Tesla's net income fell 43% in the third quarter to $787 million, down from $1.37 billion a year earlier, according to its quarterly filing. The carmaker poured money into humanoid robots and driverless taxis during the period while delivering about 2% fewer cars.

Revenue was flat at $28.05 billion, but operating profit — what remains after the costs of running the business — dropped 56% to $718 million. Research spending climbed 69% to $2.76 billion, and capital expenditures, the money spent on factories and equipment, more than doubled to $4.73 billion.

That spending targets two products headed for factory floors and city streets. Optimus is a humanoid robot meant to take over dangerous and repetitive jobs, and the Cybercab is a two-seat robotaxi — a self-driving taxi summoned from an app — with no steering wheel or pedals.

Tesla said Wednesday that Optimus has entered production, and an executive said on the earnings call that the company is working to put Cybercabs in customers' hands by the end of the year. With car deliveries slipping and revenue flat, how quickly those two products move from factory lines to real-world use has become central to Tesla's financial picture.

Optimus production begins in Fremont

Optimus units are now coming off a production line at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California. "The bots coming off this line are the first production-quality bots that we have manufactured," Tesla wrote in its shareholder letter.

Musk wants to reach 20,000 Optimus units per week, but said getting there will take at least a year because the design is still changing. He pointed to deliveries to outside customers around the end of 2027 and called the robot's hand the hardest hardware problem, along with whether it holds up beyond a month of use.

Tesla has missed Optimus milestones before, including a goal of roughly 10,000 robots in 2025, and rivals are already in the race. Figure AI, a startup backed by Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia, unveiled its Figure 02 humanoid in 2024.

Cybercabs targeted for customers by year-end

On the Cybercab, Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, said on the earnings call that the vehicle may reach customers this year: "We're trying to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of this year, 2026." The rollout is proceeding while a federal safety audit remains open, with Tesla's sworn answers to regulators due October 30.

Every Cybercab built so far is headed to Tesla's own robotaxi fleet, and Musk said most will stay Tesla-owned and be offered as "transport as a service." Under that model, money comes from rides in Tesla-owned cars rather than one-time sales — an approach that would put Tesla in direct competition with Alphabet's Waymo, which already operates paid driverless rides in parts of the United States. Tesla has not said who will buy Cybercabs first, though it posted a form last month for people interested in buying robotaxis, and it has not announced a price. The target price Tesla has cited is under $30,000.

Musk said the robotaxi business should become noticeable in Tesla's overall financials in the second quarter of 2027 and will "probably" be "a big deal by Q3 or Q4 of next year." Tesla has not disclosed how much money the service brings in.

Tesla and SpaceX studying a combination

Musk also said Tuesday, on SpaceX's earnings call, that the Tesla and SpaceX boards have each formed special committees of independent directors to study a combination, and that no terms have been agreed. Such committees are a customary governance step when a company weighs a transaction involving its own leader — Musk is CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX — because they keep negotiations at arm's length from management.

A deal would need support from holders of 50% of all outstanding Tesla shares — a requirement Musk called "quite a high hurdle." Tesla's annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for December 3, though no merger vote is on the agenda.