Tesla earnings recap: Stock jumps 12% after hours as company reports big quarterly profit beat

• Tesla exceeded Wall Street’s profit estimates in its third-quarter earnings.
• The stock was up 12% in after-hours trading at the conclusion of the call with analysts.
• Elon Musk expects Tesla to receive regulatory approval for autonomous rides in California and Texas next year.

Tesla delivered a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street’s expectations as it reported its earnings on Wednesday.

The electric carmaker reported earnings per share of $0.62 — a big beat over analysts’ expectations of $0.51.

Revenue came in slightly below analysts’ expectations at $25.18 billion for the quarter, an 8% year-over-year increase. Tesla’s gross margin, which is closely watched by Wall Street, rose to 19.8%.

The Cybertruck reached profitability, and the company said that “plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for the start of production in the first half of 2025.”

The stock was up 12% in after-hours trading at the conclusion of Tesla’s analyst call, during which Elon Musk and executives spent most of the time going over prepared remarks or answering previously submitted questions from retail investors. The executives took two questions from analysts dialed into the call.

Earlier this month, Musk revealed Tesla’s long-awaited driverless Cybercab robotaxi at its “We, Robot” event. While the event generated considerable hype for Tesla, the driverless taxi plan has been met with skepticism over its feasibility and competition with rivals.

The rollout of the vehicle, which Tesla expects to begin production in 2026, hinges on Tesla receiving regulatory approval for its Full Self-Driving software for fully autonomous rides.

Musk said he expects Tesla to gain regulatory approval for fully autonomous rides in Texas and California next year and called for a pathway to national approval for fully driverless cars. Musk referenced Trump’s proposed government-efficiency commission, saying, “if there’s a department of government efficiency, I’ll try to help make that happen.”

In the meantime, Tesla said the adoption of its FSD beta software had increased since the Cybercab event.

The Tesla CEO also discussed lower-cost vehicles, which Tesla the company has said it’s working on. Musk said people shouldn’t expect Tesla to make a Cybercab model with a steering wheel and pedals, saying a “regular $25K model is pointless” and “silly.”

The company is all-in on autonomous vehicles, Musk said.