Tesla Profit Falls 43% As Bitcoin Gains $288M & SpaceX Merger Talks Emerge

Tesla announced a 43% drop in third-quarter net profits, despite gains in its Bitcoin holdings of $288 million in value. The electric carmaker also reported a $142 million loss on its investment in SpaceX as speculation mounted over a possible merger of the two companies.

Source: Tesla.com

Elon Musk, the man behind both businesses, confirmed that special committees had been formed to consider a possible deal. If the merger goes through, it would unify more than 30,000 Bitcoin held by Tesla and SpaceX. However, no agreement has been reached, and shareholders would have to approve the proposed deal.

Tesla’s net profit shrank to $787 million in the third quarter from $1.37 billion a year earlier. Revenue came in at $28.05 billion, remaining broadly unchanged from the same period last year. The company earned 48 cents per share after adjustments, beating analysts’ expectations of around 45 cents. However, its operating income dropped 56% to $718 million as spending on research, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics ramped up.

Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings bolstered its reported earnings as it posted a $288 million pre-tax gain on its digital assets, equal to $224 million after tax. The profit was unrealized, which means the value of its Bitcoin increased on paper, but Tesla did not sell the coins to realize a profit. The company previously reported holding 11,509 Bitcoin in its last filing.

Q3 Shareholder Update → https://t.co/u0UcDOuMNa

Highlights
– FSD Supervised attach rate grew to over 75% of new vehicle deliveries in NA

– Unveiled the next-gen Roadster

– Record deliveries in Canada, Australia, Japan & Taiwan

– Tesla Semi now in volume production. Top variant can go up to 500 miles at a full 82,000 lbs while achieving efficiency of 1.7 kWh/mile – about a third of the energy a comparable diesel truck burns for the same load

– Ended the quarter with the largest backlog for our passenger vehicles in 4 years!

FSD Supervised
– 4 new approvals since Q2 (Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia)
– FSD is now live in nine EU countries & used by over 100,000 customers logging more than 160 million kilometers since initial approval

Robotaxi
– Deployed Cybercab into our Austin fleet
– Hit nearly 2 million cumulative unsupervised miles, 8x growth in the quarter
– Austin service now runs 6 am to midnight, with wait times continuing to come down as we add cars & improve the orchestration algorithms
– Added Grok to Cybercab with Grok Bot & Connectors, letting you interface with your inbox, calendar, files, chats and tasks, all by voice.

Transport, office & living room in one

Robotics
– Started production of @Tesla_Optimus on our high-volume lines in Fremont.
These are the first production-quality bots we’ve built, proving that the current manufacturing process for Optimus is suitable for a commercial product

SI Compute
– On track for 400 MW of training compute by year end, feeding both vehicle & humanoid autonomy
– Austin Fab construction continues, equipment commissioning planned for 2027

Battery
– Battery supply is still the limiter on how fast we ramp vehicles globally, so we’re expanding on every front: pack capacity in Berlin, cathode and lithium refining in Texas, LFP cells in Nevada
– Shipped the first Megapacks built entirely with our own LFP cells
– Increasing 4680 output to support ramp of Cybercab, Semi & Model Y

Energy
– Megafactory Texas is up & running, with Megapack 3 production started
– Highest-ever order rate & backlog for energy storage

Grid constraints & power availability are making Megapack the answer for SI infrastructure demand: it excels at supplying large data center loads, smooths out demand spikes, helps new projects meet grid connection rules & makes the grid itself more stable

All with less local fossil fuel generation

Supporting Infrastructure
– Added 2,100+ net new Supercharger stalls, up 14% year over year

— Tesla (@Tesla) October 21, 2026

Meanwhile, Tesla posted a $142 million pre-tax unrealized loss on its investment in SpaceX. This highlights how fluctuations in the value of investments can distort a company’s reported profit, even if no assets are sold.

The possible merger between Tesla and SpaceX has added another dimension to the story. Musk said both companies had formed committees of independent directors to consider the proposal. While he supported the idea, Musk said shareholders would have to approve it. He also noted that the committees had not reached an agreement on the terms of a transaction.

SpaceX is said to hold 18,712 Bitcoin while Tesla has 11,509 Bitcoin. A merger therefore would tie up 30,221 Bitcoin under the banner of one corporate group based on the reported holdings. Such a merger would unify two major businesses of Musk but the proposal is still being considered.

SpaceX and Tesla are exploring a merger.

Q3 quarterly revenue:
SpaceX: $14.58B
Tesla: $28.05B

But here’s what’s more interesting for crypto:

SpaceX holds 18,712 bitcoin:native.
Tesla holds 11,509 BTC.

Combined, that’s 30,221 BTC on one balance sheet if the merger happens. https://t.co/idGc1njIgJ

— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) October 22, 2026

SpaceX also posted stellar quarterly results with revenue of $14.58 billion, above the market forecast of $12.7 billion. Earnings per share were at 35 cents versus 15 cents expected. The company spent $19.59 billion on capital expenditure, including $16.44 billion on AI.

For Tesla, the latest report offers a mixed bag. While its improved gross profit margin and Bitcoin gain stand out, its falling operating income and rising expenses are cause for concern. As for the crypto investors, the report also underscores the role that swings in the price of Bitcoin play in earnings.

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