Musk Dials Back Near Term Robotaxi and Optimus Targets

As a car manufacturer, Tesla’s latest financial results released Wednesday were a definite (if expected) improvement on the first half of the year. Instead of auto sales falling 16%, as they did in the second quarter, they rose 6%. And thanks to even stronger growth in battery sales and services, Tesla’s total revenue grew 12% year over year to $28.1 billion. That would be impressive, except much of the car sales boost can be attributed to Americans rushing to buy electric vehicles ahead of the expiration of a $7,500 federal tax credit on Sept. 30. 

And the improved sales didn’t translate into fat profits—Tesla’s net income fell 37% to $1.4 billion over the same period. Not that Musk is worried: He is focused on bets that look to be years away from paying off—robotaxis and the Optimus humanoid robot. Musk is betting his pay over the next few years that both products will turn Tesla into a company with a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion, up from $1.5 trillion now. But during Wednesday’s analyst call, Musk seemed to walk back ambitious targets he’d previously set for Robotaxi and Optimus.