Tesla's Profit Rises 17 Percent, Focus on AI and Robotaxi Expansion
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Tesla’s total revenue for the first quarter of 2026 rose 16 percent year-on-year to $22.4 billion (Rp387.36 trillion), with net profit increasing 17 percent year-on-year to $477 million (Rp8.2 trillion).
The rise in revenue and net profit was driven by increased vehicle deliveries and growth in other businesses such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotaxis.
Elon Musk’s company also delivered more than 358,000 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) globally during the first quarter of this year, up 6.5 percent from the previous year.
Chinaevhome’s website, local time on Thursday (23/4), reported that of that number, Tesla’s manufacturing facility, Gigafactory Shanghai, contributed 213,000 units, up 23.5 percent year-on-year and remaining the main source of the company’s additional growth.
However, the structure of these results shows that Tesla’s strategic focus is no longer solely centred on the vehicle business.
Version 14.3 has been launched in North America, while the next generation, V15, is expected to launch between the end of this year and the beginning of next year.
Tesla reported its first-quarter revenue and net profit increase accompanied by a strategic focus shift beyond vehicles towards AI and robotaxis, namely autonomous taxis or driverless taxis.
Tesla stated on Weibo that they are accelerating efforts to launch their advanced driver assistance system in the Chinese market.
The robotaxi business is entering a more substantive phase. In the first quarter, the paid mileage from autonomous ride-hailing services nearly doubled compared to the previous quarter.
In February, the first mass-produced Cybercab rolled off the production line at Tesla’s factory in Texas.
The launch of the TERAFAB project and Cortex 2 cluster demonstrates significantly increased training capacity, which will directly impact the iteration speed of autonomous vehicle and robotics models.
In the humanoid robot sector, Tesla plans to begin preparations for its first large-scale robot manufacturing facility in the second quarter, with the third-generation product expected to debut in mid-2026.
Elon Musk reaffirmed during the earnings call that this business could become the company’s most important long-term growth driver.
In the charging sector, Tesla added 2,200 Superchargers during the quarter, up 19 percent year-on-year, with electricity delivery of 1.8 TWh, up 22 percent.
As of April, Tesla has built more than 2,600 Supercharger stations on the Chinese mainland, achieving full coverage in major cities and gradually opening the network to non-Tesla vehicles.
During the earnings call, Musk stated that Tesla is increasing investments in core technologies this year, including batteries, drive systems, AI software, AI training, as well as chip design and manufacturing, to lay the foundation for significant future production capacity expansion.
The company is also strengthening its supply chain in batteries, energy, and AI chips. Musk reiterated his view that humanoid robots could become Tesla’s most important product and potentially one of the most significant products in human history.