Tesla posts mixed Q1, doubles down on robotaxis

Tesla beat Wall Street’s profit target in the first quarter, missed on revenue, and told investors it will spend heavily to push robotaxis and autonomy this year. (tesla.com) Tesla reported $1.5 billion in non-GAAP net income, or $0.41 a share, with $3.9 billion in operating cash flow and $1.4 billion in free cash flow for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. CNBC reported revenue came in below analysts’ estimates even as earnings topped forecasts. (tesla.com) (cnbc.com) In its shareholder update, Tesla said it posted $0.9 billion in GAAP operating income and $0.5 billion in GAAP net income, while highlighting approvals for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in the Netherlands and unsupervised Robotaxi rides launched in Dallas and Houston in April. Business Insider reported executives warned capital spending will rise sharply as those projects expand. (tesla.com) (businessinsider.com) The quarter lands after a bruising stretch for Tesla’s core car business. CNBC said the stock had lagged every other megacap name this year as electric-vehicle competition intensified, and Forbes reported Tesla’s 2025 revenue fell 3% and annual deliveries declined for a second straight year. (cnbc.com) (forbes.com) Tesla is using stronger margins and cash generation to buy time for a strategy that now centers less on selling more cars and more on building an autonomous transport network. In the company’s own wording, the quarter’s work focused on the infrastructure and artificial-intelligence software behind Robotaxi and future robotics businesses. (cnbc.com) (tesla.com) That shift comes with a larger bill. Bloomberg reported Tesla now expects capital expenditures to exceed $25 billion this year, up from an earlier forecast of about $20 billion, as Elon Musk pushes to remake the company around artificial intelligence, robotics and self-driving vehicles. (bloomberg.com) Tesla said it also prepared production lines for Megapack 3, Cybercab and the Tesla Semi, while ramping lithium, cathode and lithium iron phosphate battery production. Those factory and supply-chain moves are aimed at keeping vehicle, energy and AI components closer to each region as trade risks rise. (tesla.com) Critics have argued Tesla’s robotaxi promises have repeatedly moved out on the calendar, and Electrek said some of the quarter’s margin improvement was helped by one-time items including warranty and tariff benefits. Tesla, in its filing and call materials, framed the spending as groundwork for higher manufacturing output and wider autonomy deployment. (electrek.co) (tesla.com) For now, Tesla’s first-quarter report gives investors two numbers to hold at once: a business that stayed solidly profitable through March, and a 2026 plan that gets more expensive as the robotaxi bet gets bigger. (tesla.com) (businessinsider.com)