avoid unwanted spikes in unemployment that could signal a recession.

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U.S. equities sank at midday Wednesday as tech stocks tumbled in the wake of disappointing earnings reports. The S&P 500 lost 1.7%, and the Nasdaq sank 2.8%, while the Dow dropped close to 1%.

Tesla (TSLA) shares plunged after the electric vehicle maker missed earnings estimates as it cut prices to boost sales.

Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) also lost ground amid concerns about the tech giant's spending on artificial intelligence (AI) investments, despite an earnings beat.

Visa (V) shares slid after the credit card provider’s revenue came in short of forecasts amid a pullback in consumer spending.

AT&T (T) shares advanced after the telecom giant reported postpaid phone net additions and free cash flow that were better than anticipated.

Shares of Enphase Energy (ENPH) jumped as the solar power equipment manufacturer posted strong operating profit on a recovery in sales in the U.S.

Seagate Technology (STX) shares gained as the hard disk drive maker beat estimates for its profit, sales, and outlook on increasing cloud demand.

Oil and gold futures rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down. The U.S. dollar lost ground to the euro, pound, and yen. Prices for most major cryptocurrencies were mixed.

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Despite signs of a slowdown in recent weeks, economic growth likely remained stable through the end of the second quarter.

Economists surveyed by and anticipate gross domestic product (GDP) grew to an annualized 2.1% in the second quarter. The closely watched data will be released from the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday.

If estimates hold true, that would be higher than the first quarter but still subdued from the second half of last year.

"It would also be consistent with an economy expanding at a pace modestly below its estimated potential and consistent with the disinflation observed in the first half of 2024," wrote Moody's Analytics Economist Matt Colyar.

Economic activity has moderated and inflation has declined as the Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark lending rate at a 23-year high for the past year. Expectations have grown that the Fed will soon start cutting the fed funds rate, but officials at the central bank say they are watching economic data for more evidence that inflation is clearly headed toward the Fed's 2% annual target.

A few corners of the economy are giving GDP a lift.

Inventory levels, which economists say are notoriously volatile and difficult to predict, likely boosted the second quarter's measure of economic growth. Several economists updated their estimates for GDP after Wednesday's report showed growing accumulation. Durable goods orders, such as heavy equipment for business, also showed signs of growth during that time.

However, no sector has been as influential on the economy's growth in the past few years as consumers' spending—and the second quarter will be no different, economists said.

Consumers have continued to spend despite inflationary price pressures and elevated costs of borrowing—helping the economy avoid a recession that many thought would happen last year. Economists so far this year have thought consumers would falter as pandemic-era savings ran out.

However, the second quarter was better than anticipated, culminating in a surprising June report that showed little change despite economists' expectations that spending would decline.

"Consumer spending is nowhere near a freefall," wrote Wells Fargo economists.

Consumers still have significant trends working in their favor, said Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist at BMO.

"Among the most important tailwinds in our view are record-high household wealth, rising real disposable income, and still historically low levels of unemployment," Anderson wrote. "We could even see the drag of higher interest rates begin to fade over time, setting the economy up for a growth revival and a more tolerable inflation rate in 2025."

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Tesla (TSLA) shares are plunging in premarket trading after the electric vehicle (EV) maker posted a quarterly earnings slump and confirmed the delay of its much-anticipated robotaxi launch to October; Alphabet (GOOGL) shares are falling after the Google parent posted slowing advertising growth even as its strength in the cloud led to a second-quarter earnings beat; LVMH’s (LVMUY) below-forecast results showed that weaker Chinese and overall consumer spending is hurting even the world's largest luxury brand; Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is expected to show second-quarter profit and sales gains when the burrito chain reports earnings after the bell; and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) shares are slipping despite an earnings beat and guidance raise. U.S. stock futures are falling as investor disappointment with tech giants Tesla and Alphabet weighs on investors after all three major indexes closed lower yesterday. Here's what investors need to know today.

Tesla (TSLA) shares are plunging 8% in premarket trading after the electric vehicle maker posted a 45% drop in second-quarter profit as demand for EV cools and the average selling price of its vehicles decline. Also weighing on the results of Magnificent Seven tech giant was its warning of a rise in artificial intelligence (AI) costs and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk’s confirmation that the planned date for its highly anticipated robotaxi event had been delayed to October 10 from August 8. 

Alphabet (GOOGL) shares are falling 3% in premarket trading after the Google parent posted slowing advertising growth even as it reported second-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations on the back of strength in its cloud services and core search business. Ad sales, a key revenue driver at Google, rose 11.1% from last year, but that was down from the 13% year-over-year jump it registered in the first quarter. Alphabet Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ruth Porat also told investors that depreciation and higher expenses from AI investments could affect operating margins in the third quarter.

LVMH’s (LVMUY) second-quarter results, with tepid sales disappointing investors, showed that the pullback by consumers on high-end items and cooling Chinese spending is affecting even the world’s largest luxury firm. The company, whose brands include Dior and Louis Vuitton, reported Q2 year-over-year organic revenue growth of just 1% to 20.98 billion euros. Sales in Asia excluding Japan plunged 14%, although Chinese spending growth in Japan and Europe was "strong." LVMH shares fell 4% in French trading, while trench coat maker Burberry (BURBY), Gucci owner Kering (PPRUY), and Cartier owner Richemont (CFRUY) were all lower in European trading. 

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is expected to show second-quarter profit and sales gains when the burrito chain reports earnings after the bell. The results are its first since its 50-for-1 stock split last month. Analysts expect Chipotle's revenue to rise 17% year-over-year, with profits projected to jump about 28%, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. While the results are expected to show the company’s resilience as its rivals suffer from the inflation-fueled downturn in consumer spending, Baird analysts noted that some indicators show demand "softening" earlier this month. Chipotle shares are little changed in premarket trading.

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) are edging lower in premarket trading even after the medical device maker posted higher-than-forecast results and upped both its full-year revenue and earnings outlook. Its second-quarter revenue slipped 1% from last year to $10.54 billion, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) was $5.37, with both beating analysts’ consensus estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Thermo Fisher raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $21.29 to $22.07 from the prior range of $21.14 to $22.02. "We have made very good progress through the halfway point of the year and are in a great position to deliver differentiated performance in 2024," CEO Marc Casper said.

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Your flights will likely be cheaper for the rest of the summer as airlines offer discounted tickets in an attempt to fill seats.

While demand has hit record highs in recent weeks, airlines that have already reported results for the most recent fiscal quarter said carriers overshot the number of flights and seats available this summer. Because of that oversupply, airlines are discounting tickets to try to fill seats.

Air travel broke records last summer, as people continued to catch up on travel they missed during the shutdowns of the pandemic. Airlines expected more of the same this year, and planned their capacity accordingly.

"Looking forward, we see multiple airlines have begun to cancel loss-making capacity," United Airlines (UAL) CEO Scott Kirby said in a press release. "United has long been preparing for the moment when industry-wide domestic capacity would adjust—it's now clear that inflection point is just 30 days away."

You could fly for cheap during the remainder of the summer as companies try to match their supply with demand.

Prices have already fallen so far this summer. Airfare prices fell from their May levels last month, down 5.7%, according to the most recent release of the Consumer Price Index. Year-over-year, prices were down 5.1%.

Consumers will get a look at how widespread of a phenomenon this may be this week when American Airlines (AAL) and Southwest (LUV) release their second-quarter earnings reports.

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