American electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla has reported a 37 per cent decrease in net income – but a 12 per cent increase in revenue – for the third quarter (July-September) of 2025, after its worst quarterly loss in a decade in April-June.
After reporting record vehicle deliveries in Q3, Tesla’s October 22 earnings call revealed a six per cent rise in revenue for its automotive business.
The increase was driven largely by the end of a $US7500 ($A11,554) US federal government tax credit for EV buyers on September 30, 2025.
“While we face near-term uncertainty from shifting trade, tariff and fiscal policy, we are focused on long-term growth and value creation,” Tesla said in its third-quarter earnings report.
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The end of the tax credit saw a spike in EV sales in the US, with brands including Hyundai, Ford, General Motors (GM), and Audi all posting record numbers as a result.
Meantime, Tesla’s brand value fall 35 per cent according to the latest Interbrand report – ranking it behind Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and BMW – but it remains one of the world’s most valuable brands.
In its last earnings calls for quarter two of 2025 (April-June), the company posted its biggest quarterly loss since 2014, with Volkswagen overtaking it as the best-selling EV brand in Europe.
Despite its record deliveries between June-August, Tesla trails BYD for global EV sales so far this year, with the Chinese brand ahead by around 400,000 vehicles.
Tesla’s automotive business has faced a difficult 2025 after CEO Elon Musk’s role at the White House sparked controversy, leading to dramatic sales declines in Europe, China, Australia, and the US.
Mr Musk – whose proposed US$1 trillion (A$1.54tn) pay package has sparked controversy among shareholders – said earlier this year that Tesla’s car-making business is no longer its priority.
Instead, he said the company would focus on its robotaxi project, for which public road trials started in June 2025 in Texas, with plans for expansion elsewhere.
The company is also betting big on artificial intelligence (AI), having renamed its self-driving department to ‘AI’, and launched its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system in Australia last month.
To the end of September, Tesla sales in Australia sales have increased by a huge 76.03 per cent, driven by updates to its top-selling Model Y and Model 3, and discounts of up to $11,000 for superseded stock.
The Model 3 Long Range RWD added to the lineup last month is now the longest-range EV available in Australia, with its 750km of WLTP range knocking off the Polestar 3‘s 706km.