Tesla’s spending on AI and robotics trails expectations, clouding outlook
Tesla electric vehicles at the company's store in Colma, California | Bloomberg
Oct 22, 2026
Tesla’s spending has again fallen short of Wall Street expectations, clouding Elon Musk’s plan to transform the maker of electric vehicles into an artificial intelligence and robotics company.
Capital expenditures totaled $4.73 billion in the third quarter, Tesla said Wednesday in a statement. Analysts had expected $7.95 billion on average according to estimates.
On the company’s call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said Tesla was cutting its 2026 capital expenditure target to $20 billion, down from more than $25 billion it had previously projected. Tesla invested $8.3 billion over the first six months of the year.
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