Elon Musk Pivots Tesla’s Narrative Toward AI Amid Earnings Miss

Tesla's third-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.50 missing the $0.55 consensus. Revenue climbed 12% year-over-year to $28.1 billion, fueled by increased vehicle deliveries and energy storage growth. The stock dropped 3% in pre-market trading as investors weighed Musk's strategic pivot.

Elon Musk reframed Tesla as an AI and robotics leader during the earnings call, declaring the company at a "critical inflection point." He positioned Full Self-Driving software and humanoid robots as existential growth drivers, claiming only 12% of Tesla owners currently use FSD. "This will be a shock wave for the auto industry," Musk asserted, suggesting Tesla could become the world's most valuable company through AI dominance.

The market's tepid response underscores the challenge of valuing Tesla as a tech company rather than an automaker. Musk's vision requires investors to discount near-term automotive margins for speculative AI upside—a calculus that appears to be dividing Wall Street.