TSLA 10-K diff: FY 2024-12-31 → FY 2025-12-31
Paragraph-level diff of Risk Factors (Item 1A) and Management's Discussion & Analysis (Item 7).
Item 1A · Risk Factors
+63 paragraphs −60 paragraphs ~60 changed
FY 2024-12-31 (earlier)
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the risks described below together with the other information set forth in this report, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and future results. The risks described below are not the only risks facing our company. Risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Risks Related to Our Ability to Grow Our BusinessWe may experience delays in launching and ramping the production of our products and features, or we may be unable to control our manufacturing costs.
We have previously experienced and may in the future experience launch and production ramp delays for new products and features. For example, we encountered unanticipated supplier issues that led to delays during the initial ramp of our first Model X and experienced challenges with a supplier and with ramping full automation for certain of our initial Model 3 manufacturing processes. In addition, we may introduce in the future new or unique manufacturing processes and design features for our products. As we expand our vehicle offerings and global footprint, there is no guarantee that we will be able to successfully and timely introduce and scale such processes or features.
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In particular, our future business depends in large part on increasing the production of mass-market vehicles. In order to be successful, we will need to implement, maintain and ramp efficient and cost-effective manufacturing capabilities, processes and supply chains and achieve the design tolerances, high quality and output rates we have planned at our manufacturing facilities in California, Nevada, Texas, China, Germany and any future sites such as Mexico. We will also need to hire, train and compensate skilled employees to operate these facilities. Bottlenecks and other unexpected challenges such as those we experienced in the past may arise during our production ramps, and we must address them promptly while continuing to improve manufacturing processes and reducing costs. If we are not successful in achieving these goals, we could face delays in establishing and/or sustaining our product ramps or be unable to meet our related cost and profitability targets.We have experienced, and may also experience similar future delays in launching and/or ramping production of our energy storage products and Solar Roof; new product versions or variants; new vehicles; and future products, features and services based on artificial intelligence. Likewise, we may encounter delays with the design, construction and regulatory or other approvals necessary to build and bring online future manufacturing facilities and products. In addition, as we continue to develop our artificial intelligence services and products, we may face many additional challenges, including the availability and cost of energy, processing power limitations and the substantial power requirements for our data centers.
Any delay or other complication in ramping the production of our current products or the development, manufacture, launch and production ramp of our future products, features and services, or in doing so cost-effectively and with high quality, may harm our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.Our suppliers may fail to deliver components according to schedules, prices, quality and volumes that are acceptable to us, or we may be unable to manage these components effectively.
Our products contain thousands of parts purchased globally from hundreds of suppliers, including single-source direct suppliers, which exposes us to multiple potential sources of component shortages. Unexpected changes in business conditions, materials pricing, including inflation of raw material costs, labor issues, wars, trade policies, natural disasters, health epidemics, trade and shipping disruptions, port congestions, cyberattacks and other factors beyond our or our suppliers’ control could also affect these suppliers’ ability to deliver technologies or components to us or to remain solvent and operational. Additionally, if our suppliers do not accurately forecast and effectively allocate production or if they are not willing to allocate sufficient production to us, or face other challenges such as insolvency, it may reduce our access to components and require us to search for new suppliers. The unavailability of any component or supplier could result in production delays, idle manufacturing facilities, product design changes and loss of access to important technology and tools for producing and supporting our products, as well as impact our capacity expansion and our ability to fulfill our obligations under customer contracts. Moreover, significant increases in our production or product design changes by us have required and may in the future require us to procure additional components in a short amount of time. We have faced in the past, and may face suppliers who are unwilling or unable to sustainably meet our timelines or our cost, quality and volume needs, which may increase our costs or require us to replace them with other sources. Finally, as we construct new manufacturing facilities and add production lines to existing facilities, we may experience issues in correspondingly increasing the level of localized procurement at those facilities. While we believe that we will be able to secure additional or alternate sources or develop our own replacements for most of our components, there is no assurance that we will be able to do so quickly or at all. Additionally, we may be unsuccessful in our continuous efforts to negotiate with existing suppliers to obtain cost reductions and avoid unfavorable changes to terms, source less expensive suppliers for certain parts and redesign certain parts to make them less expensive to produce, especially in the case of increases in materials pricing. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
As the scale of our vehicle production increases, we will also need to accurately forecast, purchase, warehouse and transport components at high volumes to our manufacturing facilities and servicing locations internationally. If we are unable to accurately match the timing and quantities of component purchases to our actual needs or successfully implement automation, inventory management and other systems to accommodate the increased complexity in our supply chain and parts management, we may incur unexpected production disruption, storage, transportation and write-off costs, which may harm our business and operating results.
