Despite record vehicle sales, Tesla saw a precipitous drop in profit in its most recent quarter.
A rush to buy electric vehicles before a US tax credit for them disappears had boosted Tesla’s flagging sales, leading to the automaker exceeding some of Wall Street’s projections in its most recent financial quarter. Yet the company failed to meet earnings expectations and its stock fell in after-hours trading.
Tesla reported third-quarter earnings of $0.50 a share on Wednesday after market close, less than the $0.54 that market analysts predicted. The automaker exceeded Wall Street’s expectations of $26.457bn in revenue. Its operating income was $1.62bn against expectations of $1.65bn. It also reported a net income of $1.4bn, down from $2.2bn, a drop of 37% in its profits.
Tesla’s deliveries in the third quarter surged from earlier in the year, an increase that analysts attributed to consumers attempting to lock in electric vehicle tax credits that expired at the end of last month. The loss of EV credits as a result of Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act was a factor in the public breakup between Musk and the president and has continued to influence the company’s sales forecasts.
The company made numerous optimistic mentions of its AI software and commitment to expand its autonomous driving technology in a press release on the results, while also citing “shifting trade, tariff and fiscal policy” as challenges it is navigating.
“No one can do what we can do with real-world AI,” Musk claimed during an investor call. He also claimed that Tesla’s Optimus robots, which received only a fleeting mention in the earnings report, had the potential to become “the biggest product of all time”.
“We believe, with Optimus and self-driving, that you can actually create a world with no poverty,” Musk added. He also referenced his proposed $1tn pay package, which he claimed would give him a defense against being “ousted” once Tesla built a “robot army”.
The earnings report comes at a sensitive time for Tesla and Musk, as the CEO is seeking investor approval for that unprecedented $1tn pay package in a vote next month. The package is dependent on Tesla reaching several lofty milestones, including achieving an $8.5tn market cap over the next 10 years.
Despite the world’s richest person still commanding a legion of Tesla fanboys and investors eager to appease him, two proxy advisory firms have so far recommended against approving the exorbitant pay package. Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), who provide guidance on how shareholders should vote, stated in recent days that they advised voting no on the proposed trillion-dollar compensation plan.
On Wednesday’s call with investors, Musk made several claims about the future of Tesla’s robotaxi ride-share service. He told investors that the robotaxi product, which involves a safety driver riding in the autonomous car in case of emergency, would soon remove drivers from cars in the Austin rollout of the service. The US’s main transportation safety regulator announced in recent weeks that it is investigating reports of traffic safety violations and crashes involving Tesla’s Full Self Driving technology.
Musk has also insulted Sean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, this week in a series of posts that included calling him “Sean Dummy” and reposting calls for him to be removed from his post. Duffy, who is also acting head of Nasa, stated on Monday that he would reopen the bidding for contracts related to the space agency’s Artemis moon mission because Musk’s SpaceX rocket company had fallen behind on its timelines for the project.
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Shareholders are set to vote on Musk’s $1tn pay package during an annual company meeting on 6 November. Both Tesla and Musk have lashed out at criticism of the package, with the company calling the ISS recommendation against the proposal an “unfounded and nonsensical recommendation” in a lengthy post on X. Musk additionally implied in a post on X that he could leave the company if not granted the pay package, and on the call with investors accused ISS and Glass Lewis of “corporate terrorism”.
Tesla had a tumultuous year that saw heightened competition, a loss of key tax credits and chaotic leadership from Musk himself. The company reported falling profits and revenue last quarter. Musk’s political activities, including taking a lead role in the Trump administration and promoting far-right causes, also led to widespread backlash and anti-Tesla sentiment as stock prices fell at the start of the year.
Tesla’s shares have rallied vigorously over the past six months, however, while Musk has heavily promoted autonomous taxis and robotics as a source of future revenue. The CEO claimed last month that Tesla’s Optimus robot, a humanoid machine that has yet to go into mass production and is not available for purchase, will one day account for 80% of the company’s revenue. He has made similarly grandiose statements about millions of robotaxis filling cities around the world, something he has promised for years while continually pushing back the timeline of when it would become a reality.
Tesla also debuted a long-promised, cheaper sedan called the Model Y earlier this month in a bid to increase slumping sales. The new line of sedans received criticism from some analysts over its starting prices of $39,990 and $36,990 – significantly higher than Chinese low-cost competitors. Tesla’s stock price immediately fell following the rollout. The company’s other new model, the Cybertruck, released in 2024, has failed to make a meaningful contribution to overall sales.