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Tesla, Inc.: Q1 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q1 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 22 April 2026: press release. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Revenue rose 16% year over year: Total revenues were $22.4B, up 16% from $19.3B a year earlier. Quarter over quarter, revenue was down from $24.9B in the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • Operating income rose 136%: GAAP income from operations was $941M, up 136% year over year, giving a 4.2% operating margin. It was $1,409M in the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • Deliveries trailed production: Production of 408,386 exceeded deliveries of 358,023 by about 50,000 vehicles. Deliveries were down from 418,227 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • Paid Robotaxi miles nearly doubled: Paid Robotaxi miles nearly doubled sequentially. Management said its top priority remains safety. Source
  • Active FSD subscriptions reached 1.28M: Active FSD subscriptions were 1.28 million, up 51% year over year and 0.18 million above the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • Gross margin widened to 21.1%: GAAP gross margin was 21.1%, up 478 basis points year over year, and 20.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • One-time benefits lifted automotive results: Management cited automotive one-time benefits related to warranty and tariffs, and an energy one-time tariff benefit, among the drivers of the year-over-year increase in operating income. Source
  • Operating cash flow reached $3.9B: Operating cash flow was $3.9B, up 83% year over year. Free cash flow was $1.4B, up 117% from $664M a year earlier. Source

“We are excited about Tesla’s positioning in 2026 with tailwinds persisting for the autos business, our continued progress on FSD (Supervised)4, the ramp of Robotaxi, progress on Optimus ahead of mass production and the growth of our energy production capacity.”

Tesla, Inc., press release

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Robotics capacity SourceFirst-generation line, preparations from Q2 20261 million robots a year
Robotics capacity SourceLong-term, second-generation line at Gigafactory Texas10 million robots a year
Vehicles and energy products Source2026Volume production starting in 2026

What changed from last quarter

  • New: FSD (Supervised) moved to subscription-only sales. Management said adoption and penetration both continued to grow. Source
  • New: FSD (Supervised) approved for deployment in the Netherlands in April, with potential approval in other EU countries to follow. Source
  • New: Unsupervised Robotaxi rides launched in Dallas and Houston in April, and the unsupervised operation area in Austin was expanded. Source
  • New: The Cortex 2 AI training cluster is online and has started running training workloads. Source
  • New: Battery ramp began at new LFP cell, cathode material and lithium refining facilities in Nevada and Texas. Source
  • New: The company paid $2.0B for a SpaceX equity investment in the quarter. Source
  • New: Model YL rolled out outside China, along with more affordable trims of Model 3 and Model Y. Source

Results and profitability

  • Revenue rose 16% year over year: Total revenues were $22.4B, up 16% from $19.3B a year earlier. Quarter over quarter, revenue was down from $24.9B in the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • Operating income rose 136%: GAAP income from operations was $941M, up 136% year over year, giving a 4.2% operating margin. It was $1,409M in the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • GAAP and non-GAAP diluted EPS: GAAP net income attributable to common stockholders was $477M, with diluted EPS of $0.13. Non-GAAP net income was $1,453M, with diluted EPS of $0.41, excluding stock-based compensation and digital assets loss. Source
  • Price, volume and FX lifted revenue: Management listed higher average selling price excluding FX, more deliveries, higher ancillary sales and a $0.9B positive FX effect as year-over-year revenue drivers, offset by lower energy and regulatory credit revenue. Source

Segments and regions

  • Energy revenue fell 12%: Energy generation and storage revenue was $2.4B, down 12% year over year. Storage deployed was 8.8 GWh, against 10.4 GWh a year earlier. Source
  • Services and other revenue up 42%: Services and other revenue was $3.7B, up 42% from $2.6B a year earlier, and was the only revenue line in the table growing sequentially on a larger base. Source
  • Demand rebounded in EMEA and North America: Management said demand grew in APAC and South America and rebounded in EMEA and North America. Source

“Battery pack capacity continues to be the limiting factor on ramping our vehicle production, and the team is actively working on initiatives to increase capacity.”

Tesla, Inc., press release

Vehicles and deliveries

  • Deliveries trailed production: Production of 408,386 exceeded deliveries of 358,023 by about 50,000 vehicles. Deliveries were down from 418,227 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • Cybercab to replace Model Y fleet: Management said Cybercab will begin replacing the existing Model Y fleet once in production, and will become the largest volume vehicle in the fleet over time. Source

Autonomy, FSD and AI

  • Paid Robotaxi miles nearly doubled: Paid Robotaxi miles nearly doubled sequentially. Management said its top priority remains safety. Source
  • Active FSD subscriptions reached 1.28M: Active FSD subscriptions were 1.28 million, up 51% year over year and 0.18 million above the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • Safety Score offsets FSD cost: The latest Safety Score gives every FSD (Supervised) mile a score of 100, so Tesla insurance customers can keep a higher score and lower premiums, which can more than offset the FSD monthly price. Source
  • AI5 inference chip design completed: The final chip design of the next-generation AI5 inference processor was completed in April. Custom silicon work on Dojo 3 continues to reduce training cost over time. Source

“We continued to make meaningful progress on the build out of the infrastructure and AI software that underpins our Robotaxi and future robotics businesses in Q1.”

