Investor's Corner
Tesla sets record vehicle production, $2.7 billion revenue, Model 3 on track for July production
Tesla released its first quarter 2017 earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, surprising Wall Street with record production, delivery and revenue numbers. The electric car maker reported revenue of $2.7 billion in GAAP revenue, with $2.28 billion from automotive revenue. The GAAP net loss was $2.04, with non-GAAP loss of $1.33 a share, much larger than expected. This quarter compares well with Q4’16, when TSLA surprised Wall Street after posting a fourth quarter earnings loss of 69 cents a share, and revenue of $2.28 billion. The complete text of the Tesla First Quarter 2017 Update letter can be seen at the end of this article.
Revenue
In the letter, Tesla announced that “Q1 GAAP and Non-GAAP loss from operations improved from Q4.” As in the previous quarter, the estimates between analysts varied widely. According to a consensus poll with analysts conducted by FactSet, Tesla was expected to report a GAAP loss $1.15 a share in the quarter compared with a loss of $2.13 a share in the year-ago period, and an adjusted loss for one-time items of 83 cents. Estimize, a crowdsourcing platforms that polls analysts, hedge-fund managers executives and others, expected a loss of just 17 cents a share. E*trade provided its usual estimate range from its poll of analysts: 0.230 | -0.812 | -1.690 (High | Mean | Low), also with an average of about 82 cents.
Model 3
Many analysts have suggested that eyes would be focused intensely on Tesla’s upcoming milestones, particularly its progress on its Model 3 sedan. In the letter, Tesla announced that “Model 3 vehicle development is nearly complete as we approach the start of production. Release Candidate vehicles, built using production-intent tooling and processes, are being tested to assess fit and finish, to support vehicle software development and to ensure a smooth and predictable homologation process. Road testing is also underway to refine driving dynamics and ensure vehicle durability.” Additionally, “simultaneously, preparations at our production facilities are on track to support the ramp of Model 3 production to 5,000 vehicles per week at some point in 2017, and to 10,000 vehicles per week at some point in 2018.” 
The company also reported record high orders in Q1 for its Model S and X vehicles. The big run up to the stock in 2017 started when Tesla reported first-quarter deliveries, just over 25,000, on the high end of expectations. Investors will be listening for additional information about the status of the Model 3 manufacturing during the First Quarter 2017 Financial Results Q&A Conference Call scheduled for 2:30 pm PT today. The run up of the stock is also due to the fact that many on Wall Street believe that Tesla has worked out some of its manufacturing kinks and is on track to start delivering to employees the first few Model 3 sedans in July, as promised.
Cash
In the letter, Tesla announced that “Q4 to Q1 cash increased by over $4 billion. Cash at the end of Q4 2016 was $3.4 billion. Tesla raised more capital in the quarter with its March $1.5B Offering of Common Stock and Convertible Senior Notes.
TSLA Stock
Tesla shares have been going though the roof, up 80% to a record close of $322.83 on Monday, since the December low when they closed at $181.47. The past three weeks has experienced a string of record highs and the stock has traded above $300 for the better part of April, with an intra-day high of $327.66 on Monday. From a technical perspective, the sky is the limit, and while the shares have been overbought since the beginning of the year when they were trading at $214, there does not seem to be any bad news that can stop the stock from going up. This week TSLA market cap, again, topped GM as the most valuable car maker in the US with a value of over $52B vs. GM’s $50B.
While TSLA stock has soared, traders short selling TSLA have lost $3.7B in 2017, far more than has been lost shorting any other U.S. stock. This is more than the combined losses of short sellers in Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Netflix (NFLX), according to financial analytics firm S3 Financial Partners. Short bets against TSLA have grown to $10.1B from $8.7B at the start of April, when the more recent TSLA run started. “Momentum” traders are riding TSLA stock up and making incredible returns, especially on options, while “fundamental” traders hold onto their shorts and actually continue to build on them, hoping that the shoe will eventually drop.
As reported by Reuters in “Einhorn, nursing losses on Tesla, says investors ‘hypnotized’ by Musk”, hedge fund manager David Einhorn said on Wednesday that “Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital hedge fund bet against Tesla shares during the first three months of year, racking up losses on its short position. Greenlight did not disclose its current position on Tesla.” Unfortunately for David and other short sellers, barring a delay on delivery of Model 3, the momentum traders may still have the upper hand, at least for the rest of 2017. Today’s session ended up closing 2.55% lower at $310.76. Looking at the extended trading action after the close, the initial reaction to the numbers for Q1 2017 is nil: stock moved to $312. Expect an uneventful opening on Thursday.
Tesla First Quarter 2017 Update http://www.teslarati.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TSLA_Update_Letter_2017_1Q.pdf
Elon Musk
Tesla Semi finally has an FSD timeline and it’s waiting on the Cybercab
Elon Musk told investors Semi self-driving should start working by early 2027, per today’s earnings.
During Wednesday’s’ Tesla Q2 earnings call, an analyst asked Elon Musk when Tesla would look at autonomy for the Semi. His answer set a real timeline for the first time, noting that self-driving on the Tesla Semi is expected to start working “around the end of this year or early next year”.
Musk framed the delay as a matter of priority, not capability. Tesla’s self-driving team is currently focused on Model 3, Model Y, and Cybercab, the vehicles that make up the overwhelming majority of Tesla’s fleet. Since Semi trucks on the road remain a small fraction of that total even after the recent Nevada factory ramp, Musk said it made more sense to keep the software team’s attention on what he called “the march of nines of safety” for the higher volume vehicles first. Autonomous Semi development is “taking a bit of a backseat for the next six months or so,” he said, before adding that it “will definitely be working next year and in time for the scale-up to high production of the Tesla Semi.”
