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Tesla pulled non-critical steering component from some China-built cars to combat chip shortage

(Credit: Tesla)

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Tesla reportedly pulled one of two electronic control units present in the steering racks of Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to combat the global chip shortage, a new report claims. The chip pulled from these cars was not a safety issue and was non-critical to the overall operation of the vehicle.

Tesla reported its strongest full-year guidance in terms of production and delivery figures in 2021. One of the biggest ways Tesla remained so productive during the last two years, defying a global chip shortage, was by creating in-house microcontrollers and holding “buffer stock” of the chips to alleviate potential shortages.

“Our team has demonstrated an unparalleled ability to react quickly and mitigate disruptions to manufacturing caused by semiconductor shortages,” Tesla said in its Q2 2021 Shareholder Deck. “Our electrical and firmware engineering teams remain hard at work designing, developing, and validating 19 new variants of controllers in response to ongoing semiconductor shortages.” A recent report also detailed Tesla’s supplier strategy regarding chips, which the company held massive numbers of to avoid production halts.

A new report from CNBC states that Tesla also cut one of two electronic control units that are installed in China-built Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. The absence of the part was not disclosed by Tesla, according to the report. Thousands of vehicles from the Shanghai Gigafactory made their way to other regions, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and parts of Europe.

Tesla employees said in internal memos that the steering rack control unit would only be necessary for Level 3 autonomous cars. Tesla vehicles still operate in Level 2, according to SAE standards, and the lack of a second chip was not a safety issue. The report states that the removed control unit was deemed as a secondary system and was mainly used for a backup in case of issues with the primary chip. Tesla removed the chip because engineers deemed it redundant, according to the report. The lack of the chip will also save Tesla money in the short term.

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Richard Wallace, an advisor for HWA Analytics, said:

“If something like a chip or an ECU is not providing additional functionality, if it is truly redundant, you may be able to turn it off or leave it out. With chips and software, there’s a little bit of wiggle room. I can reassign stuff here and there.”

Tesla expects to continue combating supply chain issues this year. During Tesla’s Q4 2021 Earnings Call, CEO Elon Musk said, “It’s hard to predict 2022 because we still have lingering supply chain — there are still lingering supply chain issues globally. But I think the chip stuff — at least the chip side of things appears to — looks like it will alleviate end of this year or ’23. I mean, there are a crazy number of chip fabs being built, which is great. The sheer number of chip fabs being built right now is exciting to see, yeah.”

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Quotes via The Motley Fool

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Investor's Corner

Tesla (TSLA) Q3 2025 earnings: Wall Street’s reactions

Tesla’s third-quarter 2025 results delivered the highest quarterly revenue in company history, and Wall Street analysts are taking notice. 

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s third-quarter 2025 results delivered record quarterly revenues, and Wall Street is taking notice. 

The automaker reported $28.1 billion in revenue, topping estimates of $26.4 billion, while non-GAAP EPS landed at $0.50 versus $0.54 expected. Despite the slight earnings miss, Tesla’s free cash flow surged to nearly $4.0 billion and total cash on hand jumped to $41.6 billion, a new high.

The following are some of Wall Street’s reactions to Tesla’s third-quarter results.

Mizuho

Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh maintained an “Outperform” rating on Tesla and raised the firm’s price target to $485 from $460 per share, pointing to Tesla’s next-generation autonomy roadmap. “We see 2026E better with stronger FSD traction and deliveries. TSLA is focusing on AI5/HW5 with ~40x gains gen/gen, while ramping Robotaxis and FSD into 2026E–27E.”

Rakesh also highlighted that Mizuho sees Tesla as “well-positioned” to lead “physical AI with Cybercab/FSD traction, humanoid longer term, offset by near-term demand headwinds.”

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Wedbush

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives reiterated his “Outperform” rating and $600 price target on Tesla. As per the analyst, “Tesla reported its FY3Q25 results featuring beats on the top-line while missing bottom-line expectations as the company benefitted from a pull-forward in its delivery segment with greater strength across EMEA and APAC while making gradual progress with its autonomous and energy businesses.” 

He also pointed to Musk’s upcoming compensation vote as a key inflection point: “We believe it will be approved by a wide margin despite some opposition,” Ives noted. “That will be incremental to keeping Musk as a war-time CEO as the company enters a critical AI expansion phase.”

Baird

Baird analyst Ben Kallo reiterated his “Outperform” rating and $548 per share price target for Tesla following the company’s Q3 2025 earnings results. He praised Tesla’s energy segment for delivering record results. 

“Energy demand is particularly high given grid constraints in several regions and a rapid build-out of infrastructure. We expect this piece of the business to capture more attention in the remainder of 2025 and moving into 2026 with the tipping points for longer-term initiatives (Optimus, robotaxi, etc.) more opaque,” Kallo noted.