We may be unable to meet our projected construction timelines, costs and production ramps at new factories, or we may experience difficulties in generating and maintaining demand for products manufactured there.
Our ability to increase production of our vehicles on a sustained basis, make them affordable globally by accessing local supply chains and workforces and streamline delivery logistics is dependent on the construction and ramp of our current and future factories. The construction of and commencement and ramp of production at these factories are subject
14Table of Contentsto a number of uncertainties inherent in all new manufacturing operations, including ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements, procurement and maintenance of construction, environmental and operational licenses and approvals for additional expansion, supply chain constraints, hiring, training and retention of qualified employees and the pace of bringing production equipment and processes online with the capability to manufacture high-quality units at scale. Moreover, we will have to establish and ramp production of our proprietary battery cells and packs at our new factories, and we additionally intend to incorporate sequential design and manufacturing changes into vehicles manufactured at each new factory. If we experience any issues or delays in meeting our projected timelines, costs, capital efficiency and production capacity for our new factories, expanding and managing teams to implement iterative design and production changes there, maintaining and complying with the terms of any debt financing that we obtain to fund them or generating and maintaining demand for the vehicles we manufacture there, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition may be harmed.We may be unable to grow our global product sales, delivery and installation capabilities and our servicing and vehicle charging networks, or we may be unable to accurately project and effectively manage our growth.Our success will depend on our ability to continue to expand our sales capabilities. We are targeting a global mass demographic with a broad range of potential customers, in which we have relatively limited experience projecting demand and pricing our products. We currently produce numerous international variants at a limited number of factories, and if our specific demand expectations for these variants prove inaccurate, we may not be able to timely generate deliveries matched to the vehicles that we produce in the same timeframe or that are commensurate with the size of our operations in a given region. Likewise, as we develop and grow our energy products and services worldwide, our success will depend on our ability to correctly forecast demand in various markets.Because we do not have independent dealer networks, we are responsible for delivering all of our vehicles to our customers. As our production volumes continue to grow, we have faced in the past, and may face challenges with deliveries at increasing volumes, particularly in international markets requiring significant transit times. We have also deployed a number of delivery models, such as deliveries to customers’ homes and workplaces and touchless deliveries, but there is no guarantee that such models will be scalable or be accepted globally. Likewise, as we ramp our energy products, we are working to substantially increase our production and installation capabilities. If we experience production delays or inaccurately forecast demand, our business, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.Moreover, because of our unique expertise with our vehicles, we recommend that our vehicles be serviced by us or by certain authorized professionals. If we experience delays in adding servicing capacity or servicing our vehicles efficiently, or experience unforeseen issues with the reliability of our vehicles, particularly higher-volume additions to our fleet such as Model 3 and Model Y, it could overburden our servicing capabilities and parts inventory. Similarly, the increasing number of Tesla vehicles also requires us to continue to rapidly increase the number of our Supercharger stations and connectors throughout the world.There is no assurance that we will be able to ramp our business to meet our sales, delivery, installation, servicing and vehicle charging targets globally, that our projections on which such targets are based will prove accurate or that the pace of growth or coverage of our customer infrastructure network will meet customer expectations. These plans require significant cash investments and management resources and there is no guarantee that they will generate additional sales or installations of our products, or that we will be able to avoid cost overruns or be able to hire additional personnel to support them. As we expand, we will also need to ensure our compliance with regulatory requirements in various jurisdictions applicable to the sale, installation and servicing of our products, the sale or dispatch of electricity related to our energy products and the operation of Superchargers. If we fail to manage our growth effectively, it may harm our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We will need to maintain and significantly grow our access to battery cells, including through the development and manufacture of our own cells, and control our related costs.We are dependent on the continued supply of lithium-ion battery cells for our vehicles and energy storage products, and we will require substantially more cells to grow our business according to our plans. Currently, we rely on suppliers such as Panasonic and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) for these cells. We have to date fully qualified only a very limited number of such suppliers and have limited flexibility in changing suppliers. Any disruption in the supply of battery cells from our suppliers could limit production of our vehicles and energy storage products. In the long term, we intend to supplement cells from our suppliers with cells manufactured by us, which we believe will be more efficient, manufacturable at greater volumes and more cost-effective than currently available cells. However, our efforts to develop and manufacture such battery cells have required, and may continue to require, significant investments, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve these targets in the timeframes that we have planned or at all. If we are
15Table of Contentsunable to do so, we may have to curtail our planned vehicle and energy storage product production or procure additional cells from suppliers at potentially greater costs, either of which may harm our business and operating results.
