Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) stock has tanked 3.32% in the after hours to trade at $373.65 following a mixed Q3 earnings call and skepticism over merger talks with aerospace company SpaceX.

Source: MarketWatch

Tesla Q3 2026 earnings report: financial metrics

The electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing company reported flat year-over-year revenue at $28.05 billion, missing Wall Street consensus of $28.3 billion to $28.13 billion.

Additionally, its net income fell 43% year-over-year to $787 million or $0.22 per share. This proved that heavy research and development (R&D) allocations to AI and robotics were significantly depressing profits.

Income was also affected by the loss of the $7,500 federal EV tax credits, causing sales to slump nearly 20%…