“The automaker has recovered slightly, but profits continue to decline. Elon Musk prefers to talk about robots – and is campaigning for a trillion-dollar compensation package.
Tesla has recovered somewhat, at least temporarily, after a period of weakness, and increased its sales again in the past quarter. However, the automaker benefited from a special effect. At the end of September, the tax credits of up to $7,500 previously granted in the US for the purchase of electric cars were eliminated. Therefore, there was a tremendous incentive to buy before this deadline. Tesla also reported a decline in profits for the second time in a row. The company attributed this, among other things, to import tariffs and estimated the associated financial burden at $400 million. In addition, spending on research projects in areas such as artificial intelligence had increased. Tesla shares were down as much as three percent at times on Thursday.
At the presentation of the figures, CEO Elon Musk once again tried to divert attention away from Tesla's traditional business with conventional electric cars. In a conference call, he highlighted the activities surrounding autonomous driving and humanoid robots. He said that Tesla wanted to build an "army of robots" and was a leader when it came to "artificial intelligence in the real world." Self-driving cars would be "like a shockwave" for the market. In this context, he also repeatedly mentioned a controversial new compensation package that the board of directors recently proposed and on which shareholders are to vote on November 6. It stipulates that Musk will receive a series of tranches of Tesla shares for achieving certain milestones, the value of which could add up to one trillion dollars.
This could also increase his current stake in Tesla from 13 percent to around 25 percent.
Musk now said that he is not concerned about the money, but about the control over the company associated with a larger stake. If he were to build an "army of robots," If he builds it, he wants to have a strong influence as well.
The milestones are, at least in part, extremely ambitious. To receive all twelve tranches, Tesla would have to reach a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion by 2035; currently, it is just under $1.4 trillion. Musk would also only receive a tranche if, in addition to the market value, another milestone related to the company's operations is achieved. The most ambitious target is probably an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $400 billion. In 2024, it was $17 billion. However, even the first tranche alone would be worth around $20 billion, and the milestones required for that seem considerably more achievable. Tesla's market value would have to rise to two trillion dollars, and one of the operational targets could be to increase the number of cars delivered since the company's founding to 20 million. To achieve this, Tesla wouldn't even have to deliver as many cars in the next ten years as it did last year.
Several institutional investors, as well as the shareholder advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis, have spoken out against the compensation package. But Tesla shareholders have approved generous compensation for Musk in the past. Both Musk and the board of directors are conducting an aggressive campaign to garner support for the compensation package among shareholders. Musk has openly threatened to leave Tesla if he doesn't get it. In the conference call, he called ISS and Glass Lewis "corporate terrorists." He further stated, "I just don't feel comfortable building a robot army here and then getting fired because of some ridiculous recommendation from ISS and Glass Lewis, who have zero clue."
Tesla is still in the early stages with the businesses emphasized by Musk. In June, an initial test with robotaxis was launched in Austin, Texas. These are variants of the Model Y equipped with autonomous driving technologies. They are equipped with advanced technology, but they are not yet fully autonomous, and a safety driver is still present in the car. Tesla is also developing a robotaxi called "Cybercab," which is not expected to have a steering wheel or pedals. The company stated that it remains on track to begin mass production of this vehicle – as well as its "Semi" truck – in 2026. It is also currently installing the first production lines for Optimus, its humanoid robot.
Earlier this month, Tesla announced that its sales figures for the third quarter had increased by seven percent to 497,000 cars. The report released now provides a more comprehensive picture of the company's finances. According to the report, revenue increased by twelve percent to $28.1 billion. Analysts had on average expected $26.4 billion. Net profit fell by 37 percent to $1.4 billion. In the first two quarters, Tesla had to contend with significant declines in both revenue and sales figures. Many observers attributed this to Tesla's outdated product range, but also to Musk personally, who has become a controversial figure due to his political stances.” [1]
1. Musk verlangt mehr Kontrolle bei Tesla. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 24 Oct 2025: 24. Von Roland Lindner, New York
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