Tesla Semi’s official battery capacity leaked by California regulators
The timeline lines up with what’s already been showing up on public roads. In June, a Tesla Semi was spotted in Sunnyvale wearing a full validation rig, the same rooftop sensor array Tesla mounts on vehicles ahead of an FSD milestone.
A second unit was seen near Fremont days later with a matching camera suite and lens washers. Separately, Tesla analyst Nic Cruz Patane posted video this month of the production Semi’s exterior camera array, ten AI4 based units built directly into the truck rather than added later.
Tesla Semi AI4 cameras. The production version has 10 cameras on its exterior.
These trucks are designed to be autonomous. pic.twitter.com/GH3BamxIBQ
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) April 14, 2026
Musk also gave the reason autonomy on the Semi matters in the first place, a persistent shortage of qualified truck drivers. “There is a really serious shortage of truckers,” he said on the call, framing a self-driving Semi as important both for addressing that shortage and for improving safety and comfort for the drivers running the truck today.
The timing also tracks with the Semi’s production reality. Tesla’s Q2 shareholder letter, dropped language promising the Semi would reach volume production this year. Musk pointed to 4680 battery cell output as the near-term constraint on Semi and Cybercab production. A software timeline landing in early 2027 gives Tesla’s autonomy team room to work while the hardware ramp catches up behind it.
It’s worth nothing that this isn’t necessarily a promise the Semi ships driverless next year. Musk’s own language, self-driving “working” by early 2027, describes internal validation catching up to hardware already riding on every production truck, not a public unsupervised rollout.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2026 on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what the company reported compared to what Wall Street analysts expected.
The earnings results come after Tesla reported a massive beat on vehicle deliveries for the second quarter, delivering 489,126 vehicles and building 451,758 cars during the three-month span.
This was a major shock for those on Wall Street as they anticipated somewhere around 400,000 deliveries for the quarter, and showed Tesla still has plenty of demand for its vehicles around the world and in the U.S. despite losing the $7,500 EV Tax Credit last year.
Tesla Q2 2026 Earnings Results
- Non-GAAP EPS – $0.33 reported vs. $0.53 expected
- Revenues – $28.236 billion reported vs. $26.4 billion expected
- Free Cash Flow- -$1.092B
- Profit -$ 4.751B
Tesla (beat/missed) analyst expectations, so the market response to the company’s quarter is what we will look for next.
Tesla shares closed today down just over 1 percent, trading at $374.01.
In the past, it has been anyone’s guess with what Tesla shares will do after they report earnings. Strong quarters have resulted in sharp drops, while lackluster quarters have seen the stock shoot up considerably.
Tesla will hold its Q2 2026 Earnings Call in about 90 minutes at 5:30 p.m. on the East Coast. Remarks will be made by CEO Elon Musk and other executives, who will shed some light on the investor questions that we covered earlier this week.
You can stream it below. Additionally, we will be doing our Live Blog on X and Facebook.
Q2 2026 Earnings Call https://t.co/zZS6ii2TWK
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will report its earnings for the second quarter of 2026 this evening after market close, and investors and analysts are waiting anxiously to see what the company will report for the second three-month span of the year.
Analysts have already put out their expectations from a financial standpoint for the company’s second quarter, but what’s unknown is what Tesla plans to discuss during the call.
Financial Expectations
Wall Street consensus expectations put Tesla’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) at $0.53, while revenues are expected to come in around $26.4 billion.
This would compare to an EPS of $0.39 and $22.19 billion compared to Tesla’s Q2 2025. Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.41 on $22.387 billion of revenue. Additionally in Q1, Tesla beat analyst expectations, but shares dropped over 3 percent the following trading day.
What We Expect
In terms of discussions, Tesla earnings are pretty sporadic and depend on a handful of things, including current events, investor questions, and more.
Tesla uses a platform called Say to field questions from investors and analysts. These questions are what will be used during the call. Here are the top 5 from the Retail side and top 3 from the Institutional side:
Retail:
“Tesla has missed short-term guidance on robotaxi 3 earnings reports in a row, from 50% coverage of USA by end of 2025 to most recently 7 new cities in 1H26. What is keeping Tesla back from accomplishing these short term goals that they’ve set for themselves?”
“What are the main constraints to expanding robotaxi operations faster, and how do you see that lining up with Cybercab production?”
“What’s the current status of Optimus Gen 3 production ramp, initial deployment in factories, and external sales timeline/volume for 2027? What tasks can we expect the Optimus to perform by end of 2027?”
“To reward long-term Tesla retail shareholders for their loyalty, can you commit to achieving at least half of the goals outlined in your 2025 compensation plan before considering any offers to acquire or merge Tesla?”
“Why has growth of robotaxi vehicles stalled? When will we see cybercab start customer rides?”
Institutional
“Previously, you’ve said Tesla would lead the R&D while SpaceX would lead production for Terafab. Can you provide an update on how that division of responsibilities is evolving, and any additional clarity on the expected capital contributions from Tesla and SpaceX?”
“For autonomous driving, Tesla’s fleet created a huge data advantage by collecting billions of real-world miles. That advantage doesn’t yet exist for Optimus. How should we think about data availability and its impact on Optimus development?”
“Why is it necessary to limit robotaxi operations within specific zones within cities to start? Will every city have to be rolled out this way?”
Tesla will report earnings for Q2 this evening with the Shareholder Deck at 4 p.m. ET, with the call starting around 5:30 p.m. ET.
Tesla Semi finally has an FSD timeline and it’s waiting on the Cybercab
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
