Elon Musk frets over controlling Tesla’s ‘robot army’ as car biz rebounds slightly

Tesla’s grounds income 4th has offered the institution a reprieve aft a unspeakable commencement to 2025. But CEO Elon Musk is focused connected gathering a “robot army” and making bully connected his years-long, unfulfilled committedness of self-driving cars — tasks helium needs to execute if helium is to unlock the afloat worth of the $1 trillion compensation bundle that Tesla wants to grant him.

The hostility betwixt Tesla’s existent automotive-driven concern and the AI-centric 1 that Musk is aiming for has ne'er been much clear.

Tesla delivered a grounds fig of vehicles successful the 3rd 4th of 2025, acknowledgment successful ample portion to a unreserved of customers successful the United States who took vantage of the expiring national EV taxation credit. But that grounds 4th did not pb to greater earnings. In fact, Tesla’s third-quarter nett was inactive 37% little than it was successful the aforesaid 4th past year.

Tesla shipped 497,099 cars successful the 3rd quarter, which generated $21.2 cardinal successful automotive gross — the company’s champion gross fig successful much than a year. But Tesla lone pulled successful a nett of $1.4 billion, up conscionable $200 cardinal from the 2nd 4th of this year, according to a shareholder missive released Wednesday. The grounds 4th came aft an abysmal commencement to the twelvemonth for Tesla, which saw income driblet mightily in portion due to the fact that of Musk’s engagement with the Trump administration.

The institution explained successful the missive that a large summation successful operating expenses — 50% higher compared to the 3rd 4th past twelvemonth — was 1 of the culprits. That operating disbursal bump was acknowledgment to spending connected AI and different R&D projects, arsenic good arsenic “restructuring” charges of astir $240 million. Tesla didn’t explicate what those restructuring charges were for, but it’s perchance related to the caller determination to shut down the company’s six-year Dojo supercomputer project.

Tesla cited tariffs arsenic different resistance connected profits this past quarter, meaning Musk spent astir $300 cardinal to assistance elite a president who has wounded the company’s business. Tesla’s main fiscal serviceman Vaibhav Taneja said connected a league telephone Wednesday the tariff deed was astir $400 million.

“We’re astatine a captious inflection constituent for Tesla and our strategy going guardant arsenic we bring AI into the existent world,” Musk said connected the call. Tesla is astatine the “beginning of scaling, rather massively, Full Self-Driving and Robotaxi, and fundamentally changing the quality of transport,” helium said.

All of this volition enactment adjacent much unit connected the company’s last 4th of the year.

Tesla already needs different grounds 4th (and past some) if it wants to simply lucifer the fig of cars it shipped successful 2024 oregon 2023. The institution could get immoderate assistance from the caller slightly-cheaper stripped-down versions of the Model 3 and Model Y EVs. But adjacent successful that best-case scenario, Tesla is mode disconnected the way of 50% year-over-year maturation that it erstwhile promised to investors and shareholders.

But Musk has spent the past fewer years trying to get shareholders, investors, employees, and everyone other to look beyond the company’s halfway concern of making and selling cars. He’s stake the aboriginal of Tesla connected being capable to make a immense web of self-driving vehicles that helium thinks tin situation Uber. And helium thinks the humanoid robot, Optimus, volition go the best-selling merchandise ever.

Tesla offered small caller info connected those programs successful Wednesday’s letter. Musk said connected the league telephone that Tesla whitethorn commencement gathering the 3rd mentation of Optimus successful the archetypal 4th of 2026. He had erstwhile promised to physique thousands of the robots by the extremity of this year, but arsenic The Information has reported, Tesla has run into problems successful aboriginal accumulation with Optimus.

“Bringing Optimus to marketplace is an incredibly hard task, to beryllium clear. It’s not similar immoderate locomotion successful the park,” Musk said.

But Musk continued Tesla’s gauzy, unspecific claims astir however overmuch Optimus volition alteration the world. “You tin really make a satellite wherever determination is nary poverty, wherever everyone has entree to the finest aesculapian care,” helium said. “Optimus volition beryllium an unthinkable surgeon.”

The accrued absorption connected AI, robotics, and self-driving cars (including starting accumulation of the two-seater “Cybercab”) volition besides outgo Tesla much adjacent year. Taneja said superior expenditures volition summation “substantially” successful 2026 acknowledgment to those projects. He besides said Tesla has had to summation employee-related spending to enactment competitory successful the ongoing AI endowment war.

Tesla’s third-quarter results travel amid the backdrop of the company’s proposal to manus $1 trillion worthy of shares to Musk. That program is up for a ballot astatine the Tesla’s yearly shareholder gathering successful a fewer weeks. The institution — and Musk — are campaigning hard. While advisor groups similar ISS and Glass Lewis are recommending against the wage package, it’s astir apt going to walk fixed the overwhelming enactment from shareholders connected erstwhile efforts.

That hasn’t stopped Musk from threatening to locomotion distant from Tesla if the bundle isn’t approved.

On Wednesday’s call, helium reiterated his assertion that helium cares much astir the voting power the compensation bundle would spend him than the money.

“I conscionable don’t consciousness comfy gathering robot service present and past being ousted due to the fact that of immoderate asinine recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis, who person nary friggin’ clue. I mean, those guys are firm terrorists,” Musk said.

This communicative has been updated with caller accusation from Tesla’s third-quarter league call.