(Bloomberg) -- The metric Tesla Inc. told investors early last year was most important to its executives is in steady decline.

The carmaker reported this week that its operating margin shrank to 5.5% in the first quarter, the lowest since the last three months of 2020. The measure of profitability was at 16% when Zachary Kirkhorn, Tesla’s then-chief financial officer, said during an earnings call that it was key to the company.

“As a management team here, we’re most focused on what our operating margin is,” he said in January 2023, in response to an investor question on a different earnings metric. “That is what we’re primarily managing to now.”

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Tesla shares have nevertheless soared since the company reported its latest results, after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk teased plans to put less-expensive vehicles into production as soon as late this year. The stock jumped 18% in the two sessions following the carmaker’s earnings release and rose as much 1.1% as of 1 p.m. Friday in New York trading.

Kirkhorn resigned as CFO in August of last year.

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