Tesla set to report Q3 earnings as investors weigh growth pressure and merger talks

Traders Union
All News
Business & Wealth
Companies
Tesla Q3 earnings & merger

Highlights

Analysts expect Tesla to report Q3 earnings per share of 43 cents on $27.9 billion revenue, slightly below $28.1 billion last year and trailing double-digit prior growth.
Tesla, SpaceX and Intel are partnering on a semiconductor factory in Texas, fueling merger speculation as both boards create special committees to examine a potential combination.
Tesla vehicle deliveries in Q3 fell 2% year-over-year to 486,532, while FSD subscriptions reached nearly 1.5 million by end of June amid margin pressure from higher rates and energy costs.

Quarter expectations and strategic focus

As reported by CNBC, analysts polled by LSEG expect Tesla to post third-quarter earnings per share of 43 cents on revenue of $27.9 billion when the company reports on Wednesday.

If Tesla does not exceed those estimates, revenue would slip slightly from $28.1 billion a year earlier. The company posts double-digit growth in each of the prior two quarters, but revenue falls in three of four quarters in 2025 as Chinese electric vehicle makers including BYD and Xiaomi gain traction in Asia and Europe with lower-cost and newer models. Tesla also faces pressure after the end of a federal EV tax credit last year.

Earlier this month, Tesla reports third-quarter vehicle deliveries of 486,532, roughly 2% below the year-ago level. Deliveries remain the company’s closest indication of sales, while auto revenue still makes up the bulk of the business even as Musk continues to present robotaxis and humanoid robots as Tesla’s longer-term growth engines.

That shift is drawing attention to capital expenditures, which are expected to top $25 billion this year based on prior company guidance, up from about $8.5 billion in 2025. One of the largest projects is a semiconductor factory in Grimes County, Texas, which Tesla is building with SpaceX and Intel.

Merger speculation and technology outlook

The Texas chip partnership, along with work spanning artificial intelligence software, chip design, Terafab and robotics, has intensified market speculation that Musk’s companies could pursue a combination. On SpaceX’s earnings call, Musk says both boards have created special committees to examine a potential merger, while adding that any deal would still need shareholder backing and that a majority vote of all Tesla shares would be a high hurdle.

Musk also points to growing operational overlap between the companies. Tesla is already using Grok AI technology developed by SpaceX in customer vehicle assistants and in controls for Optimus humanoid robots that remain in development.

Tesla’s stock is down 14% this year despite a Wednesday rally, trailing all of its megacap technology peers. On the last Tesla earnings call in July, Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja says automotive margins are under pressure from higher interest rates and energy costs, but he highlights rising revenue from Full Self-Driving, or FSD, the assisted driving subscription sold for $99 a month.

Taneja says Tesla reaches nearly 1.5 million paid FSD customers worldwide by the end of June. Ahead of Wednesday’s call, investors submit heavily supported questions seeking updates on when FSD could become unsupervised, as well as progress on the Cybercab robotaxi program. Tesla is testing the two-seat Cybercab and operating a limited U.S. driverless fleet, but it still trails Alphabet’s Waymo in the U.S. and Baidu’s Apollo Go in China.

In our earlier article on BYD Malaysia’s local assembly plans, we covered the company’s move to appoint Inokom Corporation as its CKD assembly partner in Kulim, signaling a shift from its previously floated plan to build a new plant in Tanjung Malim. We noted that the decision followed local export requirements and could strengthen Malaysia’s automotive ecosystem, even as key details such as models and production timelines were still pending.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.