Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of
David Swanson | Reuters
Tesla announced on Wednesday a 12% increase in its turnover in the third quarter after two consecutive periods of decline. However, earnings missed analysts’ estimates, sending the stock down about 1% in extended trading.
Here are the company’s results, compared to the estimates of analysts surveyed by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 50 cents adjusted versus 54 cents estimated
- Income: $28.10 billion versus estimated $26.37 billion
Total revenue increased from $25.18 billion a year earlier. Auto industry revenue rose 6 percent to $21.2 billion from $20 billion last year, Tesla said.
Net income fell 37% to $1.37 billion, or 39 cents per share, from $2.17 billion, or 62 cents per share a year earlier. The drop in profits reflects falling prices for electric vehicles.
The end of the quarter coincided with the expiration of federal tax credits for electric vehicles, which were eliminated with President Donald Trump’s spending bill. This boosted sales in the quarter, as consumers rushed to take advantage of the incentive before it disappeared.
During Tesla’s most recent earnings conference call in July, CEO Elon Musk and CFO Vaibhav Taneja warned shareholders about the impact of rising tariffs and expiring tax credits.
Revenue from automotive regulatory credits in the quarter fell 44%, from $739 million to $417 million.
Even with the return to overall growth, Tesla’s third quarter was marked by a continued decline in sales in Europe, driven in part by consumer backlash against Musk, his inflammatory political rhetoric and activism, as well as competition from electric vehicle makers like Volkswagen and BYD.
The stock, which fell earlier this year, has recovered and is now up nearly 9% in 2025. That still lags major indexes and most of its mega-cap peers.
Analysts are waiting to hear what the company expects in terms of demand. Tesla did not give specific guidance on volume in its presentation to shareholders, but said it still aims to start “volume production” of the Cybercab, heavy-duty electric semi-trailers and the new battery energy storage system, called Megapack 3, in 2026.
Tesla said it is currently building “first-generation production lines” for the company’s Optimus humanoid robots. Tesla unveiled its all-electric Semi in November 2017. Although the company has delivered some of these trucks to its first customers, it still lists Semi’s production lines as “under construction.”
Instead of promising to deliver a certain number of electric vehicles and energy products by the end of the year, Tesla said: “It is difficult to measure the impacts of changing global trade and tax policies on the automotive and energy supply chains, our cost structure, and demand for durable goods and related services.” »
Tesla executives will host a call with analysts at 5:30 p.m. ET.
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