Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) — research brief (BMC #062 on gallery, queue id 61)

Prepared 2026-10-10 (America/Chicago). Labels: FACT = stated by Tesla in its Form 10-K for FY2025 (filed 29 Jan 2026), its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Jun 2026 (filed 23 Jul 2026), or its Q2 2026 Update / Q2 2026 production & deliveries release (Tesla Investor Relations, 22 Jul / 2 Jul 2026); SECONDARY = third-party reporting (none used for numbers below); INFERENCE = arithmetic or reasoning by this project from company-stated numbers. No invented figures. Fiscal year = calendar year, USD. Quarterly figures are unaudited. Non-GAAP measures (adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income, free cash flow = operating cash flow less capex) are Tesla-defined.

Sources (accessed 2026-10-10)

Form 10-K FY2025: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828026003952/tsla-20251231.htm
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Jun 2026: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828026049270/tsla-20260630.htm
Q2 2026 Update (shareholder deck, 22 Jul 2026; 8-K exhibit on Tesla IR): https://ir.tesla.com/_flysystem/s3/sec/000162828026049213/tsla-20260722-gen.pdf
Q2 2026 Production, Deliveries & Deployments release (2 Jul 2026): https://ir.tesla.com/_flysystem/s3/sec/000162828026046717/tsla-20260702-gen.pdf
Investor relations: https://ir.tesla.com ; company site https://www.tesla.com
Logo: Simple Icons "Tesla" glyph (CC0) in a red rounded tile, white glyph (same treatment as other companies in this gallery). Trademark of Tesla, Inc.; identification only.
Raw text in /workspace/tesla-src/ (10k.txt, 10q.txt, q2update.txt).

Teaching arc

Vertically integrated EV + energy hardware sold direct, with regulatory credits, energy storage and software/services as the margin levers — and in 2026 a big AI/cell/chip spending bet that crushes near-term margin. FY2025 revenue was $94.8B (−3%): automotive $69.5B (sales $65.8B + regulatory credits $2.0B + leasing $1.7B), services & other $12.5B (+19%), energy generation & storage $12.8B (+27%). Total gross margin 18.0%, operating income $4.36B (4.6%), net income $3.86B, operating cash flow $14.75B less capex $8.53B = $6.22B free cash flow (INFERENCE from FACT lines; Tesla reports the same figure by quarter). The levers: credits are ~pure margin ($1.99B ≈ 46% of operating income, INFERENCE) but fell 28% in FY25 and −67% in Q2 2026; energy is 13.5% of revenue but 22% of gross profit at 29.8% gross margin (INFERENCE shares); services & other went from ~7% FY25 gross margin (INFERENCE) to a record $648M / 14% in Q2 2026. The bet: R&D $6.41B (+41%) in FY25 and $2.37B (+49%) in Q2 2026, capex $5.79B in Q2 2026 → Q2 2026 revenue $28.2B (+26%) but operating income $398M (1.4% margin) and free cash flow of −$1.09B.

Key numbers

FY2025 (10-K, FACT unless noted)

