Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)

Tesla's third quarter brought in nearly as much as a year earlier, while spending on artificial intelligence, robots and chips climbed 1. Revenue was steady at $28.05 billion, but net income fell to $787 million from $1,373 million 1. Research and development rose 69 percent to $2.76 billion, and stock pay under Elon Musk's 2025 award lifted overhead 1.

Gross profit, revenue minus production costs, rose $440 million, but tariff refunds after a February Supreme Court ruling added a net $447 million, so the rest was flat (computed) 1. Deliveries slipped 2 percent to 486,532, mostly because the Model S and Model X were retired in mid-2026 21. Tesla says battery supply capped output, and it ended September with its largest car order backlog in four years 2.

Capital spending on factories, computers and a robotaxi fleet took $13.01 billion in nine months, 87 percent of the $14.90 billion operations brought in (computed) 1. It cut its 2026 spending outlook to over $20 billion from over $25 billion, and lined up $30 billion of bank credit it does not plan to use this year 134.

The board has formed a committee of independent directors to explore a closer tie with SpaceX, possibly a merger, with no deal assured 15. Musk, who runs both, called a combination "a good idea" but said he cannot join the talks as a conflicted party 5. The two are entwined: SpaceX bought $626 million of Tesla's Megapack batteries in nine months, and Tesla owns under 1 percent of SpaceX 1.

Tesla began deliveries of the Model S sedan in June 2012, the Model X SUV in September 2015 and the lower-priced Model 3 in July 2017 6. Its annual report for 2017 set a goal of building 5,000 Model 3s a week by mid-2018 6. Revenue more than doubled from $11.8 billion in 2017 to $24.6 billion in 2019, yet Tesla lost money in both years 67.

In 2020 Tesla earned $721 million after losing $862 million in 2019 7. Automotive sales rose 31 percent on 129,268 more Model 3 and Model Y cash deliveries, meaning cars not on a lease, despite factory shutdowns in early 2020 7. Regulatory credits, sold to other carmakers that use them to meet emission rules, brought in $1.58 billion, more than twice that year's profit (computed) 78.

The Shanghai factory changed the economics: automotive gross margin rose from 21 to 26 percent, helped by lower material, freight and duty costs from making Model 3s in China 7. Automotive sales then rose 79 percent in 2021 as Shanghai and Fremont ramped up the Model 3 and Model Y 9. They rose another 52 percent in 2022 as the Berlin and Texas factories started and a larger share of higher-priced Model Ys lifted average prices 10.

In 2022 the operating margin, profit from running the business per dollar of sales, reached 16.8 percent, the highest of the five years in Tesla's 2025 summary 11. Broad price reductions followed in 2023, yet revenue rose 19 percent to $96.8 billion as 473,382 more Model 3 and Model Y cash deliveries outweighed lower prices (computed) 12. Automotive gross margin, the share of car revenue left after the cost of building the cars, fell from 28.5 to 19.4 percent 12.

Automotive sales per car fell from about $53,100 in 2022 to about $45,200 in 2023 (sales divided by deliveries, leaving out leases Tesla books over time; computed) 1211. Net income reached $15.0 billion in 2023, but $5.93 billion of it was a one-time, non-cash tax benefit, so without it profit was about $9.1 billion (computed) 12. Tesla delivered its first Cybertrucks in November 2023 12.

Revenue rose only 1 percent in 2024: car sales fell 8 percent on lower prices, attractive financing offers and about 22,000 fewer Model 3 and Model Y cash deliveries 13. Energy revenue jumped 67 percent on 16.7 more gigawatt hours of storage installed or delivered, a gigawatt hour being a million kilowatt hours 132. Credit sales rose 54 percent as rivals scaled back electric car plans 13.

Revenue fell 3 percent in 2025, to $94.8 billion 8. Car sales dropped 9 percent on about 8 percent fewer cash deliveries and lower prices per car, from model mix and incentives such as attractive financing 8. That year all of Tesla's car factories also stopped at the same time to switch over to the redesigned Model Y 1.

USA Today, with Reuters, also pointed to stiffer competition, the end of U.S. tax credits and a consumer backlash tied to Musk's role at the Department of Government Efficiency 14. The federal credit of up to $7,500 ended for cars acquired after 30 September 2025, and Tesla answered in October with lower-priced Standard versions of the Model 3 and Model Y 1516. China's BYD sold about 2.26 million electric cars in 2025 against Tesla's 1.64 million 14.