In addition, the cost and mass production of battery cells, whether manufactured by our suppliers or by us, depends in part upon the prices and availability of raw materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and/or other metals. The prices for these materials fluctuate and their available supply may be unstable, depending on market conditions and global demand for these materials. For example, as a result of increased global production of electric vehicles and energy storage products, suppliers of these raw materials may be unable to meet our volume needs. Additionally, our suppliers may not be willing or able to reliably meet our timelines or our cost and quality needs, which may require us to replace them with other sources. Any reduced availability of these materials may impact our access to cells and our growth, and any increases in their prices may reduce our profitability if we cannot recoup such costs through increased prices. Moreover, our inability to meet demand and any product price increases may harm our brand, growth, prospects and operating results.
Our future growth and success are dependent upon consumers’ demand for electric vehicles and specifically our vehicles in an automotive industry that is generally competitive, cyclical and volatile.
Though we continue to see increased interest and adoption of electric vehicles, if the market for electric vehicles in general and Tesla vehicles in particular does not develop as we expect, develops more slowly than we expect, or if demand for our vehicles decreases in our markets or our vehicles compete with each other, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.In addition, electric vehicles still constitute a small percentage of overall vehicle sales. As a result, the market for our vehicles could be negatively affected by numerous factors, such as:
• perceptions about electric vehicle features, quality, safety, performance and cost;
• perceptions about the limited range over which electric vehicles may be driven on a single battery charge, and access to charging facilities;
• competition, including from other types of alternative fuel vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and high fuel-economy internal combustion engine vehicles;
• volatility in the cost of oil, gasoline and energy;
• government regulations and economic incentives and conditions; and
• concerns about our future viability.
The target demographics for our vehicles are highly competitive. Sales of vehicles in the automotive industry tend to be cyclical in many markets, which may expose us to further volatility. We also cannot predict the duration or direction of current global trends or their sustained impact on consumer demand. Ultimately, we continue to monitor macroeconomic conditions to remain flexible and to optimize and evolve our business as appropriate, and attempt to accurately project demand and infrastructure requirements globally and deploy our production, workforce and other resources accordingly. Rising interest rates may lead to consumers to increasingly pull back spending, including on our products, which may harm our demand, business and operating results. If we experience unfavorable global market conditions, or if we cannot or do not maintain operations at a scope that is commensurate with such conditions or are later required to or choose to suspend such operations again, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.We face strong competition for our products and services from a growing list of established and new competitors.The worldwide automotive market is highly competitive today and we expect it will become even more so in the future. A significant and growing number of established and new automobile manufacturers, as well as other companies, have entered, or are reported to have plans to enter, the market for electric and other alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, as well as the market for self-driving technology and other vehicle applications and software platforms. In some cases, our competitors offer or will offer electric vehicles in important markets such as China and Europe, and/or have announced an intention to produce electric vehicles exclusively at some point in the future. In addition, certain government and economic incentives which provide benefits to manufacturers who assemble domestically or have local suppliers, may provide a greater benefit to our competitors, which could negatively impact our profitability. Many of our competitors have significantly more or better-established resources than we do to devote to the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, sale and support of their products. Increased competition could result in our lower vehicle unit sales, price reductions, revenue shortfalls, loss of customers and loss of market share, which may harm our business, financial condition and operating results.
