Tesla Q3 revenue beats estimates as deliveries rebound, energy storage grows

Tesla beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue as vehicle deliveries rebounded and its energy-storage business continued to grow, although heavy spending on AI, robotics and other future technologies weighed on earnings.

The electric vehicle maker delivered 486,532 vehicles during the quarter, ahead of analysts’ expectations and putting it on track for its first annual increase in deliveries in three years. Model 3 and Model Y vehicles accounted for the overwhelming majority of shipments.

Revenue was broadly flat from a year earlier but still came in above Wall Street estimates, helped by stronger EV deliveries and continued expansion in Tesla’s energy-storage operations. The latter has become an increasingly important part of the company’s business as demand for grid-scale batteries and power-storage infrastructure grows.

Profit, however, remained under pressure. Net income fell 43% year-on-year, reflecting rising costs as Tesla continues to invest in autonomous driving, robotaxis, AI and humanoid robots.

The company also surprised investors with $1.53 billion in positive free cash flow, while capital expenditure came in at about $4.7 billion, well below the roughly $7.5 billion analysts had expected. Tesla consequently lowered its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast from more than $25 billion to around $20 billion.

That reduction is notable given CEO Elon Musk’s effort to reposition Tesla beyond its traditional car business and towards AI, autonomous vehicles and robotics. Tesla has also reported rising adoption of its Full Self-Driving software and said its passenger-vehicle order backlog had reached a four-year high.

The quarter therefore offered a mixed picture: the core automotive business showed signs of stabilisation and energy storage continued to expand, while margins and profitability remained under pressure from Tesla’s longer-term technology bets.

For marketers, Tesla remains an unusual case. The company has historically relied far less on conventional advertising than rival automakers, but as competition intensifies and its product portfolio broadens beyond cars, the pressure to communicate those new businesses to consumers may grow alongside the company itself.