Tesla stock drops as Musk focuses on robots instead of current sales

Tesla’s stock price fell nearly 4% after trading hours following a third-quarter earnings call where CEO Elon Musk avoided discussing the company’s immediate challenges and instead talked about future robot projects.

Musk stayed silent on several pressing issues during the call. He did not address vehicle demand after an important federal tax credit ended last month. The Cybertruck went unmentioned. He said nothing about how tariffs on auto parts affect the business.

Investors received no guidance on what to expect in the fourth quarter. The earnings themselves disappointed Wall Street, missing analyst predictions. But Musk chose to discuss his long-term plans rather than current sales figures and profit margins.

“People just don’t don’t quite appreciate the degree to which this will take off, where it’s honestly, it’s going to be like a shock wave,” Musk said at the start of the call as mentioned in CNBC report. “We have millions of cars out there that, with a software update, become full self-driving cars and, you know, we’re making a couple million a year.”

Robotaxi plans lag behind promises

Back in July, Musk predicted Tesla would offer autonomous rides to “probably half the population of The U.S. by the end of the year.” The company still does not make or sell cars safe enough to operate without someone ready to take control.

On Wednesday, Musk said Tesla plans to launch its driverless robotaxi service in Austin before the year ends. He added that the service would reach eight to 10 cities by the end of 2025, though those would have drivers on board.

Finance chief Vaibhav Taneja revealed that “is still small” for FSD Supervised, Tesla’s driver-assistance system. Only 12% of users actually pay for it. Taneja did not share what customers pay on average after Tesla ran multiple promotions to boost sales.

The company’s investor presentation showed FSD revenue fell below the $326 million reported a year earlier. That means FSD brought in less than 2% of total revenue this past quarter.

After discussing robotaxis, Musk moved to humanoid robots. He repeated his claim that Optimus has the “potential to be the biggest product of all time.”

Optimus is a two-legged robot Tesla is developing but has not released for commercial use. Musk previously said these robots could work in factories or watch children.

He went further on Wednesday. “Optimus will be an incredible surgeon,” Musk said. He claimed that with Optimus and self-driving cars, “you can actually create a world where there is no poverty, where everyone has access to the finest medical care.”

Musk said Tesla would likely show off a new version called V3 in the first quarter of 2026.

Pay package fight intensifies

At the call’s conclusion, Musk connected robots to his compensation. Tesla introduced a new pay plan in September that could reach $1 trillion and give Musk 12% more ownership. Shareholders will vote on this plan at the annual meeting in early November.

“If we build this robot army, do I have at least a strong influence over that robot army?” Musk asked. “I don’t feel comfortable building that robot army if I don’t have at least a strong influence.”

He also attacked proxy advisors Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis after they told shareholders to reject his pay plan. Musk said the firms “have no freaking clue” and called them “corporate terrorists.” Neither firm responded immediately.

The call did not cover anything Tesla might do soon to win back customers. Tesla’s brand ranking dropped to 25th place on the Interbrand 2025 Best Global Brands list from 12th in 2024. The report noted that

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