Connect with us

Investor's Corner

Tesla registers 6,100 new Model 3 VINs amid continued production push

Published

on

Tesla has registered 6,160 new Model 3 VINs, amid the company’s continued production ramp for the compact electric car. With the latest batch of new vehicle identification numbers, Tesla has filed a total of 62,557 Model 3 to date.

The recent registrations were shared on Twitter by @Model3VINs, a group that tracks Tesla’s filings for the vehicle. According to the group, the latest batch of Model 3 VINs comprised of Long Range RWD cars — a stark contrast to the 2,237 vehicle identification numbers registered by the company last week, which were largely dual motor AWD.

Tesla’s VIN registrations for the Model 3 had seen a meteoric rise since May, when the electric car and energy company started filing large batches of the vehicle identification numbers. In May, for example, Tesla registered more than 17,900 new Model 3 VINs — a figure that took the company until March 23 to accomplish since starting the car’s production last July 2017.

Particularly impressive this past June, however, were VIN batches that corresponded to filings for the dual motor AWD variant of the compact electric car. Earlier this year, Elon Musk announced on Twitter that Tesla would probably start production of the dual motor AWD and Performance Model 3 sometime in July, when the company has attained a steady production rate of 5,000 Model 3 per week. Midway through last month, however, Musk revealed on Twitter that the first Model 3 Performance has rolled off from a newly-built assembly line, which was set up in a sprung structure on the grounds of the Fremont factory.

Advertisement
-

The latest Model 3 VIN registrations come amid Tesla’s announcement that it has effectively hit a production rate of 5,000 Model 3 per week. The milestone, which has eluded Tesla since the vehicle started production last year, was teased over the last few weeks of June. In the weeks leading up to the end of Q2 2018, for one, sightings of overflow lots filled with Model 3 were shared by Tesla enthusiasts online. Tweets from workers at Fremont and Gigafactory 1 also teased that the company would hit its target by the end of the quarter. 

 

Even before Elon Musk confirmed the news on Twitter, social media posts from the company’s workers in Fremont teased that the 5,000-a-week Model 3 target had been achieved. Among these was a photograph of a banner being signed by workers at the Fremont factory with the words “Model 3 5K Club” on it. Pictures of workers celebrating at the factory grounds and a Model 3 labeled as “5000th” also made the rounds in social media. Not long after this, Elon Musk himself congratulated the Tesla team on Twitter for producing 7,000 vehicles in one week. A leaked email from Musk later specified that the 7,000-vehicle output was comprised of 5,000 Model 3 and 2,000 Model S and Model X.

The announcement of Tesla’s production milestone for the Model 3 appears to have provided a boost to investors’ sentiments. As of writing, Tesla shares (NASDAQ:TSLA) are trading up 6.28% during pre-market, at $365.44 per share.

Advertisement
-

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Elon Musk will give ‘every kid in America’ a SpaceX share in 2027

Published

on

Credit: Grok Imagine

Elon Musk said he is planning to give “every one of his SpaceX shares to every kid in America” in 2027, stating that “this will be the first of many.”

SpaceX went public earlier this year, and its stock price has been relatively stable since leveling off shortly after its IPO. Based on its current price, it’s a gift of just over $10 billion to children across the United States.

It appears to be closely related to President Donald Trump’s bank accounts for children, which were set up earlier this year as Trump Accounts.

Just hours earlier, Anthropic had announced the establishment of its Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, “a new wholly-owned entity dedicated entirely to public benefit.” Musk responded by stating he recommended “giving the shares directly to the public,” and that he would be doing it that way.

Just a little bit later, Musk said children across the U.S. would be getting a share from him:

Advertisement
-

There are roughly 70 million children, meaning someone under the age of 18, in the United States, according to the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. Musk’s ownership of SpaceX stock shows he has around 849 million Class A shares of SpaceX stock, according to filings with the SEC.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

SpaceX’s biggest earnings test yet lands Tuesday, and Tesla shareholders should be watching

SpaceX reports earnings Tuesday as Wall Street watches AI spending, Starlink growth and Tesla merger

Published

on

By

SpaceX reports third quarter results after the market closes Tuesday, with a webcast at 4:30 p.m. ET streamed on X, and Tesla follows a day later. Bloomberg consensus, cited by Pepperstone, calls for revenue of $12.89 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $6.62 billion and adjusted EPS near $0.15. That would be about 65% growth from the second quarter and SpaceX’s first profitable quarter since its IPO. Analysts expect roughly $6.4 billion from AI and $4.9 billion from Starlink, which is projected to reach 14.3 million consumer subscribers. Capital spending is forecast at $19.6 billion, leaving free cash flow near negative $11.6 billion.

