Tesla tops market expectations with Q3 revenue of 37 trillion won as take-up of self-driving software rises

[Financial News] Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, posted results that beat market expectations despite a sharp rise in spending on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
Tesla reported on the 21st that third-quarter revenue totaled $28.05 billion (about 37.2 trillion won), down 0.2% from the same period last year.
That was slightly above the median forecast of $27.9 billion from market analysts surveyed by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), a market research firm.
Earnings per share (EPS) also came in at 48 cents, above the market expectation of 43 cents.
By segment, revenue from the automotive business, its core operation, fell 3% year over year to $20.56 billion. Revenue from energy generation and storage also declined 16% over the same period to $2.88 billion.
By contrast, the services and other segment, which spans areas including charging, insurance and repairs, brought in $4.61 billion, a 33% jump from a year earlier, helping cushion the overall decline in revenue.
Tesla also disclosed that the take-up rate for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) subscription software had increased noticeably.
At least 75% of new vehicles delivered in North America included an FSD subscription, up about 20 percentage points from the previous quarter. The number of active FSD subscribers also rose 67% year over year to 1.74 million.
Total vehicle deliveries in the third quarter were 486,532, down 2% from a year earlier, but Tesla set quarterly delivery records in some countries, including Canada, Japan, Taiwan and Australia.
However, amid large-scale investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, third-quarter capital expenditure (CapEx) reached $4.732 billion, more than double the $2.248 billion recorded in the same period last year.
As cash outflows increased, third-quarter free cash flow (FCF) plunged 62% year over year to $1.531 billion. However, compared with a loss of about $1.1 billion in the previous quarter, Q2, Tesla returned to positive territory in a single quarter.
Tesla shares rose 3.4% in regular trading that day from the previous day’s closing price and climbed more than 2% at one point in after-hours trading immediately after the earnings announcement. They later gave back most of those gains and are fluctuating around $386, roughly flat, as of 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.


[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Correspondent Reporter