Two businesses kept growing in 2025: services rose 19 percent, and energy 27 percent on more Megapack and Powerwall deployments 8. Credit sales fell 28 percent as government actions, including the 2025 tax law, restricted some credit programs 8. Net income fell to $3.79 billion while research spending rose to $6.41 billion, from $3.97 billion two years earlier 8.

Model Y and Model 3

The Model Y, a compact SUV, and the Model 3, a midsize sedan, were 478,237 of the 486,532 cars delivered last quarter, about 98 percent (computed) 817. U.S. base prices start at $36,990 for a Model 3 and $39,990 for a Model Y, plus a $1,390 destination charge 1819. The six-seat Model Y L went on U.S. sale in July at $61,990 20.

Automotive sales per car not on a lease were about $41,900 last quarter, against about $53,100 in 2022 (computed) 21211. Its annual reports tie the fall to price reductions, financing incentives and changes in the mix of models sold 12138. Automotive gross margin was 18.7 percent in the first nine months of 2026 1.

Edmunds scores the updated Model Y 8.2 out of 10, tied for second of 16 small electric SUVs, and the car matched its 327-mile range estimate 21. Consumer Reports got 331 miles on its highway test but finds the touchscreen controls even more distracting 19. Its member surveys name the Model Y the most reliable electric vehicle, and IIHS, a crash-test institute, rates it good in all three crash tests 2223.

Edmunds found the Model Y Standard drops the glass roof, the better dampers and Autosteer lane-keeping, reading the last as a push toward paid upgrades 24. Car sales brought in $55.6 billion in the first nine months of 2026, about 71 percent of revenue (computed) 1.

Cybertruck, Model S and X, and the Semi

The Cybertruck, a stainless steel pickup first delivered in November 2023, got a $5,000 price rise in August; on 26 October Tesla's order page offered it at $84,990 122526. Consumer Reports rates its reliability below average, and deliveries of models other than the 3 and Y fell 48 percent to 8,295 last quarter (computed) 222. Electrek estimates 7,000 to 8,000 of those were Cybertrucks 27.

Tesla retired the Model S and Model X in mid-2026 and is reusing their Fremont lines for Optimus robots 128. The Semi, an electric heavy truck, began volume production in Nevada with capacity for 25,000 a year 2. Tesla says its top version goes 500 miles fully loaded on a third of a diesel truck's energy 2.

Self-driving, Robotaxi and Cybercab

FSD (Supervised), Tesla's driver-assistance software, steers, changes lanes and parks while the driver watches, for $99 a month 29. Tesla has moved it to subscriptions only, phasing out the one-time purchase 1130. Active FSD customers, counting earlier one-time buyers, reached 1.74 million, up from 1.04 million a year earlier 2.

The finance chief said over 75 percent of North American deliveries last quarter included a paid FSD sign-up 31. Edmunds says the system "sets a new standard for driving assistance," though drivers must stay attentive 21. NHTSA, the federal safety regulator, opened probes into FSD running red lights in October 2025 and crashes in poor visibility in March 2026, covering 2,882,566 and 3,203,754 vehicles 3233.

As of July, Robotaxi, Tesla's ride-hailing service, ran unsupervised in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, and with safety drivers around San Francisco 28. The Cybercab, a two-seater built for it with no steering wheel or pedals, began production in the second quarter and carried riders in Austin from 3 September 2834352. An Axios reporter paid $12 for a four-mile ride, waited five minutes or less, and was dropped at a neighboring business's parking lot 34.

Tesla does not disclose its robotaxi fleet; Waymo, for comparison, runs over 4,000 vehicles in more than a dozen cities 36. The finance chief said the service has not yet reached its cost goal of $0.30 a mile 31. Driverless miles grew eightfold in the quarter, to nearly two million in all 2.

Energy storage and solar

Megapack is a large battery for utilities, businesses and data centers; Powerwall 3 is a 13.5 kilowatt hour home battery 8237. Storage deployments grew from 14.7 gigawatt hours in 2023 to 46.7 in 2025, and 36.0 in nine months of 2026 111. Tesla's order page prices five two-hour Megapacks, 19.3 megawatt hours, at $5,045,400 for a California site in early 2027, about $261 per kilowatt hour (computed) 38.

Energy earns more per dollar than cars: in 2025 it was 13.5 percent of revenue but 22 percent of gross profit, a 29.8 percent margin against 17.8 percent for cars (computed) 8. Third-quarter energy revenue fell 16 percent, mainly on $339 million of tariff refunds owed to customers, lower Megapack prices, fewer Powerwalls and fewer solar retrofits 1. Powerwall deployments fell in the first year without the federal home energy credit, which expired on 31 December 2025 18.

