

Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) Q3 2023 earnings results: $23.5B in revenue and 17.9% gross margin
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) posted its Q3 2023 earnings report after markets closed today. The results, which were discussed in the Q3 2023 Update Letter, were released after the closing bell on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
Tesla’s earnings come on the heels of a quarter that saw a decline in production and deliveries, thanks in part to the rollout of the upgraded Model 3 in Gigafactory Shanghai. In the third quarter, Tesla produced 430,488 vehicles and delivered 435,059. Tesla also maintained its target volume of 1.8 million vehicles this 2023.
The following is a quick overview of Tesla’s Q3 2023 earnings results.
REVENUE
In the third quarter, Tesla posted revenues of $23.35 billion. In comparison, analysts expect Tesla to report a revenue of $23.9 billion in Q3 2023. Total revenue grew 9% YoY in Q3 despite the challenging quarter. As per the Q3 2023 Update Letter, Tesla’s third quarter revenues were affected by the company’s growth and increase in vehicle deliveries, as well as the reduced average selling price of its vehicles year-over-year.
EARNINGS PER SHARE
Tesla’s non-GAAP earnings per share for the first quarter of 2023 was listed at $0.66. In comparison, analysts were expecting Tesla to post an earnings per share of $0.72. GAAP earnings per share was at $0.53, which is also below the expected $0.64 per share.
PROFITABILITY
Tesla posted a 7.6% operating margin in Q3. The company also posted a $1.8 billion GAAP operating income, $1.9 billion GAAP net income, and $2.3 billion non-GAAP net income in Q3 in the third quarter. The fact that Tesla remained profitable this Q3 seems to be a testament to the strength of the company’s business.
Overall, operating income decreased year-over-year to $1.8 billion in the third quarter, resulting in a 7.6% operating margin.
CASH
Tesla’s quarter-end cash, cash equivalents, and investments increased sequentially by $3.0 billion to $26.1 billion in the third quarter. This was due to financing activities of $2.3 billion and free cash flow of $0.8 billion.
OTHER KEY UPDATES
- Tesla has more than doubled the size of its AI training compute to accommodate the company’s growing dataset and its Optimus humanoid robot program.
- First Tesla Cybertruck delivery event is set for November 30, 2023
- Gigafactory Texas’ Cybertruck capacity is at 125,000 units per year
- Gigafactory Shanghai’s annual output has been adjusted to over 950,000 vehicles
- FSD Beta’s cumulative miles has reached 525 million
- Tesla Energy deployments hit a record high of 4.0 GWh in Q3 2023
Below is Tesla’s Q3 2023 Update Letter.
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Investor's Corner
Stifel raises Tesla price target by 9.8% over FSD, Robotaxi advancements
Stifel also maintained a “Buy” rating for the electric vehicle maker.

Investment firm Stifel has raised its price target for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares to $483 from $440 over increased confidence in the company’s self-driving and Robotaxi programs. The new price target suggests an 11.5% upside from Tesla’s closing price on Tuesday.
Stifel also maintained a “Buy” rating despite acknowledging that Tesla’s timeline for fully unsupervised driving may be ambitious.
Building confidence
In a note to clients, Stifel stated that it believes “Tesla is making progress with modest advancements in its Robotaxi network and FSD,” as noted in a report from Investing.com. The firm expects unsupervised FSD to become available for personal use in the U.S. by the end of 2025, with a wider ride-hailing rollout potentially covering half of the U.S. population by year-end.
Stifel also noted that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet could expand from “tiny to gigantic” within a short time frame, possibly making a material financial impact to the company by late 2026. The firm views Tesla’s vision-based approach to autonomy as central to this long-term growth, suggesting that continued advancements could unlock new revenue streams across both consumer and mobility sectors.
Tesla’s FSD goals still ambitious
While Stifel’s tone remains optimistic, the firm’s analysts acknowledged that Tesla’s aggressive autonomy timeline may face execution challenges. The note described the 2025 unsupervised FSD target as “a stretch,” though still achievable in the medium term.
“We believe Tesla is making progress with modest advancements in its Robotaxi network and FSD. The company has high expectations for its camera-based approach including; 1) Unsupervised FSD to be available for personal use in the United States by year-end 2025, which appears to be a stretch but seems more likely in the medium term; 2) that it will ‘probably have ride hailing in probably half of the populations of the U.S. by the end of the year’,” the firm noted.
Investor's Corner
Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirms bullish view on Tesla after record Q3 deliveries
The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and $355 price target.