Revenue $94,827M (FY24 $97,690M, −3%; FY23 $96,773M). Automotive sales $65,821M (−9%); regulatory credits $1,993M (−28%); leasing $1,712M (−6%); total automotive $69,526M (−10%); services and other $12,530M (+19%); energy generation and storage $12,771M (+27%).
INFERENCE mix: automotive 73.3% (sales 69.4%, credits 2.1%, leasing 1.8%), services & other 13.2%, energy 13.5%.
Cost of revenues $77,733M; gross profit $17,094M (18.0%; FY24 17.9%). Total automotive gross margin 17.8% (18.4%); automotive + services & other 16.2% (16.9%); energy 29.8% (26.2%; gross profit $3,802M).
INFERENCE: automotive sales gross profit = $65,821M − $56,267M = $9,554M (14.5%); total automotive ex-credits = ($12,361M − $1,993M) ÷ ($69,526M − $1,993M) = 15.4%; services & other gross profit = $12,530M − $11,599M = $931M (7.4%); credits ÷ operating income = 45.8%; credits ÷ gross profit = 11.7%; energy ÷ gross profit = 22.2%.
Credits: "negligible incremental costs"; revenue falls with regulation (10-K cites OBBBA restricting certain credit programs) and with other automakers' demand for credits.
Opex: R&D $6,411M (+41%; FY24 $4,540M); SG&A $5,834M (+13%); restructuring and other $494M. Income from operations $4,355M (FY24 $7,076M); INFERENCE 4.6% margin (FY24 7.2%). Net income $3,855M (attributable to common $3,794M; FY24 $7,091M).
Cash flow: operating $14,747M; capex (purchases of property and equipment excl. finance leases, net of sales) $8,527M (FY24 $11,342M); INFERENCE FCF $6,220M. Cash, equivalents + short-term investments $44.06B at year-end (Q2 2026 Update table).
Volumes: ~1.66M vehicles produced, ~1.64M delivered in 2025; 46.7 GWh energy storage deployed. Employee headcount 134,785 at 31 Dec 2025.
Products: Model 3, Y, S, X, Cybertruck; Semi (commercial); Powerwall and Megapack (Megapack 3 and Megablock introduced 2025); Robotaxi service launched June 2025; Cybercab; Optimus.
Deferred revenue for connectivity, FSD (Supervised) access and maintenance, free Supercharging and OTA updates on automotive sales: $3,867M at end 2025 (vs $3,599M).
Channels (10-K): vehicles sold through Tesla's website and company-owned stores (no independent dealers; some states' dealer laws restrict this); energy products via website, stores, galleries, channel partners and PPAs. Used-vehicle sales tied to trade-ins. Insurance (launched 2021, select states). Supercharger access opened to non-Tesla vehicles (NACS adopters); Supercharger for Business lets third parties buy/install Superchargers while Tesla runs the network; first Tesla Diner opened 2025.
Suppliers: thousands of suppliers; battery cells from suppliers "such as Panasonic and CATL"; limited number of fully qualified cell suppliers; plan to supplement with Tesla-made cells (4680, LFP). Some single-source parts.
Leasing: resale value guarantees to commercial banking partners for certain lease programs (lease and vehicle transferred to the bank; Tesla gets upfront payment, bears no credit risk, guarantees a capped residual).
Risks (10-K / 10-Q): reliance on key person Elon Musk; reliance on autonomy/Robotaxi/Optimus success; EV incentive removal under OBBBA; tariffs; battery cell supply; dealer-law challenges; recalls; securities class action filed Aug 2025 re Autopilot/FSD/Robotaxi claims; government information requests (NHTSA, NTSB, SEC, DOJ) with no conclusion of wrongdoing stated.

Q2 2026 (10-Q + Q2 2026 Update, FACT unless noted)

