Tesla released its third-quarter 2026 financial results on October 21, 2026, reporting total revenue of $28.0 billion and GAAP operating income of $718 million in a Form 8-K filed with the SEC. The results cover the quarter ended September 30, 2026, and were published as the company’s Third Quarter 2026 Update, attached to the filing as Exhibit 99.1.
Third Quarter Financial Results
Total revenues were $28,046 million, compared with $28,095 million in the same quarter of 2025, a result Tesla described in the update as roughly flat year over year. Automotive revenues were $20,560 million, energy generation and storage revenue was $2,881 million, and services and other revenue was $4,605 million. Total gross profit was $5,494 million. The update states that GAAP gross margin rose 160 basis points year over year, while operating margin fell 322 basis points and adjusted EBITDA margin fell 114 basis points.
GAAP net income attributable to common stockholders was $787 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income was $1,697 million, or $0.48 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA was $3,900 million, a 13.9% margin. Tesla said it achieved its second consecutive quarter of trailing-twelve-month revenue above $100 billion.
In the update’s year-over-year breakdown, Tesla attributed the revenue result to a decrease in energy generation and storage revenue, partially due to tariff-related customer refunds, a lower vehicle average selling price, lower regulatory credit revenue and decreased deliveries, offset by growth in services, a $0.3 billion positive foreign exchange impact and higher automotive ancillary sales driven primarily by increased FSD subscriptions. Regulatory credit revenue was $113 million in the quarter, versus $417 million in the third quarter of 2025. For operating income, the company cited increased operating expenses driven by Super Intelligence (SI) and other research and development projects, stock-based compensation including the 2025 CEO Performance Award, and higher selling, general and administrative costs, partially offset by growth in services gross profit, improved vehicle region and product mix, lower restructuring expenses and a $0.1 billion positive foreign exchange impact.
Cash Flow and Spending
Net cash provided by operating activities was $6,263 million, capital expenditures were $4,732 million, and free cash flow was $1,531 million. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments ended the quarter at $45,447 million; the update states the sequential increase of $1.9 billion was primarily a result of positive free cash flow. Research and development expense was $2,761 million, and selling, general and administrative expense was $2,015 million. Total assets stood at $157,517 million and total stockholders’ equity at $89,289 million as of September 30, 2026. Services and other gross profit grew $86 million sequentially to $734 million, which Tesla described as a record for the segment.
Deliveries, Robotaxi and FSD
Tesla produced 464,391 vehicles in the quarter, up 4% year over year according to the update, and delivered 486,532, down 2%. The company produced and delivered its 10 millionth vehicle during the quarter, bringing cumulative deliveries to 10.2 million. Tesla said it ended the quarter with its largest passenger-vehicle backlog in four years, achieved record quarterly deliveries in Canada, Australia, Japan and Taiwan, and reached record production at Gigafactory Berlin.
Tesla began providing Robotaxi rides using Cybercabs in Austin on September 3, 2026. The update reports nearly two million cumulative unsupervised Robotaxi miles as of the end of the quarter, with cumulative miles growing eightfold quarter over quarter, and states that operating hours in Austin now run from 6 a.m. to midnight. Grok is available in Cybercab with Grok Bot and Connectors, which the update describes as giving riders hands-free voice access to inbox, calendars, files, chats and tasks.
Active FSD subscriptions reached 1.74 million, a metric Tesla defines as including upfront payments and monthly subscriptions and excluding free trials. Since the end of the second quarter, Tesla said it received four additional FSD approvals, in Croatia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, making the system available in nine EU countries, where more than 100,000 customers have logged over 160 million kilometers since initial approval. The update’s disclosures note that FSD requires active driver supervision and does not make the vehicle autonomous.
Energy storage deployments were 13.7 GWh, and Tesla reported its highest-ever energy storage order rate and backlog. The Supercharger network grew to 8,904 stations and 84,465 connectors, the Supercharger for Business program grew to over 600 stalls, and Tesla deployed its first factory pre-assembled Accordion Supercharger and its first pre-assembled Megacharger.
Semi, Optimus and Energy Manufacturing
Tesla began volume production of the Tesla Semi, its Class 8 heavy-duty truck, in Nevada. According to the update, the top variant can travel 500 miles at a full 82,000-pound gross combination weight while achieving 1.7 kWh per mile, which Tesla said allows the Semi to use a third of the energy of a comparable diesel truck hauling the same payload. Optimus production began in Fremont on high-volume lines; the company described the units coming off the line as its first production-quality bots and said it has proven the current manufacturing process is suitable for a commercial product. Tesla unveiled the Next Gen Roadster on October 15, 2026.
Megafactory Texas began production with a planned capacity of 50 GWh, and Tesla shipped its first Megapacks built with LFP cells from its Nevada factory. The company’s Cortex 1 and Cortex 2 SI training compute clusters, rated above 105 MW and 120 MW respectively, are in production; Tesla said it plans to reach 400 MW of SI training compute by the end of the year and expects to start commissioning equipment at its Austin Fab semiconductor facility in 2027.
Outlook and Webcast
In its outlook section, Tesla said it is focused on maximum capacity utilization at its factories and will manage the business to maintain a strong balance sheet and sufficient liquidity to fund its product roadmap and long-term capacity expansion, including further vertical integration. The company said it expects hardware-related profits to be accompanied over time by an acceleration of SI, software and fleet-based profits, and that capacity build-out tied to its multi-year infrastructure initiatives, spanning SI compute, solar, battery materials and semiconductor manufacturing, is underway.
The 8-K was signed by Brandon Ehrhart, Tesla’s general counsel and corporate secretary. Tesla scheduled a live webcast of its third-quarter 2026 earnings call for 4:30 p.m. CT on October 21, 2026, at ir.tesla.com, with a replay available for approximately one year.
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