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Table of ContentsWe also face competition in our energy generation and storage business from other manufacturers, developers, installers and service providers of competing energy technologies, as well as from large utilities. In addition, decreases in the retail or wholesale prices of electricity from utilities or other renewable energy sources could make our products less attractive to customers and lead to an increased rate of customer defaults.Risks Related to Our Operations
We may experience issues with lithium-ion cells or other components manufactured at our Gigafactories, which may harm the production and profitability of our vehicle and energy storage products.Our plan to grow the volume and profitability of our vehicles and energy storage products depends on significant lithium-ion battery cell production, including by our partner Panasonic at Gigafactory Nevada. We also produce several vehicle components at our Gigafactories, such as battery modules and packs and drive units, and manufacture energy storage products. If we are unable to or otherwise do not maintain and grow our respective operations, or if we are unable to do so cost-effectively or hire and retain highly-skilled personnel there, our ability to manufacture our products profitably would be limited, which may harm our business and operating results.Finally, the high volumes of lithium-ion cells and battery modules and packs manufactured by us and by our suppliers are stored and recycled at our various facilities. Any mishandling of these products may cause disruption to the operation of such facilities. While we have implemented safety procedures related to the handling of the cells, there can be no assurance that a safety issue or fire related to the cells would not disrupt our operations. Any such disruptions or issues may harm our brand and business.
We face risks associated with maintaining and expanding our international operations, including unfavorable and uncertain regulatory, political, economic, tax and labor conditions.We are subject to legal and regulatory requirements, political uncertainty and social, environmental and economic conditions in numerous jurisdictions, including markets in which we generate significant sales, over which we have little control and which are inherently unpredictable. Our operations in such jurisdictions, particularly as a company based in the U.S., with additional manufacturing operations in China and Europe, create risks relating to conforming our products to regulatory and safety requirements and charging and other electric infrastructures; organizing local operating entities; establishing, staffing and managing foreign business locations; attracting local customers; navigating foreign government taxes, regulations and permit requirements; enforceability of our contractual rights; trade restrictions, customs regulations, tariffs and price or exchange controls; and preferences in foreign nations for domestically manufactured products. For example, we monitor tax legislation changes on a global basis, including changes arising as a result of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s multi-jurisdictional plan of action to address base erosion and profit shifting. Such conditions may increase our costs, impact our ability to sell our products and require significant management attention, and may harm our business if we are unable to manage them effectively.Our business may suffer if our products or features contain defects, fail to perform as expected or take longer than expected to become fully functional.If our products contain design or manufacturing defects, whether relating to our software or hardware, that cause them not to perform as designed or intended or that require repair, or certain features of our vehicles such as new Autopilot or FSD (Supervised) features take longer than expected to become enabled, are legally restricted or become subject to onerous regulation, our ability to develop, market and sell our products and services may be harmed, and we may experience delivery delays, product recalls, allegations of product liability, breach of warranty and related consumer protection claims and significant warranty and other expenses. While we are continuously working to develop and improve our products’ capability and performance, there is no guarantee that any incremental changes in the specific software or equipment we deploy in our vehicles over time will not result in initial functional disparities from prior iterations or will perform as forecast in the timeframe we anticipate, or at all. Although we attempt to remedy any issues we observe in our products as effectively and rapidly as possible, such efforts may not be timely, may hamper production or may not completely satisfy our customers. We have performed, and continue to perform, extensive internal testing on our products and features, though, like the rest of the industry, we currently have a limited frame of reference by which to evaluate certain aspects of their long-term quality, reliability, durability and performance characteristics, including exposure to or consequence of external attacks. While we attempt to identify and address or remedy defects we identify pre-production and sale, there may be latent defects that we may be unable to detect or control for in our products, and thereby address, prior to their sale to or installation for customers.
