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Tesla is ‘very close’ to profitability, says Musk: ‘If we go all out, we will achieve an epic victory’
As the third quarter trickles down to its final hours, Tesla remains fully determined to power forward and end Q3 on a strong note, delivering as many vehicles as it can to reservation holders. While the delivery figures for the quarter would most likely be impressive, questions remain if Tesla can achieve its other, more ambitious goal this Q3 — profitability. If one of Musk’s recent emails to employees are any indication, it appears that the electric car maker is closing in on this goal as well.
This weekend proved to be eventful for Elon Musk and Tesla. Even before Saturday began, Musk took to Twitter to express his gratitude to the Tesla community for supporting the company, particularly owners who are serving as volunteers on delivery centers. Musk also posted a “Don’t Panic” reminder on his Twitter page, almost seemingly teasing that the threat of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit would disappear soon. Sure enough, on Saturday, the SEC announced that Elon Musk had agreed to a settlement.
Just hours after his settlement with the SEC was announced, Elon Musk reportedly sent an email to Tesla’s employees stating that the company is incredibly close to hitting profitability. In his email, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg, Musk noted that if Tesla “goes all out” on Sunday, there is a good chance that the company could achieve an “epic victory.”
“We are very close to achieving profitability and proving the naysayers wrong, but, to be certain, we must execute really well tomorrow (Sunday). If we go all out tomorrow, we will achieve an epic victory beyond all expectations,” Musk wrote.
Considering Musk’s message, it appears that every single delivery completed this Sunday would contribute to Tesla’s profitability for Q3 2018. Tesla is going all-hands on its deliveries, and boosted by volunteers owners who are orienting newcomers with the features and functions of their electric cars; Tesla appears to be closer to its profitability goals than ever before.
Tesla’s profitability has proven to be among the company’s most elusive targets. Over the years, the company’s profits, or lack thereof, has become one of the most notable pillars of the Tesla bear thesis. Back in April, for one, speculations among the electric car maker’s skeptics suggested that Tesla would need to raise $2.5 to $3 billion this year to stay afloat. It was then that Elon Musk announced on Twitter that Tesla would be profitable and cash flow positive in Q3 and Q4, negating the need to raise more capital. Since then, Tesla has been on a dash to achieve its targets one after another, from the Model 3’s 5,000/week production rate at the end of Q2 to the production and delivery of more than 50,000 Model 3 in Q3.
Tesla’s profitability hinges largely on the Model 3, as it is the vehicle that would comprise most of the company’s deliveries this quarter. Fortunately for Tesla, teardowns and analyses of the car by third-party firms have determined that the electric car maker can make a profit on the Model 3. Sandy Munro of Munro and Associates, for one, noted in an Autoline TV segment that the Model 3 ultimately forced him to “eat crow,” as the vehicle proved to be impressive regardless of his initial reservations about the sedan. Munro, who has decades of experience with vehicles, and who has performed a thorough analysis of other electric cars like the BMW i3 and the Chevy Bolt EV, noted that Tesla could make a decent profit with the Long Range RWD Model 3.
“The Model 3 is profitable. I didn’t think it was gonna happen this way, but the Model 3 is profitable. Over 30%. No electric car is getting 30% net, nobody,” Munro said.
Elon Musk
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to allow Grok to be used in classified military systems.
Previously, Anthropic’s Claude had been the only AI system approved for the most sensitive military work, but a dispute over usage safeguards has reportedly prompted the Pentagon to broaden its options, as noted in a report from Axios.
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
The publication reported that xAI agreed to the Pentagon’s requirement that its technology be usable for “all lawful purposes,” a standard Anthropic has reportedly resisted due to alleged ethical restrictions tied to mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in what sources expect to be a tense meeting, with the publication hinting that the Pentagon could designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if the company does not lift its safeguards.
Axios stated that replacing Claude fully might be technically challenging even if xAI or other alternative AI systems take its place. That being said, other AI systems are already in use by the DoD.
