Tesla Posts Record Deliveries, Profit Falls

Tesla reported third-quarter revenue of $28.1 billion and a record ~497,000 vehicle deliveries, while net income fell about 37% and EPS missed expectations at $0.50, sending the stock down roughly 3–5% on Thursday. Management said margins were squeezed by higher operating expenses—driven by AI and R&D investments—tariffs and reduced regulatory-credit revenue. CFO Vaibhav Taneja warned capital expenditures will "increase substantially in 2026" to accelerate AI initiatives. CEO Elon Musk emphasized Tesla's pivot to AI and autonomy, calling the Optimus humanoid "potentially the biggest product of all time" and promising a new demo in early 2026 while acknowledging engineering and supply‑chain challenges. Tesla disclosed plans for an AI5 chip to be built by Samsung and TSMC while continuing to use NVIDIA for model training. Musk also pushed shareholders to approve a proposed $1 trillion compensation package, scheduling a vote for early November, as analysts remain divided over long-term upside and near-term execution and margin risks.