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SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket celebrates 4th launch debut anniversary

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On the fourth anniversary of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch debut and after an unusual multi-year hiatus, the world’s most powerful operational rocket could be on the brink of an impressive salvo of launches.

Four years ago yesterday, on February 6th, 2018, Falcon Heavy lifted off from NASA’s historic Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Pad 39A launch complex, launched a truly esoteric payload into interplanetary space, and officially became the largest, heaviest, and most powerful active launch vehicle in the world. It also became the third most powerful liquid rocket ever launched, placing SpaceX squarely at the table alongside the likes of NASA’s Saturn V Moon rocket and the Soviet Union’s ill-fated N-1 and Energia.

14 months later, an upgraded “Block 5” version of Falcon Heavy aced two more back-to-back launches in April and June 2019, completing its first missions for paying customers and also aiding the US Air Force in its efforts to certify the capable rocket for high-value military launches. However, such an auspicious beginning made the years of inactivity that immediately followed Falcon Heavy’s third launch even more striking.

Since Falcon Heavy’s late-June 2019 launch of the USAF’s Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission, the rocket hasn’t launched once. That wasn’t supposed to be the case. As of June 2018, SpaceX was supposed to launch the US Air Force’s AFSPC-52 (now USSF-52) mission in September 2020. In June 2019, Spaceflight Now reported that USSF-44 – not USSF-52 – would be SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch and was expected no earlier than (NET) “late 2020.” By September 2020, USSF-44 was expected to launch in February 2021. By February 2021, the US military stated that USSF-44 was scheduled to launch NET October 2021. By October 2021, the US military had once again delayed USSF-44 to early 2022 and USSF-52 to “Q2 2022.”

While the military has done little more than acknowledge each new date, it has vaguely implied that the spacecraft – not SpaceX – are to blame for the chronic, prolonged delays. Without even a hint of an explanation, it’s unclear if those delays are likely to end anytime soon, potentially delaying USSF-44 and USSF-52 into the second half or last quarter of 2022 and pushing USSF-67 into 2023. Thankfully, unreliable US military payloads aren’t the only Falcon Heavy missions scheduled this year.

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At a minimum, SpaceX is contracted to launch the ViaSat’s first of three next-generation ViaSat-3 communications satellite directly to geostationary orbit (GEO). The launch was recently delayed from Q2 to the end of Q3 2022. SpaceX is also scheduled to launch NASA’s Psyche mission – a spacecraft designed to visit and study an asteroid made almost entirely out of metal – NET August 2022. While customer Inmarsat has yet to finalize or announce a contract decision, Falcon Heavy could potentially be tasked with launching the second Inmarsat-6 geostationary communications satellite sometime later this year.

All told, if every customer is able to stem each torrent of delays, Falcon Heavy could feasibly launch five or even six times in 2022. More conservatively, if USSF-67 and ViaSat-3 are delayed to 2023 and Inmarsat-6 F2 goes to Falcon 9, the world’s largest operational rocket could still launch three times in 2022 and still have up to three more launches scheduled next year.

For now, Falcon Heavy’s first launch in at least 33 months and fourth launch overall isn’t expected until March 2022 at the earliest.

Eric Ralph is Teslarati's senior spaceflight reporter and has been covering the industry in some capacity for almost half a decade, largely spurred in 2016 by a trip to Mexico to watch Elon Musk reveal SpaceX's plans for Mars in person. Aside from spreading interest and excitement about spaceflight far and wide, his primary goal is to cover humanity's ongoing efforts to expand beyond Earth to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere.

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LIVE BLOG: Tesla (TSLA) Q3 2025 earnings call

The following are live updates from Tesla’s Q3 2025 earnings call.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) earnings call comes on the heels of the company’s Q3 2025 update letter, which was released after the closing bell on October 22, 2025.

Tesla’s Q3 2025 Results

As could be seen in Tesla’s Q3 2025 Update Letter, the company posted GAAP EPS of $0.39 and non-GAAP EPS of $0.50 per share. Tesla also posted total revenues of $28.095 billion. GAAP net income is also listed at $1.37 billion.

Tesla’s total revenue increased 12% YoY to $28.1 billion, while operating income decreased 40% YoY to $1.6 billion. This means that for Q3 2025, Tesla’s had a 5.8% operating margin. Tesla’s quarter-end cash, cash equivalents and investments was $41.6 billion by the end of the third quarter.

Earnings call updates

The following are live updates from Tesla’s Q3 2025 earnings call. I will be updating this article in real time, so please keep refreshing the page to view the latest updates on this story.

16:25 CT – Good day to everyone, and welcome to another Tesla earnings call live blog. The Q3 2025 Update Letter seemed to be on the quieter side, but it’s hard not to be impressed with Tesla’s $4 billion free cash flow, an all-time high.

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Now we just have to see how the earnings call will go.

