Elon Musk Frets Over Controlling Tesla’s ‘robot Army’ As Car Biz Rebounds Slightly

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

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

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

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

The institution explained successful nan missive that a large summation successful operating expenses — 50% higher compared to nan 3rd 4th past twelvemonth — was 1 of nan 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 nan caller determination to shut down nan 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 thief elite a president who has wounded nan company’s business. Tesla’s main financial serviceman Vaibhav Taneja said connected a convention telephone Wednesday nan 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 nan existent world,” Musk said connected nan call. Tesla is astatine nan “beginning of scaling, rather massively, Full Self-Driving and Robotaxi, and fundamentally changing nan quality of transport,” he said.

All of this will put moreover much unit connected nan company’s last 4th of nan year.

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

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

Tesla offered small caller info connected those programs successful Wednesday’s letter. Musk said connected nan convention telephone that Tesla whitethorn commencement building nan 3rd type of Optimus successful nan first 4th of 2026. He had erstwhile promised to build thousands of nan robots by nan extremity of this year, but arsenic The Information has reported, Tesla has run into problems successful early accumulation pinch Optimus.

“Bringing Optimus to marketplace is an incredibly difficult task, to beryllium clear. It’s not for illustration immoderate locomotion successful nan park,” Musk said.

But Musk continued Tesla’s gauzy, unspecific claims astir really overmuch Optimus will alteration nan world. “You tin really create a world wherever location is nary poverty, wherever everyone has entree to nan finest aesculapian care,” he said. “Optimus will beryllium an unthinkable surgeon.”

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

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

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

On Wednesday’s call, he reiterated his declare that he cares much astir nan voting power nan compensation package would spend him than nan money.

“I conscionable don’t consciousness comfortable building robot service present and past being ousted because 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 pinch caller accusation from Tesla’s third-quarter convention call.