SpaceX paid $626 million for Megapacks in nine months, and Musk said Megapacks are "almost sold out" for 2027 131. Wood Mackenzie ranks Tesla and Sungrow the top two storage suppliers, BYD third, and Chinese suppliers at 76 percent of the 2025 market 39. Tesla says Powerwalls joined over 89,000 grid support events in 2025, saving households over $1 billion on power bills 11.

Tesla's new home solar panel, made in New York, began reaching customers in January 2026 830.

Services, charging, credits and leases

Services and other, meaning used cars, repairs, paid charging, insurance and parts, grew 33 percent to $4.61 billion last quarter 81. Its gross profit reached a record $734 million, about a 16 percent margin (computed) 2.

The Supercharger network grew to 8,904 stations, and all major carmakers plan to adopt Tesla's plug in some markets, opening the chargers to their drivers 28.

Regulatory credits are fading: $113 million last quarter against $417 million a year earlier, after government actions restricted credit programs 1. In 2025 credits of $1.99 billion were 2 percent of revenue but 46 percent of operating income, so losing them hits profit far harder than sales (computed) 8. Two smaller filed lines are leases: car leasing brought in $1.71 billion in 2025 and energy leasing $501 million, together under 3 percent of revenue (computed) 8.

Optimus

Optimus, Tesla's humanoid robot, began production on high-volume lines in Fremont, which Tesla calls its first production-quality robots 2. It has no revenue line yet: the filings report only two business segments, automotive and energy 1.

Plants, people, rivals, problems

Tesla builds cars in Fremont, Shanghai, Berlin and Austin, the Semi in Nevada, and Megapacks in Lathrop, Shanghai and near Houston 284021. Listed yearly capacity for the Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck exceeds 2.37 million, against 2026 deliveries running near 1.77 million a year (computed from nine months) 2. Tesla employed 134,785 people at the end of 2025 8.

Musk, chief executive since October 2008, has also run SpaceX since 2002 40. His 2025 award of about 423.7 million shares pays only on goals such as 1 million robots and 1 million robotaxis in service; it cost $275 million last quarter 1.

Rivals are gaining: BYD's 283,997 registrations in Europe through September topped Tesla's 260,575, even as Tesla's rose 50 percent 41. China's domestic car sales fell 27 percent in September; Tesla's China revenue fell 8 percent last quarter, while other international revenue rose 32 percent (computed) 421. U.S. revenue fell 14 percent in the first third quarter without the federal credit (computed) 115.

Profit is under pressure: operating margin fell from 16.8 percent in 2022 to 4.6 percent in 2025, and to 2.6 percent last quarter (computed) 111. NHTSA opened an audit of the Cybercab on its launch day and ordered sworn answers on how a car without pedals or mirrors meets federal standards 3543. A Florida jury awarded $129 million in compensatory and $200 million in punitive damages over a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash, finding Tesla 33 percent at fault; Tesla is appealing 1.

Tesla expects capital spending above $20 billion in 2026, for computing, data centers, new production lines and its own fleet of self-driving cars 1. On 21 October the finance chief said capital spending would keep expanding for the next few years, for robotaxis, Optimus, solar factories, computing and a chip plant 31. The $20 billion term loan Tesla signed in September shrinks to $10 billion of unused commitments on its first anniversary 4.

Tesla said on 21 October that Cybercab service will start in Dallas in November and reach other cities by year-end, and that it plans to supply Cybercabs to fleet operators by then 3631. Musk said Robotaxi should become noticeable in the financial results around the second quarter of 2027 3136. He also said he would be surprised if Europe-wide approval of FSD took longer than the first quarter of 2027 31.

Musk said reaching 20,000 Optimus robots a week would take at least a year, maybe a little longer, with deliveries to outside companies around the end of 2027 31. A second Optimus factory is under construction in Texas 2. Tesla plans to start commissioning equipment at its Austin chip factory in 2027 2.

Musk said the first test chip should come around May or June 2027, and Reuters reported the chip venture with SpaceX aims for volume output by the third quarter of 2028 315. Tesla's own AI5 and AI6 self-driving chips are planned for production in 2027 and 2028 11. Tesla plans 400 megawatts of training computers by the end of 2026 2.

Megafactory Texas, which began production last quarter, has planned capacity of 50 gigawatt hours a year 2. The new Roadster, shown on 15 October, is due to enter production in 2028, Reuters reported 244.

