Tesla Revenue Stays Flat As Profit Reports Conflict
Tesla reported roughly $28 billion in third-quarter revenue as it began producing Optimus robots in California, but TechCrunch and The Verge gave conflicting profit figures.
Tesla’s third-quarter revenue was essentially unchanged from a year earlier, while its financial results drew sharply different descriptions from TechCrunch and The Verge. TechCrunch reported a 43% drop in net income as Tesla spent on artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and its Optimus robot. The Verge reported different net income figures and characterized the change as a 4% decline.
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Flat revenue, conflicting profit figures
According to TechCrunch, Tesla brought in $28.04 billion in revenue, compared with $28.09 billion in the third quarter of 2025. The Verge put the latest figure at $28.0 billion and said it exceeded a $27.9 billion Wall Street expectation compiled by LSEG, though it fell short of Tesla’s company-compiled expectation of $28.3 billion.
The outlets’ profit accounts cannot be reconciled from the figures they provide. TechCrunch said net income fell 43%, from $1.37 billion a year earlier to $787 million. The Verge said Tesla earned $1.7 billion in net income and described profit as down 4%, but also listed year-earlier net income of $1.4 billion. Those two figures, as presented by The Verge, indicate an increase rather than a decline.
Vehicle sales and other businesses
Vehicle revenue remained Tesla’s largest source of sales. TechCrunch reported about $20 billion in electric-vehicle revenue, which it described as flat year over year. The Verge reported $20.5 billion in automotive revenue, down 3%. TechCrunch said Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles, more than in the previous quarter but fewer than a year earlier; The Verge described the year-over-year delivery decline as 2.1%.
Both outlets reported a 16% decline in Tesla’s energy business, although TechCrunch gave its revenue as $2.8 billion and The Verge gave it as $2.9 billion. TechCrunch said Tesla attributed the decline to tariff-related customer refunds. Both reports put services revenue at $4.6 billion, up 33% from a year earlier. TechCrunch also said lower regulatory credit sales weighed on profitability, while The Verge reported that operating expenses rose 39% to $4.8 billion.
Optimus production begins in Fremont
Alongside the earnings, Tesla announced that it had begun producing Optimus humanoid robots at its Fremont, California, factory, according to TechCrunch. The production space had previously been used to make electric vehicles. Tesla told shareholders that the robots coming off the line were its first production-quality units, while saying it would continue refining the hardware and manufacturing process.
The announcement puts a tangible manufacturing step behind one of Tesla’s technology investments. TechCrunch linked spending on Optimus, AI and autonomous driving to pressure on quarterly profit, even as services provided a growing source of revenue. Neither report described a resulting change in Tesla’s hiring or workforce.
Sources
This story was compiled by AI from the reports below. Read the originals for the full details.