Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) second-quarter for 2021 saw the electric car maker post $11.958 billion in revenue. The results, which were discussed in the Q2 2021 Update Letter, were released after the closing bell on Monday, July 26.
Tesla’s second-quarter was impressive, with the electric car maker producing a total of 206,421 vehicles, an astounding number considering that Q2 was beset by a number of headwinds. The company also delivered 201,250 vehicles comprised of 199,360 Model 3 and Model Y, as well as 1,890 Model S.
Tesla’s strong Q2 results were due in part to the Model Y’s accelerating ramp in the United States and the all-electric crossover’s momentum in China. Tesla also finally started deliveries of the new Model S Plaid and Model S Long Range, which are high-margin vehicles.

The following are the key points in Tesla’s Q2 2021 Update Letter.
Revenue
Tesla beat expectations in Q2 2021, reporting a revenue of $11.958 billion for the second quarter, representing total revenue growth of 98% year-over-year. In comparison, Wall Street expected Tesla’s Q2 2021 revenue to be at $11.299 billion, with the highest estimates pointing to revenue of $12.827 billion and the lowest estimates pointing to $9.5 billion of revenue.
Earnings
Tesla also beat expectations for earnings, with the company posting earnings per share of $1.45 in the first quarter. Wall Street, on the other hand, expected Tesla to report a gain of $0.98 per share.
Profitability
Tesla posted a GAAP operating income of $1.3 billion in the second quarter, with an 11.0% operating margin in Q2 2021. The company also posted $1.1 billion of GAAP net income and $1.6 billion of non-GAAP net income. GAAP automotive gross margin also stood at an impressive 28.4%. This was the first time that Tesla exceeded $1 billion of GAAP net income in its history.
Cash
Tesla had an operating cash flow less CapEx (free cash flow) of $619 million in the second quarter. The company also saw a decrease of $912 million in its cash and cash equivalents, resulting in its war chest now standing at $16.2 billion as of Q2 2021.

Gigafactories
Tesla has provided some updates on the company’s multiple Gigafactories that are under construction. According to Tesla, commissioning has already started in some areas of Gigafactory Texas. Gigafactory Shanghai has completed its transition as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub as well. Over in Europe, Tesla is focusing on growing import volumes to the region as Giga Berlin continues its equipment tests.
4680 Cells
Tesla’s Q2 2021 Update has provided a number of key updates about the development of the company’s 4680 cells. For one, the company has successfully validated performance and lifetime of its 4680 cells. Manufacturing validation of the 4680 cell production lines at the Kato Road facility are nearing their end as well. Last but not least, internal crash tests of 4680 structural battery packs have so far been successful.
Tesla Energy
Tesla Energy hit its stride in the second quarter, with battery storage deployments tripling in Q2 2021. This increase was primarily due to several Megapack projects. The company noted, however, that while Powerwall demand is exceptional, supply chain challenges have kept the home battery system backlogged. As for the Solar Roof, deployments reached 85 MW in the second quarter, more than tripling year-over-year.
Tesla’s Q2 2021 Update Letter could be accessed below.
Tesla q2 2021 Results by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
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Elon Musk
Tesla to a $100T market cap? Elon Musk’s response may shock you
There are a lot of Tesla bulls out there who have astronomical expectations for the company, especially as its arm of reach has gone well past automotive and energy and entered artificial intelligence and robotics.
However, some of the most bullish Tesla investors believe the company could become worth $100 trillion, and CEO Elon Musk does not believe that number is completely out of the question, even if it sounds almost ridiculous.
To put that number into perspective, the top ten most valuable companies in the world — NVIDIA, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, TSMC, Meta, Saudi Aramco, Broadcom, and Tesla — are worth roughly $26 trillion.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
Cathie Wood of ARK Invest believes the number is reasonable considering Tesla’s long-reaching industry ambitions:
“…in the world of AI, what do you have to have to win? You have to have proprietary data, and think about all the proprietary data he has, different kinds of proprietary data. Tesla, the language of the road; Neuralink, multiomics data; nobody else has that data. X, nobody else has that data either. I could see $100 trillion. I think it’s going to happen because of convergence. I think Tesla is the leading candidate [for $100 trillion] for the reason I just said.”
Musk said late last year that all of his companies seem to be “heading toward convergence,” and it’s started to come to fruition. Tesla invested in xAI, as revealed in its Q4 Earnings Shareholder Deck, and SpaceX recently acquired xAI, marking the first step in the potential for a massive umbrella of companies under Musk’s watch.
SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise
Now that it is happening, it seems Musk is even more enthusiastic about a massive valuation that would swell to nearly four-times the value of the top ten most valuable companies in the world currently, as he said on X, the idea of a $100 trillion valuation is “not impossible.”
