Investor's Corner
Tesla investors post questions for TSLA Q3 2023 earnings call
Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) third-quarter 2023 earnings call is less than a week away, and investors are already submitting questions for the event’s Q&A session.
Similar to past earnings calls, Tesla is gathering inquiries from both retail and institutional TSLA shareholders using investor communications platform Say. As of writing, Say’s webpage for the Tesla Q3 2023 earnings call features a variety of notable questions, spanning topics from Tesla’s factories like Gigafactory Mexico to future projects like Optimus and the dedicated Robotaxi.
Following are the top ten questions from TSLA retail investors that are currently listed in Say:
- Can you provide a progress update on the 4680 cell, particularly progress towards performance improvements and cost savings outlined on battery day? Thank You!
- How’s FSD v12 progress going? What are the biggest challenges? How will you extract a mind’s eye view from an end-to-end network?
- How many Cybertruck deliveries do you anticipate for 2024?
- Do you expect the 4680 ramp to support both Cybertruck and Model Y production next year?
- Will Optimus be working on Gigafactory lines next year? If so, how many would you guess will be deployed?
- Can you give us an update on your expected ramp for the Tesla Semi?
- Are any Tesla suppliers common with Ford/GM/Stellantis at significant solvency or operational risk based on the UAW strike? Is your analysis of your supply base risk complete?
- When do you expect Model 3 Highland to be available in the US?
- Tesla Model 3 and Y now cost approximately the same as an average non-luxury car ($31.9k) and non-luxury SUV ($35.7k) after tax credit in the US despite better features. Why does Tesla repeatedly choose price cuts over other cheaper strategies to grow volumes, such as educational ads?
- Is there a schedule-defining issue w/ the Cybertruck remaining?
Following are six questions from TSLA institutional investors that are currently aggregated by Say:
- Could you please provide an update on (i) capacity expansion plans for the company’s factories in Berlin and Austin and (ii) the opening schedule of Gigafactory Mexico?
- Do you have an approximate timeline in mind for the Robotaxi (driven or non-driven)? What excites you most about how this project is progressing?
- Neural net path planning represents a significant advance in capability and safety for FSD. What steps is Tesla taking to make this technology available outside the US?
- How do Model 3 Highland gross margins compare to gross margins for legacy Model 3?
- Current sell-side consensus assumes that Tesla will deliver ~2.3 million vehicles in 2024, representing 28% growth vs. 2023 guidance. Is this growth rate achievable without any mass-market launches in 2024, and when does Tesla expect to return to its 50% long-term CAGR?
- Mercedes is accepting legal liability for when its Level 3 autonomous driving system, Drive Pilot, is active. Is Tesla planning to accept legal liability for FSD, and if so, when?
Tesla is expected to hold its Q3 2023 earnings call on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. Central Time / 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Tesla executives such as CEO Elon Musk are expected to be part of the call.
Do you have questions that you would like to address to Tesla? Here’s a link to Say’s webpage for the Tesla Q3 2023 earnings call so you can share your inquiry.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Investor's Corner
Google’s massive stake in SpaceX will shock you
In a striking revelation that underscores the lucrative crossover between Big Tech and space exploration, Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, disclosed a massive $94.1 billion equity stake in SpaceX following the rocket company’s blockbuster initial public offering earlier this year.
The disclosure came in Alphabet’s quarterly filing, marking the first time the long-held private investment has been publicly valued at market prices. Google was an early backer, investing alongside Fidelity in 2015 with roughly $500-900 million at a time when SpaceX was valued around $12 billion.
That bet has delivered extraordinary returns, roughly a hundredfold, transforming a strategic play on satellite internet and launch capabilities into one of Alphabet’s largest assets.
Google, $GOOGL, has said they hold $94 billion in SpaceX, $SPCX, shares after IPO.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) July 23, 2026
Of the total holding, approximately $80 billion remains subject to short-term post-IPO lockup restrictions, preventing near-term sales. An additional $14.1 billion faces longer-term restrictions, extending into the third quarter of 2027. This structure limits immediate liquidity but protects against market volatility as SpaceX transitions into public trading.
The SpaceX position contributed significantly to gains in Alphabet’s broader investment portfolio, which also includes a major stake in AI leader Anthropic. Combined, these holdings helped drive nearly $100 billion in investment gains during the second quarter, providing a substantial boost to net income amid ongoing AI spending pressures.
Analysts view the disclosure as validation of Alphabet’s venture strategy beyond its core search and cloud businesses. The investment aligns with deeper ties, including reported multi-billion-dollar deals for AI computing capacity on SpaceX infrastructure. As SpaceX advances Starship flights, Starlink expansion, and ambitious Mars goals under Elon Musk, Google’s stake positions it to benefit from the commercialization of space.
For Alphabet, the windfall highlights how patient, forward-looking bets in transformative sectors can yield outsized rewards. While lockups temper short-term impact, the holding cements SpaceX as a cornerstone of Alphabet’s diversified portfolio in an era where aerospace, AI, and connectivity increasingly intersect. Investors will watch closely as restrictions lift and SpaceX’s public performance unfolds.
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.
Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
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