Investor's Corner
Tesla Mid-Range Model 3 production ramp kicks off with 4.5k RWD VIN registrations
As Tesla heads towards its earlier-than-expected Q3 2018 earnings call, the company’s Model 3 production ramp continues to show signs that it is going smoothly. Just yesterday, Tesla registered another large batch of 4,500 new Model 3 VINs, all of which appear to be RWD versions of the electric sedan. Tesla had also registered 38,211 Model 3 since the beginning of October, setting up the company for what could very well be a record month in terms of new Model 3 VIN registrations.
#Tesla registered 4,500 new #Model3 VINs. ~0% estimated to be dual motor. Highest VIN is 156129. https://t.co/cw9lfjMZDw
— Model 3 VINs (@Model3VINs) October 22, 2018
While Tesla’s VIN registrations do not specifically list the cars’ Long Range or Mid Range battery, the company’s push for the MR version and the absence of the LR variant in the Model 3 configurator do suggest that the latest VIN filings correspond to the Mid Range Model 3 RWD. With this new batch, Twitter’s Model 3 VIN tracking group @Model3VINs notes that Tesla had registered a total of 156,129 Model 3 VINs to date.
Tesla’s new Model 3 VIN filings come at a time when the company is pushing the electric car’s newest variant — the Mid Range Model 3 RWD — to reservation holders. Musk seems to have teased the vehicle on the social media platform a day before it was officially announced, stating that a “lemur” was coming. Neither Tesla nor Elon Musk has announced the reasons behind the lemur reference, though the little primate might be a clever play on the LEMR variation of the electric car (Limited Edition Mid Range, perhaps?).
Considering that the Mid Range RWD variant is a vehicle that puts Tesla one step closer to the $35,000 Standard trim Model 3, the new electric car variant could very well see a lot of demand. The Mid Range Model 3 RWD currently has an estimated delivery time of 6-10 weeks, after all, which would allow buyers to take delivery of the vehicle at a time when Tesla’s full $7,500 Federal Tax Credit is still in full effect. Taking the $7,500 tax credit and estimated gas savings into account, Tesla’s Mid Range Model 3 RWD has an estimated cost of ownership in the $33,200 range.
Tesla’s decision to offer a Mid Range variant to the Model 3 could be seen as a strategic move by the electric car maker. The vehicle, after all, takes advantage of its remaining $7,500 federal tax credit to lower the vehicle’s total cost of ownership. Elon Musk’s later tweets also revealed that the introduction of the new electric car variant would likely not weigh down the Model 3 production ramp either, as the Mid Range Model 3 RWD uses the same battery pack as the Long Range RWD version, albeit with fewer battery cells.
It’s a long range battery with fewer cells. Non-cell portion of the pack is disproportionately high, but we can get it done now instead of ~February
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2018
The Mid Range Model 3 RWD represents a $4,000 price savings from the Long Range RWD variant that starts at $49,000 before incentives. There are some performance compromises with the Mid Range Model 3 RWD, though, in the form of a 0-60 mph time of 5.6 seconds, a top speed of 125 mph, and a driving range of 260 miles per charge. In comparison, the Long Range Model 3 RWD has a 5.1-second 0-60 time, a top speed of 140 mph, and a range of 310 miles per charge.
The introduction of the Mid Range Model 3 RWD could ultimately be a way for Tesla to boost its production and delivery numbers further this Q4. The company set the bar high in Q3 with its record deliveries and production figures, after all, and it would take even more impressive numbers for the company to become profitable in the fourth quarter. With this in mind, the Mid Range Model 3 RWD could very well be the catalyst for Tesla’s profitability this Q4, due to its potential to attract budget-conscious reservation holders waiting for low-cost versions of the vehicle.
Tesla has announced that it would be holding its Q3 earnings call on Wednesday, October 24, 2018. The live Q&A session is set for 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time (6:30 p.m. Eastern Time) to accommodate requests from several analysts.
There are a lot of Tesla bulls out there who have astronomical expectations for the company, especially as its arm of reach has gone well past automotive and energy and entered artificial intelligence and robotics.
However, some of the most bullish Tesla investors believe the company could become worth $100 trillion, and CEO Elon Musk does not believe that number is completely out of the question, even if it sounds almost ridiculous.
To put that number into perspective, the top ten most valuable companies in the world — NVIDIA, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, TSMC, Meta, Saudi Aramco, Broadcom, and Tesla — are worth roughly $26 trillion.
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Cathie Wood of ARK Invest believes the number is reasonable considering Tesla’s long-reaching industry ambitions:
“…in the world of AI, what do you have to have to win? You have to have proprietary data, and think about all the proprietary data he has, different kinds of proprietary data. Tesla, the language of the road; Neuralink, multiomics data; nobody else has that data. X, nobody else has that data either. I could see $100 trillion. I think it’s going to happen because of convergence. I think Tesla is the leading candidate [for $100 trillion] for the reason I just said.”