16:30 CT – Looks like the earnings call’s livestream is up. It hasn’t started yet, but the music’s on. Here’s the livestream:

16:33 CT – One of the most fun things about Tesla earnings call coverages is that you don’t really know what type of Elon Musk you’re gonna get. The questions from investors and analysts are always fun too.

16:35 CT – And here we go. Travis Axelrod takes the floor and introduces Tesla’s executives.

16:36 CT – Elon’s opening remarks begin. He says Tesla is at a critical point because real-world AI is imminent. He states that he believes Tesla has the highest intelligence density. “It’s gonna be like a shockwave,” Elon said, highlighting that there are millions of cars out there that could become full self-driving with a simple software update.

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16:38 CT – With Tesla achieving clarity on Unsupervised FSD, Musk stated that he feels “confident in expanding Tesla’s production.” He also noted that Tesla Energy is rising quickly, especially with products like the Powerwall and the Megapack. “We see the potential there for Tesla battery packs to improve the energy output per year of any given grid, the US or otherwise.”

16:40 CT – Elon also reiterated his prediction that Tesla Optimus could be the largest product in the world. A good reason for this is the fact that Tesla has scale, Musk stated. Musk also stated that it’s easy for users in the United States to test out FSD V14 for themselves. He also mentioned that Tesla is currently hard at work with Megapack 4.

“We look forward to unveiling Optimus V3 in Q1. I think it will be quite remarkable,” Musk said, adding that V3 will almost seem like a person in a robot suit.

16:45 CT – Musk summed up his opening remarks with a comment on Tesla’s updated mission.

“In conclusion, we’re excited about the updated mission of Tesla, which is sustainable abundance. We’re going beyond sustainable energy. We believe that with Optimus and self-driving, we can actually create a world where there is no poverty, where everyone has access to the finest medical care.

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“Optimus will be an incredible surgeon. Imagine if everyone had access to an incredible surgeon. I think we’re headed to sustainable abundance, and I’m excited to work with the Tesla team to make that happen,” Musk said, summing up.

16:48 CT – Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja discussed the company’s rollout of its expanded Model Y lineup such as the Model Y L, as well as the advantages of the Robotaxi network. He also confirmed that Tesla is looking to secure approvals for FSD tests in several areas across the globe.

He also discussed Tesla’s regulatory credits. “”While regulatory credits declined sequentially, we entered into new contracts and delivered on previous contracts,” he said.

16:54 CT – Investor questions are asked about demand for Megapack and Powerwall. Tesla noted that Tesla is seeing a lot of interest and demand for Megapack and its related products. There is also a surge in demand for residential batteries.

Looks like the Tesla Solar Roof is coming alive as well.

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16:59 CT – A question about the challenges of Optimus’ rollout was asked. Elon Musk noted that bringing Optimus to market would not be a walk in the park. It will be a very difficult endeavor. “It’s an incredibly difficult thing,” Musk said, adding that the hands of Optimus are very difficult to design and produce due to its complexity.

Tesla is really putting a ton of work on Optimus’ hands, likely because the robot will need to be very dexterous to be useful in both residential and industrial applications. He noted that for Optimus to be successful, Tesla must really be vertically integrated.

Elon also mentioned that Optimus is one of the reasons behind his goals with his 2025 compensation plan. He needs control of Tesla if the company is building a literal robot army.

17:05 CT – A question about Tesla’s chip deal with Samsung. Elon noted that he has nothing but good things to say about Samsung. He then clarified that Tesla will be focusing both TSMC and Samsung on AI5.

“The AI5 chip design by Tesla is an amazing design. I have spent every weekend for the last few months with the chip design team working with AI5,” Musk said. “By some metrics, the AI5 chip will be 40x better than the AI4 chip.” This is because the hardware is designed for Tesla’s software stack.

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There is also a lot of efficiencies and deletions that have been implemented on AI5. “This is a beautiful chip,” Musk said, reiterating that both Samsung and TSMC will be producing AI5. Tesla wants an oversupply of AI5 chips. If there’s an oversupply, Musk said that the chips could just be used for training in Tesla’s data center.

17:09 CT – A question was asked about Tesla abandoning HW3 was asked. The CFO stated that Tesla is not abandoning HW3. “We will definitely take care of you guys,” he said, adding that he himself is driving a HW3 car. Tesla executives also noted that the company is developing a V14 “Lite” for HW3 cars.

17:13 CT – A question about the Tesla Semi’s autonomy was asked. Tesla noted that things are progressing with the Semi program. Analyst questions now begin. First up is Wolfe Research, which asked about Elon’s comment about Tesla now focusing on volume with FSD now developed.

Elon Musk responded that Tesla’s capacity today is not at 3 million cars yet, but Tesla can probably achieve that level in 24 months or less. “We’re gonna expand production as fast as we can, and as fast as our suppliers can keep up with it,” he said.

He added that the Cybercab will be a big project since it’s a your de force of engineering optimization due to its driverless nature. He also stated that Cybercab production will start in Q2 2026.

