Tesla’s first quarter of 2025 was a mixed bag. The company posted lower profits and car sales, but it leaned hard into future-focused areas like AI, energy storage, and autonomous driving. Here’s what happened.
Key Financials
Revenue: $19.3 billion, down 9% year-over-year
Net income (GAAP): $409 million, a 71% drop
Free cash flow: $664 million, positive after a rough Q1 in 2024
Cash on hand: Grew to $37 billion
The sharp drop in earnings came from fewer cars sold and lower average selling prices, partly due to factory shutdowns as Tesla retooled for the new Model Y.
Car Sales and Production
Total vehicle deliveries: 336,681 (down 13% YoY)
Model 3/Y deliveries: 323,800
Cybertruck, S/X and others: 12,881
Production disruptions: Line upgrades for new Model Y caused a hit
Despite the lower output, Tesla said the new Model Y ramped faster than any previous vehicle, especially in Shanghai, where the plant hit full production in just six weeks.
Energy Business Is Picking Up
Energy revenue: $2.73 billion, up 67% YoY
Storage deployments: 10.4 GWh
Powerwall hit a record: Over 1 GWh deployed
Megafactory Shanghai: Produced 100+ Megapacks, but they weren’t shipped yet
Tesla’s energy division is growing fast, even as global tariffs and supply issues create uncertainty. The company sees big potential in grid storage, especially with AI’s growing electricity demands.
AI and Tech Highlights
FSD (Supervised): Launched in China
Robotaxi: Still aiming for pilot launch in Austin by June 2025
Optimus robot: Builds to start this year on Fremont’s pilot line
Cybertruck: Now eligible for U.S. tax credit thanks to U.S.-sourced 4680 battery cells
Autonomous tech remains central to Tesla’s long-term plans. The company says vehicles in some U.S. factories now drive themselves from the end of the line to delivery lots, unsupervised.
Regional Updates
U.S.: 400,000th vehicle rolled out from Giga Texas; new Long Range Cybertruck launched
China: Record-breaking Model Y order day; fast ramp at Shanghai
Europe: 500,000th car produced at Giga Berlin; planning Cybertruck sales in Saudi Arabia
Looking Ahead
Tesla says economic uncertainty, political shifts, and trade policies are making forecasting harder.
Production of more affordable new models is set to begin in the first half of 2025.
The company expects to increase production without needing new factories just yet — existing capacity could support up to 3 million cars a year.
Bottom Line
Tesla’s Q1 wasn’t a blockbuster for profits, but the company stayed cash-positive and is betting big on the long term — especially in energy and autonomy. Investors may need to be patient as Tesla navigates a tough economic environment while laying groundwork for its next growth phase.
In after-hours trading, shares of Tesla are 4.13%, a sign Wall Street doesn’t see this Q1 as that bad.
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