Investor's Corner
Why new EV incentives are the nail in the coffin for ICE manufacturers
The newly-revised electric vehicle incentive program, which is a part of President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, could officially spell the end of the combustion engine era in the American automotive industry. The new EV tax credit breakdown could award as much as $12,500 for an EV purchase, but that’s not the best part. As the EV industry continues to embrace new vehicle styles and expand to more consumers, the language in the bill reflects new body types and supports domestic manufacturing. Additionally, vehicles purchased from a unionized plant will provide an extra $4,500, with $500 more if US-produced batteries are used in the car.
Currently, $7,500 is offered to anyone who purchases an EV from a company in the United States that has not sold at least 200,000 units. GM and Tesla are the two manufacturers who are currently disqualified from utilizing the EV incentive because they have surpassed the 200k vehicle threshold.
Over the past several days, more details regarding the EV tax credit have been detailed, especially as revisions to the bill were made just a few days ago to include trucks, SUVs, and vans. Additionally, new income eligibility requirements have been lowered, which will disqualify more people from receiving the credit.
U.S. Senate Panel looks to boost EV Tax Credit to $12,500: What we know so far
Vehicle Type Price Caps
The latest modifications to the bill include price caps for body styles. SUVs up to $80,000 will now qualify, increased from the previous $69,000 cap. Trucks have also been increased to $80,000 from $74,000, and vans up to $80,000 in price will also now qualify. Sedans are included in the “Other” category and will be eligible at $55,000 and under.
Electric trucks will be a significant part of the U.S. EV market in the coming years. With Rivian beginning initial deliveries of the R1T earlier this month, the company will have to fend off stiff competition from the Ford F-150 Lightning, the GMC Hummer EV, and the Tesla Cybertruck. This market will become more robust in the coming years as pre-orders for the F-150 Lightning have reached 160,000, and the Cybertruck has peaked at 1.5 million reservations.
Income Limitation Revisions
Income limits have been lower to $500,000 for joint families, $375,000 for the head of household, and $250,000 for individual filers. These are relatively drastic reductions, especially as single filers were eligible with incomes of up to $400,000, and joint filers were not disqualified until the $800,000 yearly income mark. After all, the bill does state that the incentive is to make EVs more affordable for middle-class Americans.
The White House writes:
“The consumer rebates and credits included in the Build Back Better framework will save the average American family hundreds of dollars per year in energy costs. These measures include enhancement and expansion of existing home energy and efficiency tax credits, as well as the creation of a new, electrification-focused rebate program. The framework will cut the cost of installing rooftop solar for a home by around 30 percent, shortening the payback period by around 5 years; and the framework’s electric vehicle tax credit will lower the cost of an electric vehicle that is made in America with American materials and union labor by $12,500 for a middle-class family. In addition, the framework will help rural communities tap into the clean energy opportunity through targeted grants and loans through the Department of Agriculture.”
Used EVs now Qualify
Used EVs will also now qualify for the tax credit at a slightly reduced rate. According to CNET, the legislation in the Affordable EVs for Working Families Act will provide up to $2,500 for an individual filing their taxes who drives a used EV and has an income of less than $75,000 per year. Joint filers will have to make under $150,000 to qualify, and the EV has to be at least two years old and cost under $25,000 to qualify.
The Nail in the Coffin for ICE
It is no secret that EVs will begin to displace a significant number of ICE vehicles on the road in the coming years. While many manufacturers have announced plans to scrap ICE production altogether, goals and timelines are not always met. However, incentivizing consumers to purchase electric vehicles is a great way to surge the EV movement forward. Seeing that many families and individuals will qualify for hefty tax credits worth various amounts, more consumers may tend to lead toward the quickly-growing EV sector.
Now that incentives have been announced for additional body styles, the expansion of the EV sector is providing more options for consumers who need more than a daily driver to accomplish everyday tasks. With the introduction of several electrified pickups and SUVs, consumers can consider more versatility, as the need for a pickup or SUV for personal reasons is no longer an excuse not to buy electric.
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Elon Musk
Tesla Semi finally has an FSD timeline and it’s waiting on the Cybercab
Elon Musk told investors Semi self-driving should start working by early 2027, per today’s earnings.
During Wednesday’s’ Tesla Q2 earnings call, an analyst asked Elon Musk when Tesla would look at autonomy for the Semi. His answer set a real timeline for the first time, noting that self-driving on the Tesla Semi is expected to start working “around the end of this year or early next year”.
Musk framed the delay as a matter of priority, not capability. Tesla’s self-driving team is currently focused on Model 3, Model Y, and Cybercab, the vehicles that make up the overwhelming majority of Tesla’s fleet. Since Semi trucks on the road remain a small fraction of that total even after the recent Nevada factory ramp, Musk said it made more sense to keep the software team’s attention on what he called “the march of nines of safety” for the higher volume vehicles first. Autonomous Semi development is “taking a bit of a backseat for the next six months or so,” he said, before adding that it “will definitely be working next year and in time for the scale-up to high production of the Tesla Semi.”
Tesla Semi’s official battery capacity leaked by California regulators
The timeline lines up with what’s already been showing up on public roads. In June, a Tesla Semi was spotted in Sunnyvale wearing a full validation rig, the same rooftop sensor array Tesla mounts on vehicles ahead of an FSD milestone.
