Tesla’s third-quarter profit falls by almost half, but results beat expectations
The car manufacturer, based in Austin, Texas, reported revenue of $28.05 billion for the quarter ending 30 September, exceeding analysts’ average estimate of $27.88 billion
Tesla has reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, despite a 3 per cent year-on-year decline in automotive sector turnover. Shares in the company led by Elon Musk, which have fallen by 14 per cent this year, rose by 1.61 per cent in after-hours trading. Profit stood at 787 million (-42.7 per cent), equivalent to 48 cents per share compared with the forecast 43 cents, on revenue of 28.05 billion dollars (27.9 billion forecast). The figures were released the day after Musk’s comments to investors during SpaceX’s quarterly conference call, in which he suggested it would be a “good idea” to merge his two companies.
The resumption of vehicle deliveries and growth in the energy storage division have bolstered sales, despite substantial investment in artificial intelligence and robotaxis having weighed on profits.
Capital expenditure (capex) in the third quarter stood at $4.73 billion, compared with a forecast of around $7.5 billion. By way of comparison, the figure for the second quarter was $5.79 billion, whilst in the same period of the previous year it stood at $2.25 billion.
Free cash flow for the quarter ending in September was $1.53 billion, compared with a forecast that had anticipated a cash burn of $4.92 billion.
In the third quarter, Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles, exceeding Wall Street’s expectations of around 461,100 units. The delivery figure represents a fall of around 2 per cent compared with the previous year.
For the second consecutive quarter, deliveries exceeded production — which stood at 464,391 vehicles — by more than 22,000 units, leading to a reduction in stock levels. According to data from Visible Alpha, Wall Street is forecasting around 1.77 million deliveries for 2026.
