Tesla Profit Falls Even as Car Sales Rebound

Tesla reported a decline in quarterly profit Wednesday as the company sold more electric cars but made less money on each sale.

Net profit in the second quarter was $1.1 billion, Tesla said, compared with $1.2 billion a year earlier. Sales rose sharply to $28.2 billion, compared with $22.5 billion. Analysts had expected sales of $27.6 billion and profit of $1.3 billion, according to estimates compiled by the company.

Tesla also reported a nearly 50 percent jump in operating expenses, to $4.4 billion, as it poured money into new technologies like self-driving taxis that do not yet generate significant revenue.

Very few automakers have reported large increases in profit recently. Overall sales are growing slowly, partly because of tariffs and the war in Iran, and established manufacturers are struggling to compete with fast-growing Chinese companies like BYD and Geely Auto that are pushing into Europe, Latin America and many Asian countries.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/business/tesla-earnings-elon-musk.html