Tesla Q1 snapshot
- Tesla reported better-than-feared Q1 results with positive cash flow and rising revenue and profit. - The company delivered 358,023 vehicles and counted about 1.28 million active Full Self‑Driving subscriptions. - Results masked weaknesses—inventory rose and energy storage deployments fell to 8.8 GWh, while reporting and market reactions were covered across Reuters, Electrek, and TechCrunch. ( )
Tesla posted a first quarter that beat low expectations, with revenue up 16% and free cash flow back in positive territory. (assets-ir.tesla.com) The company reported $22.38 billion in revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, up from $19.3 billion a year earlier, and adjusted earnings of 41 cents a share versus 37 cents expected by analysts tracked by LSEG. (cnbc.com) Tesla also reported $477 million in net income and $1.44 billion in free cash flow, while automotive revenue rose to $16.2 billion from $14.0 billion a year earlier. (cnbc.com; techcrunch.com) Those gains came after Tesla said on April 2 that it delivered 358,023 vehicles in the quarter and produced 408,386, leaving a gap of more than 50,000 vehicles between what it built and what it handed over to customers. (ir.tesla.com; electrek.co) Tesla’s energy business also slowed from the prior quarter: the company deployed 8.8 gigawatt-hours of energy storage products in Q1, down from the 14.2 gigawatt-hours Quartz cited for Q4 2025. (ir.tesla.com; qz.com) A big part of the revenue lift came from software and services. TechCrunch reported Tesla counted 1.28 million active Full Self-Driving (Supervised) subscriptions, up 51% from a year earlier. (techcrunch.com) That figure drew pushback from Electrek, which said Tesla’s disclosure appears to include buyers who paid upfront for the package, not only drivers on a recurring subscription plan. (electrek.co) Investors initially pushed the stock up about 4% in extended trading after the results, but CNBC and TechCrunch both reported that the move faded during the earnings call after Tesla said 2026 spending would run $5 billion above prior guidance. (cnbc.com; techcrunch.com) Tesla used its shareholder update to point investors toward robotaxis, artificial intelligence software, and Optimus robots, while also saying it had received approval for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in the Netherlands in April and launched unsupervised Robotaxi rides in Dallas and Houston in April. (assets-ir.tesla.com) The quarter left Tesla with a familiar split screen: stronger profit and cash than Wall Street expected, and a core vehicle business still carrying rising inventory, softer storage deployments, and a heavier spending plan into the rest of 2026. (assets-ir.tesla.com; electrek.co; cnbc.com)
