Tesla Stock Wobbles as Profit Dives 37%, Revenue Pops. Now What?Tesla NASDAQ:TSLA posted a 12% jump in revenue on Wednesday, reaching $28.1 billion, well above Wall Street’s $26.37 billion estimate. And yet, the stock slipped nearly 1% on the day before paring back that loss with a 2.3% Thursday gain.
Why? Because profits fell faster than Cybertruck’s reputation — a 37% plunge year over year, with adjusted earnings per share at 50 cents versus the expected 54 cents.
It’s a classic Tesla paradox: sales are booming, but margins are thinning, and Wall Street can’t decide whether to cheer the top line or cry over the bottom one.
🏎️ The Cost of Staying in the Fast Lane
Tesla’s secret sauce has always been scale — crank out more cars, dominate market share, and let profits follow. But this quarter, the recipe’s a bit off. Automotive revenue rose 6% to $21.2 billion, yet net income plunged to $1.37 billion from $2.17 billion a year earlier .
What happened? Price cuts. Lots of them. Musk has been slashing sticker prices across markets to stay ahead in the EV race — great for consumers, painful for margins. Add a 50% spike in operating expenses (thanks, humanoid robots and AI labs), and suddenly that sleek electric machine looks a lot less money-making.
Still, Tesla’s revenue growth means one thing: demand isn’t dead. The EV slowdown hasn’t reached Palo Alto yet.
💰 Bitcoin Bounces
In a crypto-centric subplot, the company made $62 million from its Bitcoin BITSTAMP:BTCUSD stash last quarter.
The crypto’s 5% rise — ending the quarter around $114,000 — gave Tesla’s treasury a nice digital cushion. The company held roughly 11,000 Bitcoins during the three months through September.
🧠 The $1 Trillion Question
And then there’s the other storyline — the Elon Musk Show. Musk wrapped up the earnings call by pivoting from profits to power. Specifically, his proposed $1 trillion pay package , which he insists isn’t “compensation” at all but a question of “control.”
“I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted because of some asinine recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis,” Musk quipped, slamming the proxy firms as “corporate terrorists.”
His plan is to secure roughly mid-20s voting power to keep Tesla’s destiny firmly in his hands while still, as he puts it, being “fireable if I go insane.”
If approved, Musk’s stake could surge from 13% to nearly 29%, giving him the leverage he says he needs to push Tesla toward an $8.5 trillion valuation — complete with robotaxis, humanoid bots, and up to 12 million cars sold annually.
🧾 The Takeaway
The stock is up roughly 16% in 2025, clawing back some early-year losses, but it still lags the Nasdaq Composite NASDAQ:IXIC and other mega-cap peers like Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA and Meta $META.
The near-term question is simple: can Tesla tighten costs without killing growth? The long-term one is bigger: can Elon Musk lead the company into its next chapter without turning every quarter into a cliffhanger?
That said, the earnings season continues and the next batch of big tech heavyweights is right around the corner.
Off to you : What’s your take on Tesla and Musk’s lofty vision north of $1 trillion? Share your thoughts in the comments!