17Table of ContentsWe may be required to defend or insure against product liability claims.The automobile industry generally experiences significant product liability claims, and as such we face the risk of such claims in the event our vehicles do not perform or are claimed to not have performed as expected. As is true for other automakers, our vehicles have been involved and we expect in the future will be involved in accidents resulting in death or personal injury, and such accidents where Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot or FSD (Supervised) features are engaged are the subject of significant public attention, especially in light of NHTSA’s Standing General Order requiring reports regarding certain crashes involving vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems. We have experienced, and we expect to continue to face, claims and regulatory scrutiny arising from or related to misuse or claimed failures or alleged misrepresentations of such new technologies that we are pioneering. In addition, the battery packs that we produce make use of lithium-ion cells. On rare occasions, lithium-ion cells can rapidly release the energy they contain by venting smoke and flames in a manner that can ignite nearby materials as well as other lithium-ion cells. While we have designed our battery packs to passively contain any single cell’s release of energy without spreading to neighboring cells, there can be no assurance that a field or testing failure of our vehicles or other battery packs that we produce will not occur, in particular due to a high-speed crash. Likewise, as our solar energy systems and energy storage products generate and store electricity, they have the potential to fail or cause injury to people or property. Any product liability claim may subject us to lawsuits and substantial monetary damages, product recalls or redesign efforts, and even a meritless claim may require us to defend it, all of which may generate negative publicity and be expensive and time-consuming. In most jurisdictions, we generally self-insure against the risk of product liability claims for vehicle exposure, meaning that any product liability claims will likely have to be paid from company funds and not by insurance.We will need to maintain public credibility and confidence in our long-term business prospects in order to succeed.In order to maintain and grow our business, we must maintain credibility and confidence among customers, suppliers, analysts, investors, ratings agencies and other parties in our long-term financial viability and business prospects. Maintaining such confidence may be challenging due to our limited operating history relative to established competitors; customer unfamiliarity with our products; any delays we may experience in scaling manufacturing, delivery and service operations to meet demand; competition and uncertainty regarding the future of electric vehicles or our other products and services; our quarterly production and sales performance compared with market expectations; and other factors including those over which we have no control. In particular, Tesla’s products, business, results of operations, and statements and actions of Tesla and its management are subject to significant amounts of commentary by a range of third parties. Such attention can include criticism, which may be exaggerated or unfounded, such as speculation regarding the sufficiency or stability of our management team. Any such negative perceptions, whether caused by us or not, may harm our business and make it more difficult to raise additional funds if needed.We may be unable to effectively grow, or manage the compliance, residual value, financing and credit risks related to, our various financing programs.We offer financing arrangements for our vehicles in North America, Europe and Asia primarily ourselves and through various financial institutions. We also currently offer vehicle financing arrangements directly through our local subsidiaries in certain markets. Depending on the country, such arrangements are available for specified models and may include operating leases directly with us under which we typically receive only a very small portion of the total vehicle purchase price at the time of lease, followed by a stream of payments over the term of the lease. We have also offered various arrangements for customers of our solar energy systems whereby they pay us a fixed payment to lease or finance the purchase of such systems or purchase electricity generated by them. If we do not successfully monitor and comply with applicable national, state and/or local financial regulations and consumer protection laws governing these transactions, we may become subject to enforcement actions or penalties.
The profitability of any directly-leased vehicles returned to us at the end of their leases depends on our ability to accurately project our vehicles’ residual values at the outset of the leases, and such values may fluctuate prior to the end of their terms depending on various factors such as supply and demand of our used vehicles, economic cycles, legislative changes and the pricing of new vehicles. We have made in the past and may make in the future certain adjustments to our prices from time to time in the ordinary course of business, which may impact the residual values of our vehicles and reduce the profitability of our vehicle leasing program. The funding and growth of this program also rely on our ability to secure adequate financing and/or business partners. If we are unable to adequately fund our leasing program through internal funds, partners or other financing sources, and compelling alternative financing programs are not available for our customers who may expect or need such options, we may be unable to grow our vehicle deliveries. Furthermore, if our vehicle leasing business grows substantially, our business may suffer if we cannot effectively manage the resulting greater levels of residual risk.
18Table of ContentsSimilarly, we have provided residual value guarantees to vehicle customers and partners for certain financing programs, under which such counterparties may sell their vehicles through various remarketing channels. However, actual resale values are subject to fluctuations over the term of the financing arrangements, such as from one or more of the factors discussed above. If the actual resale values of any vehicles resold by our vehicle customers and partners are lower than the residual values we have agreed to with them, the residual value guarantees may be triggered and, as a result, our financial condition and operating results may be harmed.
Finally, our vehicle and solar energy system financing programs and our energy storage sales programs also expose us to customer credit risk. In the event of a widespread economic downturn or other catastrophic event, our customers may be unable or unwilling to satisfy their payment obligations to us on a timely basis or at all. If a significant number of our customers default, we may incur substantial credit losses and/or impairment charges with respect to the underlying assets.
We must manage ongoing obligations under our agreement with the Research Foundation for the State University of New York relating to our Gigafactory New York.
