Tesla Third-Quarter Operating Profit Falls 56%; Bitcoin Holdings Stay at 11,509

Tesla kept its Bitcoin holdings unchanged even as third-quarter operating profit fell by more than half amid increased investment in AI and robotics.

According to earnings materials Tesla released on October 21, third-quarter revenue slipped 0.2% from a year earlier to $28.046 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 48 cents, while operating profit fell 56% to $718 million. Capital expenditures rose to $4.732 billion, more than double the level a year earlier.

The company held 11,509 Bitcoin at quarter-end, unchanged from the previous quarter. The carrying value of digital assets, including Bitcoin, rose about 42.7% to $962 million at the end of September from $674 million at the end of June. Unrealized gains on digital assets recognized this quarter were $288 million before tax and $224 million after tax.

By segment, automotive revenue fell 3% to $20.56 billion, while energy generation and storage revenue declined 16% to $2.881 billion. Service and other revenue, which includes charging, insurance and repairs, rose 33% to $4.605 billion.

Active subscriptions for FSD, Tesla's driver-supervision-required driving assistance software, rose 67% from a year earlier to 1.74 million. In North America, the share of new vehicle deliveries that included an FSD subscription topped 75%, about 20 percentage points higher than the previous quarter.

Free cash flow turned positive at $1.531 billion after a deficit in the previous quarter. Tesla lowered its full-year capital expenditure forecast to $20 billion from $25 billion.