The numbers matter because SpaceX has spent months trying to win over a skeptical market. It priced its record IPO at $135, spiked to $225.64, then sank near $105 in early August. Friday’s close of $146.03 sits about 28% below the June high. The Q2 report beat on revenue at $7.8 billion and put Starlink at 12 million subscribers, but $18.4 billion of capex hurt the stock. Since then SpaceX reached orbit on Starship Flight 14 with 26 Starlink V3 satellites, agreed to buy 800 MHz spectrum for about $8 billion as part of its Starlink Mobile push, and signed a fourth compute hosting deal in four months worth roughly $13 billion a year from December. Management is targeting more than 2 gigawatts of compute by year end and a $100 billion annualized revenue run rate. Evercore ISI, which raised its target to $275, said the quarter may be judged more on those targets than the reported figures

All of this sits under the Tesla merger question. Barclays analyst Dan Levy expects an all stock deal in which SpaceX buys Tesla at a premium, using reference values of $2.1 trillion and $1.5 trillion, and said an announcement would need to come by late October or early November to be voted on at Tesla’s December 6 annual meeting. Barclays estimates Musk would hold about 37% of the combined company and 56% of the votes. Musk said in July that combining companies cannot be discussed on an earnings call, but an investor question asking when SpaceX will merge with Tesla is sitting on SpaceX’s Q&A platform, and Teslarati has tracked how the Roadster demo revived the talk.

If a deal happens, Tuesday’s result would effectively set the price Tesla holders would receive. Their shares would convert into SpaceX stock, along with exposure to a company with a heavy investment on AI, while Tesla itself expects 2026 capex above $25 billion. A strong quarter and calmer spending would make that exchange easier to sell. Another round of heavy capex and a falling stock would make it harder.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla’s flying Roadster just revealed something bigger than the car

Analysts say the Roadster demo puts a Tesla and SpaceX merger back on the table.

Published

on

By

Tesla’s new Roadster, upside down and trailing cold gas thruster smoke, flips over a lineup of Tesla vehicles at the Roadster unveiling near Waco, Texas on October 15, 2026. (Image: Tesla)
Tesla’s new Roadster, upside down and trailing cold gas thruster smoke, flips over a lineup of Tesla vehicles at the Roadster unveiling near Waco, Texas on October 15, 2026. (Image: Tesla)

The Roadster unveiling near Waco ended Thursday night, and by Friday morning much of the investor reaction had less to do with the car than with who owns the rocket technology inside it.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the event “puts the Tesla/SpaceX relationship on the table in a tangible way,” pointing to the propulsion, pressure vessel and control hardware sitting on a Tesla product. Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management called the demo “a ridiculous display of engineering” with “no commercial value” beyond embarrassing traditional automakers, though he said it showed Musk wants the two companies together.

The more specific forecast came a day earlier from Barclays. Analyst Dan Levy told clients a deal could be announced before Tesla’s annual meeting, which must happen by December 6, and that an announcement in late October or early November could make shareholder approval harder. Barclays expects SpaceX to be the buyer in an all stock deal, with Tesla holders receiving SpaceX shares at a premium, based on market values of roughly $2.1 trillion for SpaceX and $1.5 trillion for Tesla. If nothing lands around the meeting, the bank still sees an announcement within 6 to 12 months.

The Roadster demo just added more weight to merger speculations. Tesla’s demo used cold gas thrusters and pressure tanks of the kind SpaceX uses on Falcon 9, and Musk described the car as a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX engineers, as we mentioned in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations.


Musk has not publicly addressed a deal since the event, as far as we have seen. His most direct answer remains the one he gave at the All In Summit, when he said that with so much collaboration, “who can imagine what action one might take” without ruling anything out. Ives has held to a 2027 timeline since his March note, and Musk pushed back on the China piece of the speculation when ARK floated a year end announcement in August.

The next test is Tesla’s third quarter earnings call on October 21. However, we recall in July that Musk told analysts, “we can’t talk about combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call,” so a clear answer wouldn’t be expected.

Advertisement
-
Continue Reading