Tesla reported a decent third quarter, generating $1.5 billion in free cash flow after high capital spending had pushed it negative in the second quarter, and gross margin rose enough to beat earnings expectations. Shares still fell about 1% by 11:50 a.m. ET because investors are valuing the company on more than its EVs: at a $1.5 trillion market cap, its P/E ratio is very high. CEO Elon Musk said Tesla aims to make 5 million vehicles annually by 2030, while Optimus production has started and Megapack storage is nearly sold out. The article argues that Musk's vision of mass driverless rides would likely need to come true for the stock to move meaningfully higher, and that even merger talk with SpaceX has not been enough to lift it.
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TSLAearningselectric vehiclesvaluationElon Musk
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Related tickers and likely impact
TSLA
▼ Likely negativeTesla, Inc.
Relevance: high
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer Discretionary |
| Industry | Automobile Manufacturers |
| Market cap | $1.4T |
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 386.55 |
| Change that session | +3.44% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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