Tesla Q1 beats estimates

Tesla reported first-quarter results on April 22 that topped profit expectations, even as its sales growth stayed under pressure. (tesla.com; cnbc.com) The company said revenue was $22.39 billion in the quarter and adjusted earnings were 41 cents a share, while net income rose to $477 million from $409 million a year earlier. CNBC said analysts polled by LSEG had expected 37 cents a share on $22.64 billion in revenue. (tesla.com; cnbc.com) Tesla also reported $3.9 billion in operating cash flow and $1.4 billion in free cash flow, and said cash and investments increased by $700 million in the quarter. The company used the shareholder update to say it had launched unsupervised Robotaxi rides in Dallas and Houston in April and won approval for Full Self-Driving, or FSD, Supervised in the Netherlands. (tesla.com) The quarter landed after Tesla disclosed earlier in April that it delivered 358,023 vehicles, lower than the prior quarter and only about 6% above a weak year-earlier period. CNBC said Tesla’s stock had fallen 14% in 2026 through Wednesday’s close before the report. (cnbc.com) That mix explains the split reaction around the report: profit held up better than expected, but revenue still missed Wall Street forecasts and Tesla’s core car business is facing heavier competition from BYD and Xiaomi. CNBC said the shares initially rose about 4% in extended trading before giving up those gains after management raised this year’s spending plan. (cnbc.com) Tesla said it is spending more heavily on artificial intelligence, robotics, chips, battery materials and factory lines for Megapack 3, Cybercab and the Tesla Semi. Reuters reported the company lifted its 2026 capital spending plan to more than $25 billion, about $5 billion above prior guidance. (tesla.com; reuters.com) Tesla said demand improved in Asia-Pacific, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and North America during the quarter, and it repeated plans for “more affordable trims” of the Model 3 and Model Y. CNBC said automotive gross margin excluding regulatory credits reached 19.2%, higher than any quarter last year. (tesla.com; cnbc.com) Tesla’s update framed the quarter as a bridge between its car business and its push into robotaxis, software and humanoid robots. The next test is whether higher spending in the rest of 2026 produces faster growth than the car business delivered in the first three months of the year. (tesla.com; reuters.com)