During this call, we will discuss our business outlook and make forward-looking statements. There are, you know, we have millions of cars out there that, with a software update, become Full Self-Driving cars. can get version 14 if they just go and select, "I want the advanced software" in their car. If you're listening right now and you'd like to try it out, just go in settings and say, "I want the advanced software," and you will get version 14.

This greatly improves our ability to deploy Megapack because it's not dependent on building a substation of 335 kV for Megapack 4. We set new records not just for deliveries and deployments, but also around a range of financial metrics from total revenues, energy gross profit, energy margins, to fresh free cash flow. We feel that as people experience the supervised FSD at scale, the demand for our vehicles, like Elon said, would increase significantly. Now, covering a little bit on the financial side, automotive revenues increased 29% sequentially in line with the growth in deliveries.

The energy storage business continued to deliver with record deployments, gross profit, and margins. The other thing to keep in mind is we are seeing headwinds in this business given the increase in competition and tariffs. The largest increase included in restructuring and other related to certain actions undertaken to reduce cost and improve efficiency through convergence of our AI chip design efforts. Further, our employee-related spend is increasing, especially in R&D, as we have recently granted various performance-based equity awards to employees working on AI initiatives, and therefore such spend will continue to increase going forward.

What went well
  • Set new records not just for deliveries and deployments but across a range of financial metrics, including total revenues, energy gross profit, energy margins, and free cash flow.
  • Deliveries were strong across all regions on continued excitement for the new Model Y, with Greater China up 33% and APAC up 29% sequentially, North America up 28%, and EMEA up 25%.
  • Automotive revenues increased 29% sequentially in line with delivery growth, and automotive margin excluding credits rose from 15% to 15.4% on better material cost and fixed-cost absorption.
  • Energy storage delivered record deployments, gross profit, and margins, with Mega Factory Shanghai ramping to help avoid tariffs on non-U.S. demand.
  • Robotaxi now operates in two markets (Austin and most Bay Area cities), Austin coverage expanded 3x since launch, and cumulative supervised FSD reached 6 billion miles.
  • Free cash flow was approximately $4 billion, another record, and total cash and investments ended the quarter above $41 billion.
What went wrong
  • Regulatory credits declined sequentially even as new contracts were signed.
  • Total tariff impacts for Q3 were in excess of $400 million, split roughly evenly between the automotive and energy businesses.
  • Other income decreased sequentially, primarily from a much smaller Bitcoin mark-to-market gain of $80 million in Q3 versus $284 million in Q2, plus FX movements.
  • Operating expenses increased sequentially, including restructuring for AI-chip-design convergence, legal expenses, and shareholder-meeting preparation costs.
  • Total paid FSD customer base remains small at around 12% of the current fleet.

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodCurrent guidance
CapExFY2025around $9 billion (projected to increase substantially in 2026 for the next growth phase and AI bets including Optimus)
Robotaxi safety driversnext few months / end of 2025no safety drivers in at least parts of Austin; 8-10 metro areas by year-end (removing drivers, pending regulatory approvals (Nevada, Florida, Arizona))
Vehicle production capacitywithin ~24 monthsannualized rate of 3 million units (expanding as fast as suppliers can keep up now that unsupervised autonomy has clarity)
Optimus V3 unveilQ1 2026production-intent prototype to show off (million-unit line targeted for production start toward end of 2026)
Cybercab production startQ2 2026start of production (single biggest production expansion; optimized for full autonomy)

Performance Breakdown

MetricYoYNote
Automotive revenue increased 29% sequentially, in line with the growth in deliveries driven by the new Model Y.
Automotive margin ex-credits rose from 15% to 15.4% sequentially on improved material cost and better fixed-cost absorption from higher volumes.
Energy storage record deployments, gross profit, and margins, aided by Mega Factory Shanghai ramp; but headwinds from rising competition and tariffs.
Free cash flow approximately $4 billion, a record; total cash and investments over $41 billion.

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious mentionCurrent periodTrend
Autonomy / RobotaxiAustin launch, single markettwo markets, Austin coverage 3x, safety-driver removal imminentExpanding
Optimuswalking prototypes in Palo Alto officesOptimus V3 unveil planned Q1 2026, million-unit lineAdvancing to production
AI chip strategyAI4 in vehicles and data centersAI5 focus split across TSMC (Arizona) and Samsung (Texas), ~40x AI4 on some metricsAccelerating
FSD softwareprior versionsV14 shipped, huge performance jump, reasoning being addedImproving
CEO compensation / voting controlNov 6 shareholder vote on compensation proposals and directorsEscalated

Q&A Summary

What are the latest Robotaxi metrics and when will safety drivers be removed?
Elon expects no safety drivers in at least large parts of Austin by year-end and within a few months in parts of Austin, targeting about 8-10 metro areas by year-end subject to regulatory approvals. Ashok said the Austin fleet has covered more than 250,000 miles without anyone in the driver's seat, the Bay Area crossed 1 million miles with a driver, and customers have used supervised FSD for 6 billion miles cumulatively.
Can you update on the Samsung chip deal and confidence in AI5/AI6 timelines and yields?
Elon praised Samsung (which makes AI4) and clarified both TSMC and Samsung will initially focus on AI5. He said AI5 will be up to 40x better than AI4 on some metrics thanks to deletions like the legacy GPU and image signal processor, targeting best performance per watt (2-3x) and per dollar (up to 10x), with an explicit goal of oversupplying AI5 so excess can go into data centers.
How should we think about expanding production versus your 3 million-unit capacity, and would it require incentivizing demand or sacrificing margin?
Elon said capacity will reach 3 million and an annualized 3 million rate is possible within about 24 months, with Cybercab (Q2 2026 start) the single biggest expansion; he does not expect to sacrifice margins because demand will be strong once FSD lets customers text/be on their phone in the car.
How are Tesla's AI efforts and xAI complementary or different?
Elon said they are different forms of AI: Grok is a giant model that cannot fit on a car and targets AGI, while Tesla's models are roughly 5-10% the size and focus on real-world AI. Some elements are complementary, such as Grok voice for in-car interaction and Optimus voice recognition.

More on Tesla, Inc.

Reported 2025-10-22 · figures from the Tesla, Inc. Q3 2025 earnings call.

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