Grok already operates in the Pentagon’s unclassified systems alongside Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is reportedly close to an agreement that will result in Gemini being used for classified use, while OpenAI’s progress toward classified deployment is described as slower but still feasible.
The publication noted that the Pentagon continues talks with several AI companies as it prepares for potential changes in classified AI sourcing.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk denies Starlink’s price cuts are due to Amazon Kuiper
“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
Elon Musk has pushed back on claims that Starlink’s recent price reductions are tied to Amazon’s Kuiper project.
In a post on X, Musk responded directly to a report suggesting that Starlink was cutting prices and offering free hardware to partners ahead of a planned IPO and increased competition from Kuiper.
“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X. “The lower the cost, the more Starlink can be used by people who don’t have much money, especially in the developing world.”
The speculation originated from a post summarizing a report from The Information, which ran with the headline “SpaceX’s Starlink Makes Land Grab as Amazon Threat Looms.” The report stated that SpaceX is aggressively cutting prices and giving free hardware to distribution partners, which was interpreted as a reaction to Amazon’s Kuiper’s upcoming rollout and possible IPO.
In a way, Musk’s comments could be quite accurate considering Starlink’s current scale. The constellation currently has more than 9,700 satellites in operation today, making it by far the largest satellite broadband network in operation. It has also managed to grow its user base to 10 million active customers across more than 150 countries worldwide.
Amazon’s Kuiper, by comparison, has launched approximately 211 satellites to date, as per data from SatelliteMap.Space, some of which were launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Starlink surpassed that number in early January 2020, during the early buildout of its first-generation network.
Lower pricing also aligns with Starlink’s broader expansion strategy. SpaceX continues to deploy satellites at a rapid pace using Falcon 9, and future launches aboard Starship are expected to significantly accelerate the constellation’s growth. A larger network improves capacity and global coverage, which can support a broader customer base.
In that context, price reductions can be viewed as a way to match expanding supply with growing demand. Musk’s companies have historically used aggressive pricing strategies to drive adoption at scale, particularly when vertical integration allows costs to decline over time.
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Tesla Giga Berlin makes a statement of solidarity amid IG Metall conflict
The display comes as tensions between Tesla and IG Metall continue to escalate.
Tesla Giga Berlin is sending a strong message of solidarity amid its ongoing legal dispute with German union IG Metall.
In a post on social media platform X, Giga Berlin plant manager André Thierig shared an image of the facility’s lobby covered with a large banner that reads: “Progress. Innovation. Success.” He added that the slogan reflects what the facility has stood for since Day One.
“Our lobby at Giga Berlin covered in a huge banner these days. Progress. Innovation. Success – this is what we stand for since we started production in 2022 and how we will go into our future!” Thierig wrote in his post on X.
The display comes as tensions between Tesla and IG Metall continue to escalate.
The dispute began after Tesla accused a union representative of secretly recording a works council meeting at Giga Berlin. Tesla stated that it filed a criminal complaint after the alleged incident. Police later confirmed they had seized a computer belonging to an IG Metall member as part of their investigation.
“What has happened today at Giga Berlin is truly beyond words! An external union representative from IG Metall attended a works council meeting. For unknown reasons he recorded the internal meeting and was caught in action! We obviously called police and filed a criminal complaint!” Thierig wrote on X at the time.
IG Metall denied the accusation and characterized Tesla’s move as an election tactic ahead of upcoming works council elections. The union subsequently filed a defamation complaint against Thierig. Authorities later confirmed that an investigation had been opened in connection with the matter.
Giga Berlin began production in 2022 and has since become one of Tesla’s key European manufacturing hubs, producing the Model Y, the company’s best-selling vehicle. The facility has expanded capacity over the past years despite environmental protests, labor disputes, and regulatory scrutiny.
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Elon Musk denies Starlink’s price cuts are due to Amazon Kuiper