Revenue $28,236M (+26% vs $22,496M); H1 $50,623M (+21%). Automotive sales $20,006M (+27%, ~25% more cash deliveries); credits $146M (−67%); leasing $364M (−16%); total automotive $20,516M (+23%); services and other $4,581M (+50%); energy $3,139M (+13%).
Gross profit $4,751M (16.8%; Q1'26 21.1%); energy gross margin 20.4% (30.3% a year ago, Tesla cites "energy warranty-related charges due to vendor cell issue"); services & other gross profit record $648M / 14% margin.
R&D $2,371M (+49%); SG&A $1,982M (+45%; stock-comp up $283M on 2025 CEO Performance Award); opex $4,353M (+47%). Income from operations $398M (1.4% margin; Q2'25 $923M, 4.1%). Net income $1,128M — includes a $1.0B unrealized gain on the SpaceX equity investment (non-operating); non-GAAP net income $1,153M. Total SBC $1,151M (vs $635M).
Cash flow: operating $4,697M; capex $5,789M (Q1'26 $2,493M); FCF −$1,092M; cash and short-term investments $43.5B. H1 operating cash flow $8,634M, capex $8,282M (H1'25 $3,886M).
Operational: deliveries 480,126 (+25%; Model 3/Y 467,762, other 12,364); production 451,758; storage deployed 13.5 GWh (+41%); H1: ~860k produced, ~838k delivered, 22.3 GWh. Active FSD subscriptions 1.48M (+56%; Q1'26 1.28M); record FSD attach — over 55% of new North America deliveries include FSD subscriptions. Superchargers: 8,704 stations (+18%), 82,357 connectors (+17%). Cumulative deliveries 9.7M.
Capacity (installed, annual): Model 3/Y — California >550k, Shanghai >950k; Berlin Y >375k; Texas Y >250k, Cybertruck >125k, Cybercab >125k; Megapack — California 40 GWh, Shanghai 20 GWh (Texas commissioning); Powerwall Nevada >6 GWh. Cell/materials: Texas 4680 >40 GWh, Nevada LFP 7 GWh (early ramp). AI compute: Cortex 1 >90 MW, Cortex 2 >115 MW. Cybercab production started at Gigafactory Texas; Semi and Megapack 3/Megablock slated for 2026; Optimus lines being installed; semiconductor fab (Austin) and solar manufacturing in early build.
Robotaxi: unsupervised in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Tampa ("ramping"); Bay Area with safety driver (company status table). Tesla's own outlook: hardware profits "accompanied by an acceleration of AI, software and fleet-based profits" over time (a goal, not a result).
2025 CEO Performance Award milestones (10-Q): e.g. 20M vehicles delivered, 10M active FSD subscriptions, 1M bots delivered, 1M Robotaxis in commercial operation, up to $400B adjusted EBITDA — shows what management is steering toward (FACT, from the 10-Q table).
Capex guidance: 10-K expected 2026 capex "to exceed $20 billion"; 10-Q (Jul 2026) "in excess of $25 billion", driven by AI compute, manufacturing/R&D lines, company-operated AI-enabled fleet, retail/service/charging footprint.
Related parties: SpaceX buys Megapacks; Tesla holds a SpaceX equity stake (<1% ownership, $3.0B fair value; bought $2.0B in H1 2026) — related-party disclosures in 10-Q.

What is NOT disclosed (do not invent)

Revenue or profit for FSD, Supercharging, insurance or Robotaxi separately (they sit inside automotive sales / services & other). Supercharging/FSD ASC 606 deferred revenue is disclosed only in aggregate.
Customer concentration (none reported); list prices not verified here and not used.
Robotaxi fleet size, paid-mile revenue.

Block coverage map

Key Partners: Panasonic, CATL (cells), thousands of suppliers, banking partners (lease residual guarantees), Supercharger-for-Business hosts, NACS-adopting automakers, credit buyers (other automakers), channel partners (energy), SpaceX/Redwood (related parties). Key Activities: design/build EVs and storage, cell/material vertical integration, FSD/AI training and Robotaxi, Superchargers, service/insurance/used cars, Optimus/semiconductor R&D. Key Resources: Gigafactories/Megafactories, 134,785 staff, in-house software + AI compute (Cortex), $44B liquidity, 9.7M-car fleet data, Supercharger network, brand. Value propositions: EVs with OTA software and FSD (Supervised); free-ish ecosystem (charging, app); grid/home storage; credits are a B2B product to other automakers. Customer relationships: app + OTA updates, FSD subscriptions, Supercharging, direct service, insurance. Channels: website/app, company stores, galleries, service centers, Superchargers, channel partners (energy), Tesla Diner. Segments: consumers and fleets (vehicles), residential/commercial/utility energy buyers, other automakers (credits), non-Tesla EV drivers (Supercharging), Robotaxi riders. Cost structure: COGS $77.7B (82% of revenue), R&D $6.4B, SG&A $5.8B, capex $8.5B, SBC, tariffs, warranty. Revenue: as above.

# Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) — research brief (BMC #062 on gallery, queue id 61) Prepared 2026-10-10 (America/Chicago). Labels: **FACT** = stated by Tesla in its Form 10-K for FY2025 (filed 29 Jan 2026), its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Jun 2026 (filed 23 Jul 2026), or its Q2 2026 Update / Q2 2026 production & deliveries release (Tesla Investor Relations, 22 Jul / 2 Jul 2026); **SECONDARY** = third-party reporting (none used for numbers below); **INFERENCE** = arithmetic or reasoning by this project from company-stated numbers. No invented figures. Fiscal year = calendar year, USD. Quarterly figures are unaudited. Non-GAAP measures (adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income, free cash flow = operating cash flow less capex) are Tesla-defined. ## Sources (accessed 2026-10-10) - Form 10-K FY2025: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828026003952/tsla-20251231.htm - Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Jun 2026: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828026049270/tsla-20260630.htm - Q2 2026 Update (shareholder deck, 22 Jul 2026; 8-K exhibit on Tesla IR): https://ir.tesla.com/_flysystem/s3/sec/000162828026049213/tsla-20260722-gen.pdf - Q2 2026 Production, Deliveries & Deployments release (2 Jul 2026): https://ir.tesla.com/_flysystem/s3/sec/000162828026046717/tsla-20260702-gen.pdf - Investor relations: https://ir.tesla.com ; company site https://www.tesla.com - Logo: Simple Icons "Tesla" glyph (CC0) in a red rounded tile, white glyph (same treatment as other companies in this gallery). Trademark of Tesla, Inc.; identification only. - Raw text in /workspace/tesla-src/ (10k.txt, 10q.txt, q2update.txt). ## Teaching arc **Vertically integrated EV + energy hardware sold direct, with regulatory credits, energy storage and software/services as the margin levers — and in 2026 a big AI/cell/chip spending bet that crushes near-term margin.** FY2025 revenue was **$94.8B (−3%)**: automotive **$69.5B** (sales $65.8B + regulatory credits $2.0B + leasing $1.7B), services & other **$12.5B (+19%)**, energy generation & storage **$12.8B (+27%)**. Total gross margin **18.0%**, operating income **$4.36B (4.6%)**, net income $3.86B, operating cash flow $14.75B less capex $8.53B = **$6.22B** free cash flow (INFERENCE from FACT lines; Tesla reports the same figure by quarter). The levers: credits are ~pure margin ($1.99B ≈ **46% of operating income**, INFERENCE) but fell 28% in FY25 and −67% in Q2 2026; energy is 13.5% of revenue but **22% of gross profit** at **29.8%** gross margin (INFERENCE shares); services & other went from ~7% FY25 gross margin (INFERENCE) to a record **$648M / 14%** in Q2 2026. The bet: R&D **$6.41B (+41%)** in FY25 and **$2.37B (+49%) in Q2 2026**, capex **$5.79B** in Q2 2026 → **Q2 2026 revenue $28.2B (+26%) but operating income $398M (1.4% margin)** and free cash flow of **−$1.09B**. ## Key numbers **FY2025 (10-K, FACT unless noted)** - Revenue $94,827M (FY24 $97,690M, −3%; FY23 $96,773M). Automotive sales $65,821M (−9%); regulatory credits $1,993M (−28%); leasing $1,712M (−6%); total automotive $69,526M (−10%); services and other $12,530M (+19%); energy generation and storage $12,771M (+27%). - INFERENCE mix: automotive 73.3% (sales 69.4%, credits 2.1%, leasing 1.8%), services & other 13.2%, energy 13.5%. - Cost of revenues $77,733M; gross profit $17,094M (18.0%; FY24 17.9%). Total automotive gross margin 17.8% (18.4%); automotive + services & other 16.2% (16.9%); energy 29.8% (26.2%; gross profit $3,802M). - INFERENCE: automotive sales gross profit = $65,821M − $56,267M = $9,554M (14.5%); total automotive