# Tesla Shares Fall 3% After Earnings Beat as Investors Weigh Growth Plans By John Kim Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/37943 Published: 2026-10-22T14:14:33.000Z Updated: 2026-10-22T14:14:33.000Z Section: Business > Revenue was nearly flat year over year and adjusted earnings beat estimates, while GAAP net income fell 43% to $787 million. Tesla shares fell about 3% in after-hours trading after third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings beat market expectations, while attention remained on the growth path for its software, Robotaxi and robotics businesses and a possible SpaceX transaction. Revenue was about $28.05 billion, little changed from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were 48 cents per share, above the roughly 45-cent market expectation. Free cash flow reached about $1.5 billion, turning positive despite market expectations for cash burn. The results followed a quarter in which deliveries fell 2% year over year, detailed in [Tesla’s earlier delivery update](). Automotive gross margin excluding regulatory credits rose to about 18.1%. Capital spending came in below expectations, and Tesla lowered its full-year capital spending outlook to about $20 billion. GAAP net income fell 43% to $787 million, and energy revenue declined. Battery supply constraints were one production bottleneck. The quarter paired positive free cash flow and higher automotive margins with lower net income and energy revenue. Tesla reported a paid FSD subscription attach rate above 75% for new vehicles in North America, a notable increase from the prior quarter. Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management estimated that FSD miles driven rose about 190% year over year in the third quarter, matching the prior quarter’s pace and exceeding the roughly 125% increase in the first quarter. Elon Musk set a 2030 goal of delivering five million vehicles. Munster compared that target with his estimate of about two million deliveries this year, a pace that would require average annual growth of roughly 25% over four years. During the earnings call, Tesla’s management offered no further detail on a possible SpaceX merger. Cautious comments on robotics and chips, along with the lack of further merger details, coincided with the shares turning lower during the call. ## Links in this article - [Tesla’s earlier delivery update](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/37240)