Cantor Fitzgerald is maintaining its bullish outlook on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) following the company’s record-breaking third quarter of 2025.
The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and $355 price target, citing strong delivery results driven by a rush of consumer purchases ahead of the end of the federal tax credit on September 30.
On Tesla’s vehicle deliveries in Q3 2025
During the third quarter of 2025, Tesla delivered a total of 497,099 vehicles, significantly beating analyst expectations of 443,079 vehicles. As per Cantor Fitzgerald, this was likely affected by customers rushing at the end of Q3 to purchase an EV due to the end of the federal tax credit, as noted in an Investing.com report.
“On 10/2, TSLA pre-announced that it delivered 497,099 vehicles in 3Q25 (its highest quarterly delivery in company history), significantly above Company consensus of 443,079, and above 384,122 in 2Q25. This was due primarily to a ‘push forward effect’ from consumers who rushed to purchase or lease EVs ahead of the $7,500 EV tax credit expiring on 9/30,” the firm wrote in its note.
A bright spot in Tesla Energy
Cantor Fitzgerald also highlighted that while Tesla’s full-year production and deliveries would likely fall short of 2024’s 1.8 million total, Tesla’s energy storage business remains a bright spot in the company’s results.
“Tesla also announced that it had deployed 12.5 GWh of energy storage products in 3Q25, its highest in company history vs. our estimate/Visible Alpha consensus of 11.5/10.9 GWh (and vs. ~6.9 GWh in 3Q24). Tesla’s Energy Storage has now deployed more products YTD than all of last year, which is encouraging. We expect Energy Storage revenue to surpass $12B this year, and to account for ~15% of total revenue,” the firm stated.
Tesla’s strong Q3 results have helped lift its market capitalization to $1.47 trillion as of writing. The company also teased a new product reveal on X set for October 7, which the firm stated could serve as another near-term catalyst.
Investor's Corner
Tesla just got a weird price target boost from a notable bear

Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) just got a weird price target boost from a notable bear just a day after it announced its strongest quarter in terms of vehicle deliveries and energy deployments.
JPMorgan raised its price target on Tesla shares from $115 to $150. It maintained its ‘Underweight’ rating on the stock.
Despite Tesla reporting 497,099 deliveries, about 12 percent above the 443,000 anticipated from the consensus, JPMorgan is still skeptical that the company can keep up its momentum, stating most of its Q3 strength came from leaning on the removal of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which expired on September 30.
Tesla hits record vehicle deliveries and energy deployments in Q3 2025
The firm said Tesla benefited from a “temporary stronger-than-expected industry-wide pull-forward” as the tax credit expired. It is no secret that consumers flocked to the company this past quarter to take advantage of the credit.
The bump will need to be solidified as the start of a continuing trend of strong vehicle deliveries, the firm said in a note to investors. Analysts said that one quarter of strength was “too soon to declare Tesla as having sustainably returned to growth in its core business.”
JPMorgan does not anticipate Tesla having strong showings with vehicle deliveries after Q4.
There are two distinct things that stick out with this note: the first is the lack of recognition of other parts of Tesla’s business, and the confusion that surrounds future quarters.
JPMorgan did not identify Tesla’s strength in autonomy, energy storage, or robotics, with autonomy and robotics being the main focuses of the company’s future. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving and Robotaxi efforts are incredibly relevant and drive more impact moving forward than vehicle deliveries.
Additionally, the confusion surrounding future delivery numbers in quarters past Q3 is evident.
Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might
Tesla will receive some assistance from deliveries of vehicles that will reach customers in Q4, but will still qualify for the credit under the IRS’s revised rules. It will also likely introduce an affordable model this quarter, which should have a drastic impact on deliveries depending on pricing.
Tesla shares are trading at $422.40 at 2:35 p.m. on the East Coast.
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