We are party to an operating lease and a research and development agreement through the State University of New York (the “SUNY Foundation”). These agreements provide for the construction and use of our Gigafactory New York, which we have primarily used for the development and production of our Solar Roof and other solar products and components, energy storage components and Supercharger components, and for other lessor-approved functions. Under this agreement, we are obligated to, among other things, meet employment targets as well as specified minimum numbers of personnel in the State of New York and in Buffalo, New York and spend or incur $5.00 billion in combined capital, operational expenses, costs of goods sold and other costs in the State of New York during a period that was initially 10 years beginning April 30, 2018. As of December 31, 2024, we have met and expect to meet the requirements under this arrangement, as may be modified and discussed from time to time, based on our current and anticipated level of operations. While we expect to have and grow significant operations at Gigafactory New York and the surrounding Buffalo area, any failure by us in any year over the course of the term of the agreement to meet all applicable future obligations may result in our incurring financial liabilities in the form of “program payments” which would not be expected to have a material adverse effect to our financial operations, the termination of our lease at Gigafactory New York, and/or the need to adjust certain of our operations. Any of the foregoing events may harm our business, financial condition and operating results.If we are unable to attract, hire and retain key employees and qualified personnel, our ability to compete may be harmed.
The loss of the services of any of our key employees or any significant portion of our workforce could disrupt our operations or delay the development, introduction and ramp of our products and services. In particular, we are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla and our Chief Executive Officer. None of our key employees is bound by an employment agreement for any specific term and we may not be able to successfully attract and retain senior leadership necessary to grow our business. Our future success also depends upon our ability to attract, hire and retain a large number of engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales and delivery, service, installation, technology and support personnel, especially to support our planned high-volume product sales, market and geographical expansion and technological innovations. If we are not successful in managing these risks, our business, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.Employees may leave Tesla or choose other employers over Tesla due to various factors, such as a very competitive labor market for talented individuals with automotive or technology experience, or any negative publicity related to us. In regions where we have or will have operations, particularly significant engineering and manufacturing centers, there is strong competition for individuals with skillsets needed for our business, including specialized knowledge of electric vehicles, engineering and electrical and building construction expertise. We also compete with both mature and prosperous companies that have far greater financial resources than we do and start-ups and emerging companies that promise short-term growth opportunities.
Finally, our compensation philosophy for all of our personnel reflects our startup origins, with an emphasis on equity-based awards and benefits in order to closely align their incentives with the long-term interests of our stockholders. We periodically seek and obtain approval from our stockholders for future increases to the number of awards available under our equity incentive and employee stock purchase plans. If we are unable to obtain the requisite stockholder approvals for such future increases, we may have to expend additional cash to compensate our employees and our ability to retain and hire qualified personnel may be harmed.
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We are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla and our Chief Executive Officer.We are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla and our Chief Executive Officer. Although Mr. Musk spends significant time with Tesla and is highly active in our management, he does not devote his full time and attention to Tesla. For example: Mr. Musk also currently holds management positions at Space Exploration Technologies Corp., X Corp., X.AI Corp., Neuralink Corp. and The Boring Company, and is involved in other ventures and with the Department of Government Efficiency.Our information technology systems or data, or those of our service providers or customers or users could be subject to cyber-attacks or other security incidents, which could result in data breaches, intellectual property theft, claims, litigation, regulatory investigations, significant liability, reputational damage and other adverse consequences.We continue to expand our information technology systems as our operations grow, such as product data management, procurement, inventory management, production planning and execution, sales, service and logistics, dealer management, financial, tax and regulatory compliance systems. This includes the implementation of new internally developed systems and the deployment of such systems in the U.S. and abroad. While, we maintain information technology measures designed to protect us against intellectual property theft, data breaches, sabotage and other external or internal cyber-attacks or misappropriation, our systems and those of our service providers are potentially vulnerable to malware, ransomware, viruses, denial-of-service attacks, phishing attacks, social engineering, computer hacking, unauthorized access, exploitation of bugs, defects and vulnerabilities, breakdowns, damage, interruptions, system malfunctions, power outages, terrorism, acts of vandalism, security breaches, security incidents, inadvertent or intentional actions by employees or other third parties, and other cyber-attacks.