Deepwater

Meanwhile, Deepwater’s Gene Munster struck a more measured tone. “The September numbers and earnings call were largely uneventful,” Munster said, adding that Tesla’s decision to move cautiously with robotaxis in Austin is the right one. 

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“Shares of TSLA traded down following Elon’s comment that he remains paranoid about the safety of Robotaxi given any accidents would represent a significant step back in terms of the public’s confidence in the fleet,” he wrote. Munster, however, emphasized that Tesla’s cash position is a major strength: “They have enough cash to will Elon’s vision into reality. It may take a lot longer than many expect, but they’ve got the cash to get there.”

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Investor's Corner

Tesla’s massive Q3 update reaffirms it’s not just a car company anymore

From record global deliveries to new AI breakthroughs, Megablock energy tech & next-gen Superchargers, Tesla showed why it’s still miles ahead.

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Tesla’s third-quarter update showcased a flurry of milestones across its vehicles, AI, and energy divisions. The company achieved record deliveries and energy storage deployments while launching new products in North America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. 

Tesla also emphasized its focus on scaling AI-powered autonomy and virtual power plant technology as part of its push towards Master Plan Part IV.

Global product rollouts and record regional performance

Tesla’s Q3 highlights revealed strong traction across multiple continents. In North America, the automaker launched the new Model 3 and Model Y Standard variants, each offering over 300 miles of range and starting below $40,000. The Model Y Performance also debuted, highlighting Tesla’s focus on sheer performance and driving dynamics.

In Europe and the Middle East, Model Y topped sales charts in Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Finland while reaching number one in the Netherlands and Denmark in September. Giga Berlin celebrated production of its 100,000th refreshed Model Y, including the first European-built Performance units. Tesla confirmed it’s working toward regulatory approval for its FSD Supervised software in Europe.

Across Asia-Pacific, Tesla introduced the Model YL in China, an extended wheelbase, six-seat version of its best-selling crossover SUV, and achieved record deliveries in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore. The company also began Model Y deliveries in India, launched FSD Supervised in Australia and New Zealand, and confirmed South Korea is now its third-largest global market.

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AI, charging, and energy divisions

Tesla’s AI division rolled out version 14 of FSD Supervised, integrating key elements of its Robotaxi model and improving responses to complex driving scenarios. The company expanded its Austin Robotaxi fleet and launched a Bay Area ride-hailing pilot while announcing a U.S. semiconductor manufacturing deal with Samsung to boost AI compute capacity.

Tesla also introduced Grok, an AI vehicle companion, alongside new vehicle software like Low Power Mode and Light Sync. The company also introduced minor but notable convenience improvements, such as the ability to order food directly from the vehicle at the Tesla Diner in LA.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s energy business achieved record storage deployments and revealed “Megablock,” a next-generation industrial product built around Megapack 3s, slated for production in Houston by 2026. The Superharger Network grew 18% year-over-year as well, adding over 3,500 Supercharger stalls and debuting V4 cabinets capable of 500 kW passenger charging and up to 1,200 kW for Tesla Semi trucks.

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Tesla reveals its plans for Hardware 3 owners who are eager for updates

“We have not completely given up on HW3. These customers are very important. They are early adopters. We will definitely take care of you guys.”

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Tesla-Chips-HW3-1
Image used with permission for Teslarati. (Credit: Tom Cross)

Tesla has finally revealed its plans for Hardware 3 owners who are eager to have access to the latest versions of the company’s Full Self-Driving suite.

Tesla’s Hardware 3 vehicles feature an older chip that does not immediately give access to new versions of the FSD suite. Cars like the new Model Y have Hardware 4, often referred to as AI4, while Tesla is already working to develop AI5 chips with suppliers TSMC and Samsung.

However, during the Q3 Earnings Call on Wednesday, Tesla finally gave some information to those Hardware 3 owners who have been anxiously waiting for updates, and hopefully, this will give them some peace of mind.

Tesla (TSLA) Q3 2025 earnings results

The comments came from Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja, who said that he is also impacted by the HW3 delays because his daily commuter is a HW3 vehicle.

He said:

“We have not completely given up on HW3. These customers are very important. They are early adopters. We will definitely take care of you guys.”

Additionally, Tesla’s Head of AI and Autopilot, Ashok Elluswamy, added that the company plans to offer a v14 Lite version of the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite in Q2 of next year.

The company has tried to give HW3 owners more opportunities to trade in their cars for new vehicles, giving them the opportunity to have access to the latest FSD software versions, which are prioritized for HW4 vehicles.

However, it is easier said than done to simply trade in your car and commit to a long-term financial commitment. For this reason, many HW3 owners have grown incredibly frustrated with how Tesla has handled the situation, especially considering they have been told they would be taken care of for several quarters now.

It appears that these owners will be waiting a tad longer for any sort of true progress, unless they have an interest in using the FSD transfer to get a new vehicle without paying for the suite once again.

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