Tesla Starts Optimus Production at Fremont
Tesla has begun producing its Optimus humanoid robot at its Fremont, California factory β the same manufacturing space once dedicated to building electric vehicles β the company announced Wednesday.
"The bots coming off this line are the first production-quality bots that we have manufactured," Tesla wrote in its third-quarter letter to shareholders. "While we will continue to iterate on the hardware and manufacturing process, we have proven that the current manufacturing process for Optimus is suitable for a commercial product."
A Middling Quarter
That forward-looking milestone wasn't enough to lift the company's otherwise unremarkable third-quarter earnings β results that typify a company at the midpoint of a major bet. Revenue was flat and expenses skyrocketed as Tesla pressed the accelerator on Optimus, AI, and autonomous driving. The net result: a 43% drop in profits.
Revenue Held Flat by EV Sales
Revenue was largely driven by EV sales, which were flat year-over-year at $20 billion. Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter β about 6,000 more than the previous quarter, but lower than the same period last year.
Total third-quarter revenue came in at $28.04 billion, slightly below the $28.09 billion generated in Q3 2025 and roughly $200 million under the previous quarter's $28.23 billion.
Tesla's solar and energy storage business fell 16% year-over-year to $2.8 billion, which the company attributed to tariff-related customer refunds. There was some positive momentum in services β a category that includes subscriptions to its Full Self-Driving advanced driver-assistance software β which grew 33% year-over-year to $4.6 billion.
AI and Optimus Spending Weigh on Profitability
None of this was enough to outpace Tesla's spending on AI projects and its Optimus robot, which dealt a significant blow to profits.
The company reported $787 million in net income, a 43% drop from the $1.37 billion earned in the same period of 2025. Lower regulatory credit sales also pressured profitability. Tesla stayed in the black largely thanks to a big boost from its "services and other" segment, which contributed a record $734 million in gross profit for the quarter.
via TechCrunch