Tesla’s good financial results in the first quarter, which plans to invest massively in production

The electric vehicle specialist Tesla, which achieved results above expectations in the first quarter, confirmed on Wednesday the large-scale production this year of the Cybercab and the electric heavy goods vehicle Semi, and progress for that of the humanoid robot Optimus.

In the first quarter, the Austin (Texas) group achieved a turnover of 22.4 billion dollars, better than the 22.3 projected by the consensus. Net profit stood at $477 million (+17%).

Note that the rate of increase in operational costs was twice as fast (37% versus 16%) as that of sales, which led to a contraction in margins compared to the previous quarter. In electronic trading after the close on Wall Street, the stock rose up to almost 4% before falling (-0.89%) during the leaders’ audio conference.

Due to the numerous projects in progress (six factories under construction for different products), the group will spend at least 25 billion dollars in 2026, instead of the already substantial 20 billion previously anticipated.

Tesla plans for “the new era”

“It seems like a lot, and we’re going to have a negative impact on cash flow for the rest of the year, but we think it’s the right strategy to position the company for the next era,” Vaibhav Taneja, chief financial officer, said in a conference call with analysts.

“We continue to make significant progress in establishing the artificial intelligence infrastructure and software that supports our robotaxis and robotics activities in the future,” the group said in its press release.

But nothing very concrete on the progress in terms of autonomy of vehicles without supervision, however at the heart of the group’s priorities. And market concerns.

Tesla boosted by AI, Musk forced to explain himself

“Investors will need more convincing evidence that autonomy without supervision is very close, to be able to support the stock market valuation,” Morgan Stanley analysts had warned in advance. As of Wednesday’s close, Tesla had a market capitalization of nearly $1.5 trillion.

For Wedbush, autonomy and artificial intelligence could generate an additional $1,000 billion in capitalization. In a note on Tuesday, its analysts listed the subjects on which the group’s boss, multi-billionaire Elon Musk, would have to explain. A list that has been growing for several months.

The richest man in the world addressed several during the audio conference: large-scale production of the humanoid robot Optimus should begin “in the summer, in July or August”, but he “does not know” how many copies this year.

The robotaxi, a driverless taxi service in testing since June in Austin, should circulate in around ten states by the end of 2026. But the revenue generated should only become significant, “probably significantly, next year,” said Elon Musk.

Musk optimistic about autonomous driving

And autonomous driving (FSD) without supervision for individuals does not seem imminent. It will be done “gradually, when an area is considered safe”, he indicated. Supervised FSD has just been authorized in the Netherlands and should be authorized in the rest of the European Union in the second quarter and in China in the third, Taneja said.

Elon Musk promised at the end of January an “era of abundance” after a difficult year 2025, marked by his proximity to American President Donald Trump and by the disappearance of advantages for the purchase of electric vehicles in the United States. The company was also snatched from its historic position as world number one in all-electric vehicles by the Chinese group BYD, which sold 2.26 million (+28.41% over one year) compared to 1.64 million for Tesla (-8.38%).

It also suffers from a faded range. The latest mainstream vehicle, the Model Y, was released in 2020; the futuristic Cybertruck pick-up, released at the end of 2023, was a flop; the inexpensive vehicle that was supposed to be a creation is ultimately just a watered-down version of the popular Model 3 and Model Y, and the new generation Roadster sports model is still awaited.

In the first quarter, Tesla delivered just over 358,000 vehicles worldwide but did not reach the Factset analyst consensus (381,000), nor even its own (365,645). And it manufactured 50,000 excess vehicles, which will have to be sold.