Investor's Corner
Tesla Q1 2018 Earnings: $785M cash burned, $3.4B Revenue, Model 3 in focus
Tesla’s first-quarter earnings for 2018 saw the California-based carmaker beat Wall Street revenue estimates after posting $3.4 billion in revenue and beating earnings estimates with a loss of $568 million.
The results, which were posted in an update letter to investors after the closing bell on Wednesday, May 2, showed first-quarter earnings of -$3.35 per share, beating analyst estimates of -$3.58 per share. Revenue was $3.4 billion versus an estimate of $3.22 billion.
Revenue and Operating Losses
The company’s revenue for the first quarter consisted of $2.74B in automotive revenue and $410M from their energy and battery storage division. Automotive revenue saw an increase of 19.4% compared to the same period last year. The energy and battery storage division nearly doubled revenue with an increase of 91.6% compared to the same period last year. Overall, total revenue was up 26.4% year-on-year.
Automotive revenue slightly increased by 1.2% compared Q4 2017, while energy generation and storage increased significantly by 37.5%. Tesla deployed 76 MW of energy generation and 373 MWh of energy storage products in the first quarter as well.
Tesla posted operating losses of $563 million in the first quarter, primarily due to the ongoing ramp of the Model 3. On a per-share basis, the company posted a loss of $3.35 per share.
Model 3
Tesla was able to deliver 8,182 Model 3 vehicles during the first quarter of 2018. During the quarter the company produced 9,766 Model 3’s. The company’s Q1 2018 Update Letter maintained the company’s expectations of hitting the 5,000 a week production goal for the Model 3.
“After achieving a production rate of 5,000 per week, we will begin offering new options such as all-wheel-drive and the base model with a standard-sized battery pack,” Tesla stated in the letter.
The company reported that net Model 3 reservations are still above 450,000. Less than 20 Tesla stores have the Model 3 on display, and the company plans to deploy more Model 3’s to other stores.
Tesla Energy
Tesla did not state how much revenue the massive 129MWh South Australia project generated, stating, “substantial growth of our energy storage deployments and recognition of our large project in South Australia.”
Energy Storage and Generation generated $410 million worth of revenue for the company. The numbers are representative of Tesla Energy’s organic growth since the company acquired SolarCity back in 2016.
Earnings Highlights
- Tesla streamlined Model 3 battery pack production time by 96%, says Elon Musk
- Tesla explains oversight on Model 3 production line automation
“Electric utilities and power producers around the globe are increasingly appreciating the value proposition of our Powerpack storage systems based not only on economic benefits but also on the operational benefits of faster response time and greater reliability of the electric grid. In addition, we deployed a record number of residential Powerwall systems in Q1. In spite of the significant growth of Powerwall deliveries, our backlog in Q1 continued to grow,” Tesla stated in the quarterly letter.
Guidance for the end of 2018
Tesla expects to deliver 100,000 Model S and X vehicles for 2018. The company also reiterated its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 per week by the end of the second quarter. Tesla did not disclose an overall production target for the Model 3 in 2018.
Tesla also expects its Energy products to start generating more revenue, in light of more battery storage projects and the start of residential installations of Solar Roof tiles. The company also expects to see revenue from its Supercharger network, due to the increasing number of Model 3 using the charging facilities.
Tesla has just over $2.67 billion in cash at the end of the quarter, down from $3.37 billion in the previous quarter.
Today’s trading session ended with TSLA closing up 0.41% at $301.15. After-hours, the stock was trading up nearly another 2%.
Tesla’s full Q1 2018 Update Letter can be accessed here.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for
SpaceX filed its public S-1, revealing $18.7 billion in revenue and billions in losses.
SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2026, making its financial details available to the public for the first time ahead of what could be the largest IPO in history.
An S-1 is the formal document a company must submit to the SEC before going public. It includes audited financials, risk factors, business descriptions, and how the company plans to use the money it raises. Companies are required to file one before selling shares to the public, and it must be published at least 15 days before the investor roadshow begins. SpaceX had already submitted a confidential draft to the SEC in April, which allowed regulators to review the filing privately before it went public.
The S-1 reveals that SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet division, which posted $11.4 billion in revenue, growing nearly 50% year over year. Despite that growth, the company lost about $4.9 billion in 2025 and has burned through more than $37 billion since its founding.
SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history
A significant portion of those losses trace back to xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which was recently merged into SpaceX. SpaceX directed roughly 60% of its capital spending in 2025 to its AI division, totaling around $20 billion, yet that division lost billions and grew revenue by only about 22%.
SpaceX plans to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America leading the offering. The dual-class share structure means going public will not meaningfully reduce Musk’s control, as Class B shares he holds carry 10 votes per share compared to one vote for public Class A shares.
The company is targeting a raise of around $75 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, which would make it the largest IPO ever. The investor roadshow is reportedly planned for June 5.
Elon Musk
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.
Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.
Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15
India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.
First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.
The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon just joined forces for one reason: Starlink is winning.
America’s three largest wireless carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, announced on On May 14, 2026 that they had agreed in principle to form a joint venture aimed at pooling their spectrum resources to expand satellite-based direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity across the United States in what can be seen as a direct response to SpaceX’s Starlink initiative. D2D, in plain terms, is technology that lets a standard smartphone connect directly to a satellite in orbit, the same way it connects to a cell tower, with no extra hardware required.
The alliance is widely seen as a means to slow Starlink’s rapid expansion in the satellite internet and mobile markets. SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile service launched commercially in July 2025 through a partnership with T-Mobile, starting with messaging before expanding to broadband data. SpaceX secured access to valuable wireless spectrum through its $17 billion deal with EchoStar, paving the way for significantly faster satellite-to-phone speeds.
SpaceX was not shy about its reaction. SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell responded on X: “Weeeelllll, I guess Starlink Mobile is doing something right! It’s David and Goliath (X3) all over again — I’m bettin’ on David.” SpaceX’s VP of Satellite Policy David Goldman went further, flagging potential antitrust concerns and asking whether the DOJ would even allow three dominant competitors to coordinate in a market where a new rival is actively entering.
Weeeelllll, I guess @Starlink Mobile is doing something right! It’s David and Goliath (X3) all over again — I’m bettin’ on David 🙂 https://t.co/5GzS752mxL
— Gwynne Shotwell (@Gwynne_Shotwell) May 14, 2026
Financial analysts at LightShed Partners were blunt, saying the announcement showed the three carriers are “nervous,” and pointed to the timing: “You announce an agreement in principle when the point is the announcement, not the deal. The timing, weeks ahead of the SpaceX roadshow, was the point.”
As Teslarati reported, SpaceX’s next generation Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current system, with custom silicon and phased array antennas enabling around 20 times the throughput of the first generation. The carriers’ JV, which has no definitive agreement, no financial structure, and no deployment timeline yet, will need to move quickly to matter.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is targeting a Nasdaq listing as early as June 12, aiming for what would be the largest IPO in history. With Starlink now serving over 9 million subscribers across 155 countries, holding 59 carrier partnerships globally, and now powering Air Force One, the carriers’ joint venture announcement landed at exactly the wrong time to look like anything other than a defensive move.