To the extent any security incident results in unauthorized access or damage to or acquisition, use, corruption, loss, destruction, alteration or dissemination of our data, including intellectual property and personal information, or our products or vehicles, or for it to be believed or reported that any of these occurred, it could disrupt our business, harm our reputation, compel us to comply with applicable data breach notification laws, subject us to time consuming, distracting and expensive litigation, regulatory investigation and oversight, mandatory corrective action, require us to verify the correctness of database contents, or otherwise subject us to liability under laws, regulations and contractual obligations, including those that protect the privacy and security of personal information. This could result in increased costs to us and result in significant legal and financial exposure and/or reputational harm.We also rely on service providers, and similar incidents relating to their information technology systems could also have a material adverse effect on our business. There have been and may continue to be significant supply chain attacks. Our service providers, including our workforce management software provider, have been subject to ransomware and other security incidents, and we cannot guarantee that our or our service providers’ systems have not been breached or that they do not contain exploitable defects, bugs, or vulnerabilities that could result in a security incident, or other disruption to, our or our service providers’ systems. Our ability to monitor our service providers’ security measures is limited, and, in any event, malicious third parties may be able to circumvent those security measures.
Further, the implementation, maintenance, segregation and improvement of these systems require significant management time, support and cost, and there are inherent risks associated with developing, improving and expanding our core systems as well as implementing new systems and updating current systems, including disruptions to the related areas of business operation. These risks may affect our ability to manage our data and inventory, procure parts or supplies or manufacture, sell, deliver and service products, adequately protect our intellectual property or achieve and maintain compliance with, or realize available benefits under, tax laws and other applicable regulations.
Moreover, if we do not successfully implement, maintain or expand these systems as planned, our operations may be disrupted, our ability to accurately and/or timely report our financial results could be impaired and deficiencies may arise in our internal control over financial reporting, which may impact our ability to certify our financial results. Moreover, our proprietary information, including intellectual property and personal information, could be compromised or misappropriated and our reputation may be adversely affected. If these systems or their functionality do not operate as we expect them to, we may be required to expend significant resources to make corrections or find alternative sources for performing these functions.20Table of Contents
Any unauthorized control or manipulation of our products’ systems could result in loss of confidence in us and our products.
Our products contain complex information technology systems. For example, our vehicles and energy storage products are designed with built-in data connectivity to accept and install periodic remote updates from us to improve or update their functionality. While we have implemented security measures intended to prevent unauthorized access to our information technology networks, our products and their systems, malicious entities have reportedly attempted, and may attempt in the future, to gain unauthorized access to modify, alter and use such networks, products and systems to gain control of, or to change, our products’ functionality, user interface and performance characteristics or to gain access to data stored in or generated by our products. We encourage reporting of potential vulnerabilities in the security of our products through our security vulnerability reporting policy, and we aim to remedy any reported and verified vulnerability. However, there can be no assurance that any vulnerabilities will not be exploited before they can be identified, or that our remediation efforts are or will be successful.
Any unauthorized access to or control of our products or their systems or any loss of data could result in legal claims or government investigations. In addition, regardless of their veracity, reports of unauthorized access to our products, their systems or data, as well as other factors that may result in the perception that our products, their systems or data are capable of being hacked, may harm our brand, prospects and operating results. We have been the subject of such reports in the past.
Our business may be adversely affected by any disruptions caused by union activities.It is not uncommon for employees of certain trades at companies such as ours to belong to a union, which can result in higher employee costs and increased risk of work stoppages. Moreover, regulations in some jurisdictions outside of the U.S. mandate employee participation in industrial collective bargaining agreements and work councils with certain consultation rights with respect to the relevant companies’ operations. Although we work diligently to provide the best possible work environment for our employees, they may still decide to join or seek recognition to form a labor union, or we may be required to become a union signatory. From time to time, labor unions have engaged in campaigns to organize certain of our operations, as part of which such unions have filed unfair labor practice charges against us with the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”), and they may do so in the future. Any unfavorable ultimate outcome for Tesla may have a negative impact on the perception of Tesla’s treatment of our employees. Furthermore, we are directly or indirectly dependent upon companies with unionized work forces, such as suppliers and trucking and freight companies. Any work stoppages or strikes organized by such unions could delay the manufacture and sale of our products and may harm our business and operating results.We may choose to or be compelled to undertake product recalls or take other similar actions.As a manufacturing company, we must manage the risk of product recalls with respect to our products. Recalls for our vehicles have resulted from various hardware and software-related safety or non-compliance determinations. In addition to recalls initiated by us for various causes, testing of or investigations into our products by government regulators or industry groups may compel us to initiate product recalls or may result in negative public perceptions about the safety of our products, even if we disagree with the defect determination or have data that contradicts it. In the future, we may voluntarily or involuntarily initiate recalls or field actions if any of our products are determined by us or a regulator to contain a safety defect or be noncompliant with applicable laws and regulations, such as U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or provide certain functionalities. Such recalls or field actions, whether voluntary or involuntary or caused by systems or components engineered or manufactured by us or our suppliers, could result in significant expense, supply chain complications and service burdens, and may harm our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.Our current and future warranty reserves may be insufficient to cover future warranty claims.We provide a manufacturer’s warranty on all new and used Tesla vehicles we sell directly to customers. We also provide certain warranties with respect to the energy generation and storage systems we sell, including on their installation and maintenance. For components not manufactured by us, we generally pass through to our customers the applicable manufacturers’ warranties, but may retain some warranty responsibilities for some or all of the life of such components. As part of our energy generation and storage system contracts, we may provide the customer with performance guarantees that guarantee that the underlying system will meet or exceed the minimum energy generation or other energy performance requirements specified in the contract. Under these performance guarantees, we generally bear the risk of electricity production or other performance shortfalls, including in some cases shortfalls caused by failures in components from third party manufacturers. These risks are exacerbated in the event such manufacturers cease operations or fail to honor their warranties.
