On July 22 (local time), Tesla unveiled its financial performance for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 and conducted an earnings call. According to the financial report, Tesla's adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter stood at 33 cents, falling below the market consensus estimate of 51 cents. Moreover, the quarterly free cash flow registered an outflow of around $1.09 billion, marking the first negative figure in over two years. This downturn was primarily driven by escalated investments in autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics ventures, coupled with soaring expenditures on research and development, sales, and stock-based compensation.

Tesla's Chief Financial Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, disclosed that the company's capital expenditures are projected to surpass $25 billion in 2026 and are anticipated to keep rising over the ensuing two to three years. Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk emphasized that Tesla ought to ramp up its investments as swiftly as possible, while avoiding wastefulness, to bolster long-term growth in domains such as autonomous driving, AI, and robotics.