Tesla’s third‑quarter earnings released Wednesday showed capital expenditures of $4.7 billion, far below the $7.5 billion analysts had expected.
The company generated a positive cash flow that surprised market analysts, who had projected a $4.92 billion outflow for the quarter.
Tesla trimmed its 2026 capex forecast by roughly one‑fifth, lowering the target from more than $25 billion to $20 billion. That drop leaves a sizable hole in the budget earmarked for AI, robotics and autonomous driving.
Ryan Lee, senior vice president of product and strategy at Direxion, warned that the cut signals a less aggressive push into the AI arms race than Musk’s rhetoric would suggest. Thomas Monteiro of Investing.com added that the financial logic behind a SpaceX‑Tesla merger now appears harder to ignore.
Musk said a merger is a ‘good idea’ and that special committees are set up, but he declined to detail the plan during the earnings call.
A Tesla delivery driver in Austin, Texas, told reporters he had seen a noticeable dip in new vehicle arrivals at the plant, hinting at slower production scaling.
Investors will look to Tesla’s next earnings call on November 15 for clarification on spending priorities and the merger’s feasibility.