Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA – Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. Tesla had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 3.82%. The company had revenue of $28.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year.
Here are the key takeaways from Tesla’s conference call:
- Demand and production remain strong: Tesla said vehicle demand is significantly exceeding production, with its highest backlog in four years and more than 480,000 deliveries for a second consecutive quarter. Automotive gross margin excluding credits improved to 18.1%, while paid FSD customers surpassed 1.7 million.
- Energy storage and autonomy are scaling: Energy deployments reached 13.7 GWh, energy gross margin rose to 33.1%, and Tesla said nearly all Megapack capacity for 2027 is sold. Robotaxi unsupervised miles and the Austin Cybercab fleet are growing rapidly, with launches planned for additional cities.
- Major investments and costs are rising: Tesla expects capital expenditures of approximately $20 billion this year, has secured borrowing capacity of up to $30 billion, and said CapEx will continue expanding for Robotaxis, Optimus, solar, compute infrastructure, and semiconductor manufacturing. Energy-margin gains were also partly helped by tariff refunds and warranty-related adjustments, which may not be recurring.
- Optimus remains several milestones away from commercialization: Tesla expects roughly a year or longer to reach its targeted production rate and does not anticipate delivering robots to external customers until around the end of next year. Executives cited ongoing AI, reliability, electromechanical, and especially hand-design challenges.
- Terafab is a long-term, capital-intensive initiative: Tesla expects to commission research-fab equipment in the first half of next year, produce a first test chip around May or June, and potentially reach useful chip production at volume in late 2028. Management described the project as strategically important but said it will require tens of billions of dollars in capital.
Tesla Trading Up 3.4%
NASDAQ:TSLA traded up $12.76 on Wednesday, hitting $386.47. 46,678,068 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,621,922. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.94. Tesla has a 52 week low of $297.38 and a 52 week high of $498.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 357.85, a P/E/G ratio of 23.37 and a beta of 1.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $362.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $377.16.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TSLA shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Mizuho set a $450.00 target price on Tesla and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $415.07.
Read Our Latest Research Report on TSLA
Insider Activity
In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.13, for a total value of $938,498.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,353,296.36. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.
Key Tesla News
Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings beat expectations: Tesla reported third-quarter EPS of $0.48, above the $0.45 consensus estimate. Revenue of approximately $28.05 billion was broadly in line with forecasts, while vehicle deliveries rebounded and services revenue increased 33%. Reuters Tesla earnings report
- Positive Sentiment: Cash generation and future businesses provided support: Tesla ended the quarter with roughly $45.4 billion in cash and generated about $1.5 billion in free cash flow. The company also began producing Optimus humanoid robots in Fremont, while driverless Cybercab rides and robotaxi expansion reinforce the long-term artificial-intelligence investment case. Business Insider Optimus production report
- Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX merger remains a major valuation catalyst—but only a possibility: Independent committees at Tesla and SpaceX are evaluating a potential merger, and Elon Musk has called the idea attractive. However, Musk offered no substantive new information during Wednesday’s discussion, and the transaction would require shareholder approval and could involve stock issuance that dilutes Tesla investors. MarketWatch Tesla SpaceX merger update
- Negative Sentiment: Profitability deteriorated sharply: Operating income fell 56% year over year as spending on AI, robotics and autonomous driving increased. The quarter’s revenue was essentially flat, and investors remain concerned that Tesla’s premium valuation depends increasingly on future businesses rather than its core automotive operations. Business Insider Tesla profit report
- Negative Sentiment: Energy and automotive pressures persisted: Energy-segment revenue missed estimates by about 22%, regulatory-credit revenue declined 76%, and analysts highlighted delays or uncertainty around key growth products. These results are weighing more heavily than the modest EPS and revenue beats. Investor’s Business Daily Tesla energy revenue report
Tesla Company Profile
Tesla, Inc is an electric vehicle and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003, the company designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, including the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y and Cybertruck. Tesla also develops vehicle software, driver-assistance features and related services intended to support the operation and ownership of its vehicles.
Beyond automobiles, Tesla produces energy storage products for residential, commercial and utility-scale applications, including the Powerwall and Megapack.
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