A second unit was seen near Fremont days later with a matching camera suite and lens washers. Separately, Tesla analyst Nic Cruz Patane posted video this month of the production Semi’s exterior camera array, ten AI4 based units built directly into the truck rather than added later.
Tesla Semi AI4 cameras. The production version has 10 cameras on its exterior.
These trucks are designed to be autonomous. pic.twitter.com/GH3BamxIBQ
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) April 14, 2026
Musk also gave the reason autonomy on the Semi matters in the first place, a persistent shortage of qualified truck drivers. “There is a really serious shortage of truckers,” he said on the call, framing a self-driving Semi as important both for addressing that shortage and for improving safety and comfort for the drivers running the truck today.
The timing also tracks with the Semi’s production reality. Tesla’s Q2 shareholder letter, dropped language promising the Semi would reach volume production this year. Musk pointed to 4680 battery cell output as the near-term constraint on Semi and Cybercab production. A software timeline landing in early 2027 gives Tesla’s autonomy team room to work while the hardware ramp catches up behind it.
It’s worth nothing that this isn’t necessarily a promise the Semi ships driverless next year. Musk’s own language, self-driving “working” by early 2027, describes internal validation catching up to hardware already riding on every production truck, not a public unsupervised rollout.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2026 on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what the company reported compared to what Wall Street analysts expected.
The earnings results come after Tesla reported a massive beat on vehicle deliveries for the second quarter, delivering 489,126 vehicles and building 451,758 cars during the three-month span.
This was a major shock for those on Wall Street as they anticipated somewhere around 400,000 deliveries for the quarter, and showed Tesla still has plenty of demand for its vehicles around the world and in the U.S. despite losing the $7,500 EV Tax Credit last year.
Tesla Q2 2026 Earnings Results
- Non-GAAP EPS – $0.33 reported vs. $0.53 expected
- Revenues – $28.236 billion reported vs. $26.4 billion expected
- Free Cash Flow- -$1.092B
- Profit -$ 4.751B
Tesla (beat/missed) analyst expectations, so the market response to the company’s quarter is what we will look for next.
Tesla shares closed today down just over 1 percent, trading at $374.01.
In the past, it has been anyone’s guess with what Tesla shares will do after they report earnings. Strong quarters have resulted in sharp drops, while lackluster quarters have seen the stock shoot up considerably.
Tesla will hold its Q2 2026 Earnings Call in about 90 minutes at 5:30 p.m. on the East Coast. Remarks will be made by CEO Elon Musk and other executives, who will shed some light on the investor questions that we covered earlier this week.
You can stream it below. Additionally, we will be doing our Live Blog on X and Facebook.
Q2 2026 Earnings Call https://t.co/zZS6ii2TWK
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will report its earnings for the second quarter of 2026 this evening after market close, and investors and analysts are waiting anxiously to see what the company will report for the second three-month span of the year.
Analysts have already put out their expectations from a financial standpoint for the company’s second quarter, but what’s unknown is what Tesla plans to discuss during the call.
Financial Expectations
Wall Street consensus expectations put Tesla’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) at $0.53, while revenues are expected to come in around $26.4 billion.
This would compare to an EPS of $0.39 and $22.19 billion compared to Tesla’s Q2 2025. Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.41 on $22.387 billion of revenue. Additionally in Q1, Tesla beat analyst expectations, but shares dropped over 3 percent the following trading day.
What We Expect
In terms of discussions, Tesla earnings are pretty sporadic and depend on a handful of things, including current events, investor questions, and more.
Tesla uses a platform called Say to field questions from investors and analysts. These questions are what will be used during the call. Here are the top 5 from the Retail side and top 3 from the Institutional side:
Retail:
“Tesla has missed short-term guidance on robotaxi 3 earnings reports in a row, from 50% coverage of USA by end of 2025 to most recently 7 new cities in 1H26. What is keeping Tesla back from accomplishing these short term goals that they’ve set for themselves?”
“What are the main constraints to expanding robotaxi operations faster, and how do you see that lining up with Cybercab production?”
“What’s the current status of Optimus Gen 3 production ramp, initial deployment in factories, and external sales timeline/volume for 2027? What tasks can we expect the Optimus to perform by end of 2027?”
“To reward long-term Tesla retail shareholders for their loyalty, can you commit to achieving at least half of the goals outlined in your 2025 compensation plan before considering any offers to acquire or merge Tesla?”
“Why has growth of robotaxi vehicles stalled? When will we see cybercab start customer rides?”
Institutional
“Previously, you’ve said Tesla would lead the R&D while SpaceX would lead production for Terafab. Can you provide an update on how that division of responsibilities is evolving, and any additional clarity on the expected capital contributions from Tesla and SpaceX?”
“For autonomous driving, Tesla’s fleet created a huge data advantage by collecting billions of real-world miles. That advantage doesn’t yet exist for Optimus. How should we think about data availability and its impact on Optimus development?”
“Why is it necessary to limit robotaxi operations within specific zones within cities to start? Will every city have to be rolled out this way?”
Tesla will report earnings for Q2 this evening with the Shareholder Deck at 4 p.m. ET, with the call starting around 5:30 p.m. ET.
Tesla Semi finally has an FSD timeline and it’s waiting on the Cybercab
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
