Tesla Q1 mixed pivot
- Tesla reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.41 and revenue of $22.39 billion for Q1, slightly missing expectations. - Elon Musk warned of a sharp increase in capital spending to fund AI, robotics, and robotaxis initiatives. - The results beat some forecasts but left investors split between valuing Tesla as a carmaker or as an AI-and-autonomy firm (cnbc.com) (businessinsider.com)
Tesla’s latest quarter showed a company still selling more cars and batteries — while asking investors to fund a much bigger bet on robotaxis, artificial intelligence and humanoid robots. (assets-ir.tesla.com) Tesla reported first-quarter revenue of $22.39 billion on April 22, with adjusted earnings of 41 cents a share, while Wall Street had expected about $22.64 billion in revenue and 37 cents in earnings. (cnbc.com) (ir.tesla.com) Revenue rose 16% from a year earlier, automotive revenue reached $16.2 billion, and Tesla said automotive gross margin excluding regulatory credits climbed to 19.2%, the highest level in any quarter last year. (cnbc.com) The split came after the earnings call, when Tesla said 2026 spending would run $5 billion above prior guidance as it builds out computing, factories and infrastructure tied to robotaxis, battery materials and robotics. (cnbc.com) (assets-ir.tesla.com) Tesla said it launched unsupervised Robotaxi rides in Dallas and Houston in April, received approval for Full Self-Driving, or FSD, Supervised in the Netherlands in April, and kept preparing lines for Cybercab, Tesla Semi and Optimus production. (assets-ir.tesla.com) That pitch is colliding with a weaker record in Tesla’s core car business. The company delivered 358,023 vehicles in the quarter after producing 408,386, and the stock had already fallen 14% in 2026 through Wednesday’s close, according to CNBC. (ir.tesla.com) (cnbc.com) Tesla is also trying to hold the line in a more crowded electric-vehicle market. CNBC said rivals including BYD and Xiaomi have been pressuring Tesla overseas, while Tesla said it still plans “more affordable trims” of the Model Y and Model 3. (cnbc.com) (assets-ir.tesla.com) This follows a difficult 2025, when Tesla posted its first annual revenue decline on record and Musk said the company would stop making the Model S and Model X to free Fremont factory lines for Optimus robots. (cnbc.com) Investors now have a cleaner choice to make than they did a year ago: value Tesla on quarterly car sales and margins, or on Musk’s claim that the company’s next phase will come from autonomy software, robotaxis and robots. (assets-ir.tesla.com) (cnbc.com)