Tesla, Inc., press release

Costs, margins and pricing

  • Gross margin widened to 21.1%: GAAP gross margin was 21.1%, up 478 basis points year over year, and 20.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Source
  • One-time benefits lifted automotive results: Management cited automotive one-time benefits related to warranty and tariffs, and an energy one-time tariff benefit, among the drivers of the year-over-year increase in operating income. Source
  • Lower material costs cut cost per vehicle: Management listed lower average cost per vehicle due to lower material costs among operating income drivers, alongside higher ASP and a $0.2B positive FX impact. Source
  • Operating expenses rose 37%: Operating expenses were $3.8B, up 37% year over year, driven by AI and other R&D projects, the 2025 CEO award stock-based compensation and SG&A. Source
  • Regulatory credit revenue declined: Automotive regulatory credit revenue was $380M, down from $595M a year earlier. Source

Cash flow and balance sheet

  • Operating cash flow reached $3.9B: Operating cash flow was $3.9B, up 83% year over year. Free cash flow was $1.4B, up 117% from $664M a year earlier. Source
  • Capital expenditures rose 67%: Capital expenditures were $2.5B, up 67% year over year. The line includes purchases of energy generation and storage systems. Source
  • Cash and investments up $0.7B: Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments ended at $44.7B, up $0.7B sequentially, mainly from free cash flow and a $1.2B financing inflow. Source
  • Non-recourse debt rose to $9.0B: Non-recourse debt was $9.0B at quarter end, up from $7.2B a year earlier. Debt issuances were $4.3B and debt repayments were $3.5B in the quarter. Source

Demand, inventory and leases

  • Inventory rose to 27 days of supply: Global vehicle inventory was 27 days of supply, up from 15 days in the prior quarter. Balance sheet inventory was $14.4B. Source
  • Operating lease fleet shrank 16%: The new-vehicle operating lease count was 151,991 at quarter end, down 16% year over year and down from 163,075 in the prior quarter. Source
  • Lease-accounted deliveries fell 75%: Deliveries subject to operating lease accounting were 3,430, down 75% year over year. Source

Capacity and infrastructure

  • Battery packs limit vehicle ramp: Management said battery pack capacity continues to be the limiting factor on ramping vehicle production, and the team is working on initiatives to increase capacity. Source
  • Supercharger network grew 19%: The company added over 2,200 net new Supercharging stalls in Q1, growing the network 19% year over year. The network had 8,463 stations at quarter end. Source
  • Gigafactory New York builds V4 cabinets: Gigafactory New York is now producing V4 Supercharging cabinets, with 3x the power density and 2x the stalls per cabinet compared with V3. Source
  • Entry into semiconductor fabrication: Management said it is expanding into semiconductor fabrication to ensure chip supply, beginning with a Tesla-owned Research Fab on the Gigafactory Texas campus. Source

Strategy and investment

  • Supply chains regionalized and integrated: The company said it announced further regionalization and vertical integration of critical supply chains in recent months. Source
  • Hardware profits to precede software profits: Management expects hardware-related profits over time to be accompanied by an acceleration of AI, software and fleet-based profits, while cost reduction continues. Source
  • Liquidity funds roadmap and expansion: The company said it will manage the businesses to keep sufficient liquidity to fund its product roadmap, capacity expansion and further vertical integration. Source

Coming up, as management said on 22 April 2026

  • Optimus factory preparations begin in Q2: Preparations begin shortly in Q2, and first-generation Optimus lines are being installed in anticipation of volume production. Source
  • Robotaxi groundwork for more metros: Management said it continues groundwork for Robotaxi expansion to additional major U.S. metros, including testing and permitting, to launch new markets quickly once ready. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Total deliveries Source358,023 (up 6% YoY)
Model 3/Y deliveries Source341,893 (up 6% YoY)
Other models deliveries Source16,130 (up 25% YoY)
Total production Source408,386 (up 13% YoY)
Automotive gross margin (GAAP) Source21.1%
Automotive gross margin excluding regulatory credit sales Source19.2%

Risks management discussed

  • Operational: Management listed equipment uptime, component supply, factory-upgrade downtime and regulatory considerations as factors affecting production rates. Source
  • Demand: Management said deliveries and deployments depend on aggregate demand, supply chain readiness and allocation between customer sales and the company's own fleet. Source
  • External: Management cited trade and geopolitics becoming more uncertain as the reason for investing in access to key materials and componentry in each region. Source
  • Regulatory: Management said progress continues on FSD (Supervised) approval in China, with no date given. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • On track: Management said start of production for Megapack 3 at the Houston Megafactory is on track for later this year. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.