Tesla guides $25B capex, delays robotaxi
- Tesla raised 2026 capital spending guidance above $25 billion after first-quarter results, while Elon Musk said large-scale robotaxi rollout waits for Full Self-Driving V15. - The new spending plan is up from more than $20 billion forecast in January and nearly triple Tesla’s $8.53 billion of 2025 capex. - Investors are weighing bigger AI bets against delayed autonomy revenue and weaker auto growth. (reuters.com)
Tesla told investors on April 22 that it will spend more than $25 billion in 2026, and Elon Musk said robotaxi service will not scale broadly until Full Self-Driving V15. (tesla.com) (techcrunch.com) The new capex target is up from Tesla’s January forecast of more than $20 billion and far above the $8.53 billion it spent in 2025. Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said the heavier spending will pressure free cash flow. (cnbc.com) (techcrunch.com) (usnews.com) Tesla’s shareholder deck said the money will go to AI infrastructure, chips, factory ramps, Cybercab production lines, battery materials and Optimus humanoid robots. The same deck said Tesla launched unsupervised Robotaxi rides in Dallas and Houston in April. (tesla.com) Musk told investors Tesla plans to expand robotaxi into a “dozen or so” states by year-end, but he tied true large-scale deployment to a later software version, V15. That pushes the bigger revenue question from the current city-by-city rollout to a future software milestone. (usatoday.com) (reuters.com) Tesla’s first-quarter numbers were mixed. Revenue was $22.39 billion, below Wall Street estimates compiled by LSEG, while adjusted earnings per share came in at 41 cents, above expectations, and free cash flow was $1.4 billion. (cnbc.com) (tesla.com) The market reaction turned after the spending outlook. Tesla shares initially rose in extended trading after earnings, then gave up those gains as investors focused on the extra $5 billion above prior guidance. (cnbc.com) (reuters.com) That leaves Tesla asking shareholders to fund a shift away from a pure electric-vehicle story and toward artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous services before those businesses produce large revenue. Reuters reported analysts described the plan as a test of investor faith. (usnews.com) (reuters.com) For now, Tesla has real robotaxi activity in Austin, Dallas and Houston, a bigger 2026 spending bill, and a public marker for what comes next: V15. Until that software arrives, the company’s autonomy story stays partly on promise. (tesla.com) (usatoday.com)