It’s not impossible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2026
Tesla is not just a car company. With its many projects, including the launch of Robotaxi, the progress of the Optimus robot, and its AI ambitions, it has the potential to continue gaining value at an accelerating rate.
Musk’s comments show his confidence in Tesla’s numerous projects, especially as some begin to mature and some head toward their initial stages.
Elon Musk
Tesla director pay lawsuit sees lawyer fees slashed by $100 million
The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.
The Delaware Supreme Court has cut more than $100 million from a legal fee award tied to a shareholder lawsuit challenging compensation paid to Tesla directors between 2017 and 2020.
The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.
Delaware Supreme Court trims legal fees
As noted in a Bloomberg Law report, the case targeted pay granted to Tesla directors, including CEO Elon Musk, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Kimbal Musk, and Rupert Murdoch. The Delaware Chancery Court had awarded $176 million to the plaintiffs. Tesla’s board must also return stock options and forego years worth of pay.
As per Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. in an opinion for the Delaware Supreme Court’s full five-member panel, however, the decision of the Delaware Chancery Court to award $176 million to a pension fund’s law firm “erred by including in its financial benefit analysis the intrinsic value” of options being returned by Tesla’s board.
The justices then reduced the fee award from $176 million to $70.9 million. “As we measure it, $71 million reflects a reasonable fee for counsel’s efforts and does not result in a windfall,” Chief Justice Seitz wrote.
Other settlement terms still intact
The Supreme Court upheld the settlement itself, which requires Tesla’s board to return stock and options valued at up to $735 million and to forgo three years of additional compensation worth about $184 million.
Tesla argued during oral arguments that a fee award closer to $70 million would be appropriate. Interestingly enough, back in October, Justice Karen L. Valihura noted that the $176 award was $60 million more than the Delaware judiciary’s budget from the previous year. This was quite interesting as the case was “settled midstream.”
The lawsuit was brought by a pension fund on behalf of Tesla shareholders and focused exclusively on director pay during the 2017–2020 period. The case is separate from other high-profile compensation disputes involving Elon Musk.
Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call: The most important points
Executives, including CEO Elon Musk, discussed how the company is positioning itself for growth across vehicles, energy, AI, and robotics despite near-term pressures from tariffs, pricing, and macro conditions.
Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call highlighted improving margins, record energy performance, expanding autonomy efforts, and a sharp acceleration in AI and robotics investments.
Executives, including CEO Elon Musk, discussed how the company is positioning itself for growth across vehicles, energy, AI, and robotics despite near-term pressures from tariffs, pricing, and macro conditions.
Key takeaways
Tesla reported sequential improvement in automotive gross margins excluding regulatory credits, rising from 15.4% to 17.9%, supported by favorable regional mix effects despite a 16% decline in deliveries. Total gross margin exceeded 20.1%, the highest level in more than two years, even with lower fixed-cost absorption and tariff impacts.
The energy business delivered standout results, with revenue reaching nearly $12.8 billion, up 26.6% year over year. Energy gross profit hit a new quarterly record, driven by strong global demand and high deployments of MegaPack and Powerwall across all regions, as noted in a report from The Motley Fool.
Tesla also stated that paid Full Self-Driving customers have climbed to nearly 1.1 million worldwide, with about 70% having purchased FSD outright. The company has now fully transitioned FSD to a subscription-based sales model, which should create a short-term margin headwind for automotive results.
Free cash flow totaled $1.4 billion for the quarter. Operating expenses rose by $500 million sequentially as well.
Production shifts, robotics, and AI investment
Musk further confirmed that Model S and Model X production is expected to wind down next quarter, and plans are underway to convert Fremont’s S/X line into an Optimus robot factory with a capacity of one million units.
Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet has surpassed 500 vehicles, operating across the Bay Area and Austin, with Musk noting a rapid monthly expansion pace. He also reiterated that CyberCab production is expected to begin in April, following a slow initial S-curve ramp before scaling beyond other vehicle programs.
Looking ahead, Tesla expects its capital expenditures to exceed $20 billion next year, thanks to the company’s operations across its six factories, the expansion of its fleet expansion, and the ramp of its AI compute. Additional investments in AI chips, compute infrastructure, and future in-house semiconductor manufacturing were discussed but are not included in the company’s current CapEx guidance.
More importantly, Tesla ended the year with a larger backlog than in recent years. This is supported by record deliveries in smaller international markets and stronger demand across APAC and EMEA. Energy backlog remains strong globally as well, though Tesla cautioned that margin pressure could emerge from competition, policy uncertainty, and tariffs.