ex-credits = ($12,361M − $1,993M) ÷ ($69,526M − $1,993M) = 15.4%; services & other gross profit = $12,530M − $11,599M = $931M (7.4%); credits ÷ operating income = 45.8%; credits ÷ gross profit = 11.7%; energy ÷ gross profit = 22.2%. - Credits: "negligible incremental costs"; revenue falls with regulation (10-K cites OBBBA restricting certain credit programs) and with other automakers' demand for credits. - Opex: R&D $6,411M (+41%; FY24 $4,540M); SG&A $5,834M (+13%); restructuring and other $494M. Income from operations $4,355M (FY24 $7,076M); INFERENCE 4.6% margin (FY24 7.2%). Net income $3,855M (attributable to common $3,794M; FY24 $7,091M). - Cash flow: operating $14,747M; capex (purchases of property and equipment excl. finance leases, net of sales) $8,527M (FY24 $11,342M); INFERENCE FCF $6,220M. Cash, equivalents + short-term investments $44.06B at year-end (Q2 2026 Update table). - Volumes: ~1.66M vehicles produced, ~1.64M delivered in 2025; 46.7 GWh energy storage deployed. Employee headcount 134,785 at 31 Dec 2025. - Products: Model 3, Y, S, X, Cybertruck; Semi (commercial); Powerwall and Megapack (Megapack 3 and Megablock introduced 2025); Robotaxi service launched June 2025; Cybercab; Optimus. - Deferred revenue for connectivity, FSD (Supervised) access and maintenance, free Supercharging and OTA updates on automotive sales: $3,867M at end 2025 (vs $3,599M). - Channels (10-K): vehicles sold through Tesla's website and company-owned stores (no independent dealers; some states' dealer laws restrict this); energy products via website, stores, galleries, channel partners and PPAs. Used-vehicle sales tied to trade-ins. Insurance (launched 2021, select states). Supercharger access opened to non-Tesla vehicles (NACS adopters); Supercharger for Business lets third parties buy/install Superchargers while Tesla runs the network; first Tesla Diner opened 2025. - Suppliers: thousands of suppliers; battery cells from suppliers "such as Panasonic and CATL"; limited number of fully qualified cell suppliers; plan to supplement with Tesla-made cells (4680, LFP). Some single-source parts. - Leasing: resale value guarantees to commercial banking partners for certain lease programs (lease and vehicle transferred to the bank; Tesla gets upfront payment, bears no credit risk, guarantees a capped residual). - Risks (10-K / 10-Q): reliance on key person Elon Musk; reliance on autonomy/Robotaxi/Optimus success; EV incentive removal under OBBBA; tariffs; battery cell supply; dealer-law challenges; recalls; securities class action filed Aug 2025 re Autopilot/FSD/Robotaxi claims; government information requests (NHTSA, NTSB, SEC, DOJ) with no conclusion of wrongdoing stated. **Q2 2026 (10-Q + Q2 2026 Update, FACT unless noted)** - Revenue $28,236M (+26% vs $22,496M); H1 $50,623M (+21%). Automotive sales $20,006M (+27%, ~25% more cash deliveries); credits $146M (−67%); leasing $364M (−16%); total automotive $20,516M (+23%); services and other $4,581M (+50%); energy $3,139M (+13%). - Gross profit $4,751M (16.8%; Q1'26 21.1%); energy gross margin 20.4% (30.3% a year ago, Tesla cites "energy warranty-related charges due to vendor cell issue"); services & other gross profit record $648M / 14% margin. - R&D $2,371M (+49%); SG&A $1,982M (+45%; stock-comp up $283M on 2025 CEO Performance Award); opex $4,353M (+47%). Income from operations $398M (1.4% margin; Q2'25 $923M, 4.1%). Net income $1,128M — includes a $1.0B unrealized gain on the SpaceX equity investment (non-operating); non-GAAP net income $1,153M. Total SBC $1,151M (vs $635M). - Cash flow: operating $4,697M; capex $5,789M (Q1'26 $2,493M); FCF −$1,092M; cash and short-term investments $43.5B. H1 operating cash flow $8,634M, capex $8,282M (H1'25 $3,886M). - Operational: deliveries 480,126 (+25%; Model 3/Y 467,762, other 12,364); production 451,758; storage deployed 13.5 GWh (+41%); H1: ~860k produced, ~838k delivered, 22.3 GWh. Active FSD subscriptions 1.48M (+56%; Q1'26 1.28M); record FSD attach — over 55% of new North America deliveries include FSD subscriptions. Superchargers: 8,704 stations (+18%), 82,357 connectors (+17%). Cumulative deliveries 9.7M. - Capacity (installed, annual): Model 3/Y — California >550k, Shanghai >950k; Berlin Y >375k; Texas Y >250k, Cybertruck >125k, Cybercab >125k; Megapack — California 40 GWh, Shanghai 20 GWh (Texas commissioning); Powerwall Nevada >6 GWh. Cell/materials: Texas 4680 >40 GWh, Nevada LFP 7 GWh (early ramp). AI compute: Cortex 1 >90 MW, Cortex 2 >115 MW. Cybercab production started at Gigafactory Texas; Semi and Megapack 3/Megablock slated for 2026; Optimus lines being installed; semiconductor fab (Austin) and solar manufacturing in early build. - Robotaxi: unsupervised in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Tampa ("ramping"); Bay Area with safety driver (company status table). Tesla's own outlook: hardware profits "accompanied by an acceleration of AI, software and fleet-based profits" over time (a goal, not a result). - 2025 CEO Performance Award milestones (10-Q): e.g. 20M vehicles delivered, 10M active FSD subscriptions, 1M bots delivered, 1M Robotaxis in commercial operation, up to $400B adjusted EBITDA — shows what management is steering toward (FACT, from the 10-Q table). - Capex guidance: 10-K expected 2026 capex "to exceed $20 billion"; 10-Q (Jul 2026) "in excess of $25 billion", driven by AI compute, manufacturing/R&D lines, company-operated AI-enabled fleet, retail/service/charging footprint. - Related parties: SpaceX buys Megapacks; Tesla holds a SpaceX equity stake (<1% ownership, $3.0B fair value; bought $2.0B in H1 2026) — related-party disclosures in 10-Q. ## What is NOT disclosed (do not invent) - Revenue or profit for FSD, Supercharging, insurance or Robotaxi separately (they sit inside automotive sales / services & other). Supercharging/FSD ASC 606 deferred revenue is disclosed only in aggregate. - Customer concentration (none reported); list prices not verified here and not used. - Robotaxi fleet size, paid-mile revenue. ## Block coverage map Key Partners: Panasonic, CATL (cells), thousands of suppliers, banking partners (lease residual guarantees), Supercharger-for-Business hosts, NACS-adopting automakers, credit buyers (other automakers), channel partners (energy), SpaceX/Redwood (related parties). Key Activities: design/build EVs and storage, cell/material vertical integration, FSD/AI training and Robotaxi, Superchargers, service/insurance/used cars, Optimus/semiconductor R&D. Key Resources: Gigafactories/Megafactories, 134,785 staff, in-house software + AI compute (Cortex), $44B liquidity, 9.7M-car fleet data, Supercharger network, brand. Value propositions: EVs with OTA software and FSD (Supervised); free-ish ecosystem (charging, app); grid/home storage; credits are a B2B product to other automakers. Customer relationships: app + OTA updates, FSD subscriptions, Supercharging, direct service, insurance. Channels: website/app, company stores, galleries, service centers, Superchargers, channel partners (energy), Tesla Diner. Segments: consumers and fleets (vehicles), residential/commercial/utility energy buyers, other automakers (credits), non-Tesla EV drivers (Supercharging), Robotaxi riders. Cost structure: COGS $77.7B (82% of revenue), R&D $6.4B, SG&A $5.8B, capex $8.5B, SBC, tariffs, warranty. Revenue: as above.