Musk said late last year that all of his companies seem to be “heading toward convergence,” and it’s started to come to fruition. Tesla invested in xAI, as revealed in its Q4 Earnings Shareholder Deck, and SpaceX recently acquired xAI, marking the first step in the potential for a massive umbrella of companies under Musk’s watch.
SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise
Now that it is happening, it seems Musk is even more enthusiastic about a massive valuation that would swell to nearly four-times the value of the top ten most valuable companies in the world currently, as he said on X, the idea of a $100 trillion valuation is “not impossible.”
It’s not impossible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2026
Tesla is not just a car company. With its many projects, including the launch of Robotaxi, the progress of the Optimus robot, and its AI ambitions, it has the potential to continue gaining value at an accelerating rate.
Musk’s comments show his confidence in Tesla’s numerous projects, especially as some begin to mature and some head toward their initial stages.
Elon Musk
Tesla director pay lawsuit sees lawyer fees slashed by $100 million
The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.
The Delaware Supreme Court has cut more than $100 million from a legal fee award tied to a shareholder lawsuit challenging compensation paid to Tesla directors between 2017 and 2020.
The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.
Delaware Supreme Court trims legal fees
As noted in a Bloomberg Law report, the case targeted pay granted to Tesla directors, including CEO Elon Musk, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Kimbal Musk, and Rupert Murdoch. The Delaware Chancery Court had awarded $176 million to the plaintiffs. Tesla’s board must also return stock options and forego years worth of pay.
As per Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. in an opinion for the Delaware Supreme Court’s full five-member panel, however, the decision of the Delaware Chancery Court to award $176 million to a pension fund’s law firm “erred by including in its financial benefit analysis the intrinsic value” of options being returned by Tesla’s board.
The justices then reduced the fee award from $176 million to $70.9 million. “As we measure it, $71 million reflects a reasonable fee for counsel’s efforts and does not result in a windfall,” Chief Justice Seitz wrote.
Other settlement terms still intact
The Supreme Court upheld the settlement itself, which requires Tesla’s board to return stock and options valued at up to $735 million and to forgo three years of additional compensation worth about $184 million.
Tesla argued during oral arguments that a fee award closer to $70 million would be appropriate. Interestingly enough, back in October, Justice Karen L. Valihura noted that the $176 award was $60 million more than the Delaware judiciary’s budget from the previous year. This was quite interesting as the case was “settled midstream.”
The lawsuit was brought by a pension fund on behalf of Tesla shareholders and focused exclusively on director pay during the 2017–2020 period. The case is separate from other high-profile compensation disputes involving Elon Musk.
Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call: The most important points
Executives, including CEO Elon Musk, discussed how the company is positioning itself for growth across vehicles, energy, AI, and robotics despite near-term pressures from tariffs, pricing, and macro conditions.
Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call highlighted improving margins, record energy performance, expanding autonomy efforts, and a sharp acceleration in AI and robotics investments.
Executives, including CEO Elon Musk, discussed how the company is positioning itself for growth across vehicles, energy, AI, and robotics despite near-term pressures from tariffs, pricing, and macro conditions.
Key takeaways
Tesla reported sequential improvement in automotive gross margins excluding regulatory credits, rising from 15.4% to 17.9%, supported by favorable regional mix effects despite a 16% decline in deliveries. Total gross margin exceeded 20.1%, the highest level in more than two years, even with lower fixed-cost absorption and tariff impacts.
The energy business delivered standout results, with revenue reaching nearly $12.8 billion, up 26.6% year over year. Energy gross profit hit a new quarterly record, driven by strong global demand and high deployments of MegaPack and Powerwall across all regions, as noted in a report from The Motley Fool.
Tesla also stated that paid Full Self-Driving customers have climbed to nearly 1.1 million worldwide, with about 70% having purchased FSD outright. The company has now fully transitioned FSD to a subscription-based sales model, which should create a short-term margin headwind for automotive results.
Free cash flow totaled $1.4 billion for the quarter. Operating expenses rose by $500 million sequentially as well.
Production shifts, robotics, and AI investment
Musk further confirmed that Model S and Model X production is expected to wind down next quarter, and plans are underway to convert Fremont’s S/X line into an Optimus robot factory with a capacity of one million units.
Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet has surpassed 500 vehicles, operating across the Bay Area and Austin, with Musk noting a rapid monthly expansion pace. He also reiterated that CyberCab production is expected to begin in April, following a slow initial S-curve ramp before scaling beyond other vehicle programs.
Looking ahead, Tesla expects its capital expenditures to exceed $20 billion next year, thanks to the company’s operations across its six factories, the expansion of its fleet expansion, and the ramp of its AI compute. Additional investments in AI chips, compute infrastructure, and future in-house semiconductor manufacturing were discussed but are not included in the company’s current CapEx guidance.
More importantly, Tesla ended the year with a larger backlog than in recent years. This is supported by record deliveries in smaller international markets and stronger demand across APAC and EMEA. Energy backlog remains strong globally as well, though Tesla cautioned that margin pressure could emerge from competition, policy uncertainty, and tariffs.
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