Tesla profits drop 43% in Q3

Tesla published its third-quarter 2026 financial results this afternoon. Earlier in October, it reported its sales and deliveries for the three-month period, selling fewer cars than in the same quarter in 2025, yet it still beat analyst projections. Now we can see how those sales translate to the bottom line.

特斯拉于今天下午发布了2026年第三季度财务业绩。此前在十月份，该公司公布了该季度的销售和交付数据，虽然汽车销量低于2025年同期，但仍超过了分析师的预期。现在我们可以看到这些销售额如何转化为最终利润。

Tesla brought in $28 billion in revenue in Q3, almost the same as in 2025. Automotive revenues were $20.6 billion, a 3 percent decrease year over year. Perhaps more troubling is the decline in revenue from solar panels and storage batteries—this line of business had been growing, but for Q3 revenue fell 16 percent year over year to $2.9 billion. Services and other revenues, though, which include parts and Supercharger use, grew by a third to $4.6 billion.

特斯拉第三季度营收为280亿美元，与2025年基本持平。其中汽车业务营收为206亿美元，同比下降3%。更令人担忧的是太阳能电池板和储能电池业务收入的下滑——该业务此前一直处于增长状态，但第三季度营收同比下降了16%，至29亿美元。不过，包括零部件和超级充电站使用费在内的服务及其他业务收入增长了三分之一，达到46亿美元。

But the company—like the rest of us—has seen its expenses go up. Operating expenses rose by 39 percent to $4.8 billion, dropping the company’s operating margin to just 2.6 percent; in Q3 2025, Tesla’s margin was 5.8 percent. Net profit fell to $787 million, down 43 percent year over year. What’s more, capital expenditures were up by 110 percent to $4.7 billion, and free cash flow was down 62 percent to $1.5 billion.

但该公司和我们其他人一样，面临着支出增加的问题。运营费用增长了39%，达到48亿美元，导致公司营业利润率降至仅2.6%；而在2025年第三季度，特斯拉的利润率为5.8%。净利润降至7.87亿美元，同比下降43%。此外，资本支出增长了110%，达到47亿美元，自由现金流则下降了62%，至15亿美元。

Tesla can no longer rely on selling regulatory credits to other automakers: these fell to $113 million this quarter, down from $417 million in Q3 2025. Now, virtually every other automaker has a portfolio of electric vehicles and no longer needs to offset its emissions by pooling with Tesla. In the US, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s support helped elect a president who has abolished such credits entirely, with Musk’s blessing.

特斯拉已无法再依赖向其他汽车制造商出售监管积分：本季度该项收入降至1.13亿美元，低于2025年第三季度的4.17亿美元。如今，几乎所有其他汽车制造商都有了自己的电动汽车产品组合，不再需要通过与特斯拉合并积分来抵消排放。在美国，特斯拉首席执行官埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）的支持帮助选出了一位总统，该总统在马斯克的赞同下彻底废除了此类积分。

Tesla’s letter to investors says its flat revenues were due to lower average selling prices, selling fewer cars, not receiving as much in credits, and also the decline of its energy storage business. Together with the reduced credits and battery and solar sales, a big jump in operating expenses is responsible for the diminishing profitability; some of this is Tesla spending rampantly on AI hardware, but some is also the CEO’s extravagant compensation package.

特斯拉致投资者的信中表示，营收持平的原因是平均售价降低、汽车销量减少、积分收入减少以及能源存储业务的下滑。除了积分、电池和太阳能销售额减少外，运营费用的激增也是导致盈利能力下降的原因；其中一部分是特斯拉在人工智能硬件上的疯狂支出，但另一部分也源于首席执行官那份昂贵的薪酬方案。