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17:21 CT – Barclays asked about markets that are outside of Tesla’s core competencies. Elon noted that Tesla had zero core competency when it started. He highlighted that Tesla today is still a bunch of startups that are working together. He did also state that “Optimus at scale is an infinite money glitch” since it could 5X a person’s productivity.

17:27 CT – Lightshed asks about the Robotaxi program and the removal of safety drivers in Austin by year end. Musk noted that Tesla will be very cautious with FSD’s rollout. He noted that Tesla will be paranoid about safety. He noted that Tesla typically rolls out its FSD updates with safety at the forefront, so first builds of a major release tend to be safe but not as smooth.

“This car will feel like a living creature,” Musk reiterated, adding that Teslas will eventually be able to find parking spots on their own intelligently.

17:34 CT – Oppenheimer asked about the timeline of Optimus production. Musk noted that the hardware design of Optimus will not be frozen even after the humanoid robot starts its production. “We’ll have a production-intent prototype ready to show in Q1,” Musk said, adding that hopefully, Optimus will enter production late next year.

17:37 CT – Questions for this earnings call are done, and in closing, the CFO urged shareholders to vote on the Board’s recommendations. Tesla’s future depends on it.

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17:41 CT – And that wraps up Tesla’s third quarter 2025 earnings call! Thank you so much for following along as we covered this event. Until the next time!

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Tesla (TSLA) Q3 2025 earnings results

Tesla’s Q3 earnings come on the heels of a quarter where the company produced over 447,000 vehicles, delivered over 497,000 vehicles, and deployed 12.5 GWh of energy storage products.

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has released its Q3 2025 earnings results in an update letter. The document was posted on the electric vehicle maker’s official Investor Relations website after markets closed today, October 22, 2025. 

Tesla’s Q3 earnings come on the heels of a quarter where the company produced over 447,000 vehicles, delivered over 497,000 vehicles, and deployed 12.5 GWh of energy storage products. 

Tesla’s Q3 2025 results

As could be seen in Tesla’s Q3 2025 Update Letter, the company posted GAAP EPS of $0.39 and non-GAAP EPS of $0.50 per share. Tesla also posted total revenues of $28.095 billion. GAAP net income is also listed at $1.37 billion.

In comparison, FactSet consensus expects Tesla to post earnings per share of around $0.56, down 22% from Q3 2024’s $0.72 per share. Tesla’s revenue is forecasted to rise 5.4% to $26.54 billion, as noted in an Investor.com report.

On the other hand, Sharp consensus, which tracks analyst revision trends, predicts Tesla to post earnings of $0.57 per share and revenue totaling $28.31 billion.

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Other key results

Tesla highlighted the following Q3 results in its Update Letter.

As per Tesla, it is stil profitable with $1.6 billion GAAP operating income, $1.4 billion GAAP net income, and $1.8 billion non-GAAP net income. By the end of the third quarter, Tesla had an operating cash flow of $6.2 billion and record free cash flow of nearly $4.0 billion.

Tesla’s total revenue increased 12% YoY to $28.1 billion, while operating income decreased 40% YoY to $1.6 billion. This means that for Q3 2025, Tesla’s had a 5.8% operating margin. Tesla’s quarter-end cash, cash equivalents and investments were at $41.6 billion by the end of the third quarter.

Tesla’s Q3 2025 Update Letter

TSLA-Q3-2025-Update by Simon Alvarez

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Tesla’s new Safety Report shows Autopilot is nine times safer than humans

Tesla released its Vehicle Safety Report for Q3 2025, and it showed that one crash was recorded every 6.36 million miles drive in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s new Safety Report for Q3 shows Autopilot technology contributed to accident frequency that was nine times lower than the national average.

Tesla released its Vehicle Safety Report for Q3 2025, and it showed that one crash was recorded every 6.36 million miles drive in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.

This is a stark contrast from the most recent data made available by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which shows there is an automobile crash approximately every 702,000 miles.

The figure for Q3 2025 is slightly lower than the one that Tesla released in Q3 2024, which eclipsed 7 million miles between accidents for drivers using Autopilot technology.

Over the past seven quarters, Q1 has been Tesla’s strongest showing with the Vehicle Safety Report, with Q4 being the weakest. This is usually attributed to weather and driving conditions deteriorating toward the end of the year.

Q1 2024 was Tesla’s best performance so far, with one crash every 7.63 million miles.

Tesla releases Vehicle Safety Report for Q1 2024

Autopilot and Full Self-Driving have been a major focus of Tesla over the past few years, and recent versions have improved on what has already proven to be an extremely safe way to travel, as long as it is used correctly.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite is a suitable way to allow the vehicle to navigate through any traffic setting and has been widely effective for day-to-day travel. With the data Tesla gets from its use across its vehicle fleet, it gets more refined and more accurate with every passing mile.

The company has teased the potential for completely unsupervised Full Self-Driving releases in the future, but Tesla has to solve autonomy before it can offer anything like that to the public.

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