EARNINGS REVIEW
Tesla 2021 Q3 earnings report
Historical earnings report · Management guidance reflects expectations at the time of the release, not subsequent outcomes. The financial comparison uses the site’s normalized dataset, including comparative figures restated in later filings.
Delivery growth and cost reductions outweighed lower selling prices.
Assessment · Delivery growth and cost reductions outweighed lower selling prices. Reading consolidated margins alongside FCF separates business scale from cash realization. The next assessment depends on the business-specific checks set out below.
01 Business performance and growth drivers
Automotive revenue was 12.057 B$, Energy Generation/Storage 0.806 B$, and Services/Other 0.894 B$. Automotive includes regulatory credits and leasing; storage deployments in GWh are not revenue in B$.
This is the first quarter in the current cumulative table. The absence of a preceding-quarter row does not mean revenue or profit was zero. Segment year-over-year comparisons use the contemporaneous release; historical segments have not been retrospectively recast as later AI/data-center categories.
02 Profit quality and margins
Vehicle ASP fell 6% YoY, but operating margin reached 14.6%. Results included 0.190 B$ of CEO-award stock compensation and 0.051 B$ of Bitcoin impairment.
On consolidated revenue of 13.757 B$, operating margin was 14.6% and net margin 11.8%. Net profit differed from operating profit by -0.386 B$, reflecting non-operating items, taxes and related effects. This difference cannot by itself be attributed to product demand or operating competitiveness.
03 Cash flow and financial capacity
Quarterly operating cash flow of 3.147 B$ less capital expenditure of 1.819 B$ gives common-basis FCF of 1.328 B$. Ending cash and cash equivalents were 16.065 B$, versus total liabilities of 29.340 B$. Liabilities are not equivalent to borrowings; cash excludes separately reported short-term investments.
Common-basis FCF was 9.7% of revenue. Both operating cash flow and capital expenditure refer to this quarter, not annual or trailing-twelve-month periods. Working-capital movements and non-cash adjustments mean operating cash flow need not equal net profit.
04 Management commentary and contemporaneous guidance
The company emphasized volume and cost efficiency while expanding Shanghai and building Texas/Berlin capacity.
The company targeted 50% average annual delivery growth over multiple years, not a guaranteed 50% increase next quarter.
05 Risks and next checks
Supply chains, semiconductor shortages and new-factory ramps constrain growth; verify cost reductions continue to offset lower ASP.
Quarterly results · CY-aligned view
| Metric · B$ | 2021 total of 1 included quarters | 3Q 2021 Q3 2021-09-30 | QoQ Δ | YoY Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 13.757 | 13.757 | — | — |
| Operating income | 2.004 | 2.004 | — | — |
| Operating margin (%) | 14.567 | 14.567 | — | — |
| Net income | 1.618 | 1.618 | — | — |
| FCF · company definition | 1.328 | 1.328 | — | — |
| Operating cash flow · total | 3.147 | 3.147 | — | — |
| Net cash CapEx · common | 1.819 | 1.819 | — | — |
| Cash CapEx · Chinese company definition | — | — | — | — |
| FCF · total calculation | 1.328 | 1.328 | — | — |
| Net cash · liquid assets less borrowings | 9.449 | 9.449 | — | — |
| Liquid assets · including short-term investments | 16.095 | 16.095 | — | — |
| Borrowings · interest-bearing debt | 6.646 | 6.646 | — | — |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 16.065 | 16.065 | — | — |
| Total liabilities · accounting liabilities | 29.340 | 29.340 | — | — |
CY denotes the calendar quarter with the greatest overlap with the fiscal period. If the first period has no start date, 89 days before its end is used only for calendar mapping. Financial values are not recalculated into calendar quarters. Incomplete years show totals of included quarters; cash, liabilities, borrowings and net cash use the last period-end balance. QoQ and YoY show absolute changes; margin changes are percentage points. Dashes indicate missing evidence or incomparable periods or definitions. Total liabilities never substitute for borrowings.
Definitions and evidence coverage
A dash means unavailable or undisclosed, not zero. Company-defined FCF may differ from total operating cash flow less common-basis CapEx. Total liabilities are accounting liabilities, not interest-bearing debt.
Management commentary summarizes the contemporaneous official earnings release; this report does not represent a full conference-call Q&A review.