Tesla reported record vehicle deliveries in the third quarter of 2025, giving the company a brief recovery after a weak start to the year. The surge comes mainly from American customers who rushed to buy cars before the federal EV tax credit expired. The company shipped 497,099 vehicles and earned $21.2 billion in auto revenue — the best figure in more than a year. However, profit remained under pressure, standing at $1.4 billion, which is still down 37% from the same quarter last year, TechCrunch reported. Despite the record sales, the gains were offset by rising costs and weaker margins. Tesla said its operating expenses rose 50% compared to last year due to higher spending on AI, research and development, and “restructuring” costs of nearly $240 million. The company has not explained those charges, although they may be related to the recent shutdown of its six-year-old Dojo supercomputer project. Why did Tesla’s profits fall despite record sales? Aside from higher R&D costs, Tesla cited tariffs as another major reason for reduced profits. Speaking to TechCrunch on Wednesday, CFO Vaibhav Taneja said the impact of tariffs is around $400 million. The irony, analysts note, is that Elon Musk spent millions supporting policies that have since hurt Tesla’s operations. “We are at a critical inflection point for Tesla and our strategy moving forward as we bring AI into the real world,” Musk said. He added that Tesla is at the “beginning of scaling, quite massively, Full Self-Driving and Robotaxi, and fundamentally changing the nature of transportation.” Can Tesla maintain its sales momentum? After a record quarter, the pressure is now on Tesla to maintain momentum in the year’s final quarter. The company is still short of a record quarter to match just its 2024 or 2023 sales figures. The introduction of lower-cost versions of the Model 3 and Model Y could help boost demand. Even with those models, however, Tesla remains far from achieving the 50% annual growth it once promised investors. What is Musk’s new vision for Tesla? Elon Musk continues to urge investors and employees to look beyond Tesla’s traditional car business. His focus is now firmly on artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles and humanoid robots. He envisions a “vast network of self-driving cars” to compete with Uber, while predicting the humanoid robot Optimus will become Tesla’s best-selling product. Tesla provided few new details about those initiatives in Wednesday’s shareholder letter. Musk said the company could start building the third version of Optimus as early as 2026, though he once promised to produce thousands by the end of 2025. Reports indicate that Tesla experienced technical problems in early production. Musk warns investors on Tesla’s ‘robot army’ as car sales see modest recovery. “Bringing Optimus to market is an incredibly difficult task, to be clear. It’s not like a walk in the park,” Musk said. Still, he made ambitious claims about the robot’s potential, saying it could help “create a world where there is no poverty, where everyone has access to the best medical care,” even suggesting that “Optimus will be an incredible surgeon.” How much will Tesla’s AI and robotics push cost? Speaking to TechCrunch, CFO Taneja said Tesla’s capital spending will rise “significantly” in 2026, largely due to projects like Optimus, Full Self-Driving and the upcoming two-seater Cybercab. The company is also spending more on employee compensation amid fierce global competition for AI talent. What’s at stake in Musk’s $1 trillion pay package? Tesla’s third-quarter results come as shareholders prepare to vote on a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk at the company’s upcoming annual meeting. Despite opposition from advisory groups ISS and Glass Lewis, the package is expected to pass given Musk’s strong support among investors. Musk has warned that he may walk away from Tesla if the plan is not approved. On Wednesday’s call, he reiterated that his main concern is control of the company, not personal wealth. “I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then getting kicked out because of some nasty recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis, who have no clue. I mean, those guys are corporate terrorists,” Musk said.
- Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football rankings for Week 9
-
-
-