Tesla's annual meeting on 3 December 2026 will vote on electing Musk, Robyn Denholm and JB Straubel as directors, on executive pay and on the auditor 40. Any SpaceX deal needs the special committee's recommendation and any required shareholder approval 1. Musk said a Tesla vote would need half of all shares, not only those voting 45.

In court, Tesla's reply in its appeal of the Florida Autopilot verdict is due by 6 November 2026 1. A California civil rights trial before a judge, over alleged race discrimination, is scheduled to run until 30 October 2026 1. NHTSA has proposed removing some manual-control requirements that the Cybercab does not meet, a change TechCrunch reported is likely months away 36.

Past

Tesla's revenue rose from $7.0 billion in fiscal 2016 to $95 billion in fiscal 2025, up 33.6% a year; it rose in 8 of 9 years; the deepest fall was 3% from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025; net income was positive in 6 of 10 of those years. The net worth moved about 37.2% a year up over fiscal 2016 to 2025 and earned $40.20 billion in profit kept. Over the 3 fiscal years to 2025-12-31, the diluted share count grew about 0.5% a year, and dividends and buybacks returned about 0% of its operating cash flow over 3 years. A 5-for-1 split was effective 2021-06-30 and a 3-for-1 split was effective 2023-06-30. 123

Its officers and directors filed 66 sales (60 under scheduled 10b5-1 plans) and 0 purchases of their own stock on the open market in the year to 2026-09-30. Tesla's filings since 2017 show no warning events in the scan: no bankruptcy or receivership notice, no debt default notice, no exchange listing notice, no restatement warning, no auditor change, no material cyber incident and no late-report notice. 1

Present

In its latest annual figures on file, for the fiscal year ended 2025-12-31, it reported revenue of $95 billion and a profit of $3.8 billion. The quarterly report for the period ended 2026-06-30 was filed 2026-07-23. 45

Return on equity: in the fiscal year ended 2025-12-31, Tesla earned about 5 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money; gross profitability: its products earned about 12 cents per dollar of everything the company owns; leverage: it owed about 40 cents per dollar of assets; net share issuance: its share count grew 0.9% over the year. Tesla's revenue of $95 billion in fiscal 2025 ranks in the top 14% by size among its industry family; a net margin of 4% ranks in the top 24%; revenue growth of 5.2% a year over the last 3 filed years ranks in the bottom 25%. 1

The chief executive on the record is Musk, Elon (CEO, as filed), filing under that title since 2011-02-23, 15.7 years; the 6 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 8.5 years; 4 officer or director changes were reported on Form 8-K since 2023-10-21. 1

Future

Quarterly report (Form 10-Q) for the quarter ending 2026-09-30 is due by 2026-11-09; large accelerated filers have 40 days after the quarter ends. A deadline under the SEC's rules, not a prediction of when it will file. Annual report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ending 2026-12-31 is due by 2027-03-01; large accelerated filers have 60 days after the fiscal year ends. A deadline under the SEC's rules, not a prediction of when it will file. 5

Cash of $17 billion against debt of $6.6 billion leaves 7.2% of its assets as net cash, top 50% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is 6.6% of revenue (top 29%); a gross margin of 18% (top 40%); research spending of 6.8% of revenue (bottom 44%). Revenue grew 5.2% a year over the last three filed years against 33.6% over all 10, slowing (bottom 14% of its family); the newest year grew -2.9% (bottom 39%); research spending grew 27.7% a year (top 6%); capital spending grew 6% a year (top 37%). 1

Revenue of $95 billion in fiscal 2025 came in 11.4% below the $107 billion its prior three years' pace pointed to (bottom 38% of its family); net income of $3.8 billion against a prior three-year average of $12 billion (bottom 29%); a net margin of 4% against 12.7% before (bottom 25%). 1

How the company operates

Tesla is a product business. Where the revenue comes from, fiscal 2025: Automotive Sales 69%, Services and Other 13%, Energy Generation and Storage Sales 13%, Automotive Regulatory Credits 2%, Automotive Leasing 2%, Energy Generation and Storage Leasing 1%. Tesla reported 6 product lines in fiscal 2025: Automotive Sales at $66 billion (69%), Services and Other at $13 billion (13%), Energy Generation and Storage Sales at $12 billion (13%), and 3 more; 2 of 6 grew against the year before. 41

New moves

On 2026-09-29, Tesla filed Form 8-K reporting a major agreement signed, a major agreement ended, and new debt or an obligation taken on. 5

Alerts of the last thirty days name Tesla in headlines dated 2026-10-21 regarding stock moves, investor sentiment, earnings, and discussions of a potential merger between Tesla and SpaceX involving Elon Musk. 6