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If our warranty reserves are inadequate to cover future warranty claims on our products, our financial condition and operating results may be harmed. Warranty reserves include our management’s best estimates of the projected costs to repair or to replace items under warranty, which are based on actual claims incurred to date and an estimate of the nature, frequency and costs of future claims. Such estimates are inherently uncertain and changes to our historical or projected experience, especially with respect to products that we have introduced relatively recently and/or that we expect to produce at significantly greater volumes than our past products, may cause material changes to our warranty reserves in the future.
Our insurance coverage strategy may not be adequate to protect us from all business risks.
We may be subject, in the ordinary course of business, to losses resulting from products liability, accidents, acts of God and other claims against us, for which we may have no insurance coverage. As a general matter, we do not maintain as much insurance coverage as many other companies do, and in some cases, we do not maintain any at all. Additionally, the policies that we do have may include significant deductibles or self-insured retentions, policy limitations and exclusions, and we cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be sufficient to cover all future losses or claims against us. A loss that is uninsured or which exceeds policy limits may require us to pay substantial amounts, which may harm our financial condition and operating results.
Our debt agreements contain covenant restrictions that may limit our ability to operate our business.
The terms of certain of our debt facilities contain, and any of our other future debt agreements may contain, covenant restrictions that may limit our ability to operate our business, including restrictions on our and/or our subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things, incur additional debt or create liens. In addition, under certain circumstances we are required to maintain a certain amount of liquidity. As a result of these covenants, our ability to respond to changes in business and economic conditions and engage in beneficial transactions, including to obtain additional financing as needed, may be restricted. Furthermore, our failure to comply with our debt covenants could result in a default under our debt agreements, which could permit the holders to accelerate our obligation to repay the debt. If any of our debt is accelerated, we may not have sufficient funds available to repay it.
Additional funds may not be available to us when we need or want them.Our business and our future plans for expansion are capital-intensive, and the specific timing of cash inflows and outflows may fluctuate substantially from period to period. We may need or want to raise additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-related or debt securities or through obtaining credit from financial institutions to fund, together with our principal sources of liquidity, the costs of developing and manufacturing our current or future products, to pay any significant unplanned or accelerated expenses or for new significant strategic investments, or to refinance our significant consolidated indebtedness, even if not required to do so by the terms of such indebtedness. We cannot be certain that additional funds will be available to us on favorable terms when required, or at all. If we cannot raise additional funds when we need them, our financial condition, results of operations, business and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
We may be negatively impacted by any early obsolescence of our manufacturing equipment.
We depreciate the cost of our manufacturing equipment over their expected useful lives. However, product cycles or manufacturing technology may change periodically, and we may decide to update our products or manufacturing processes more quickly than expected. Moreover, improvements in engineering and manufacturing expertise and efficiency may result in our ability to manufacture our products using less of our currently installed equipment. Alternatively, as we ramp and mature the production of our products to higher levels, we may discontinue the use of already installed equipment in favor of different or additional equipment. The useful life of any equipment that would be retired early as a result would be shortened, causing the depreciation on such equipment to be accelerated, and our results of operations may be harmed.There is no guarantee that we will have sufficient cash flow from our business to pay our indebtedness or that we will not incur additional indebtedness.As of December 31, 2024, we and our subsidiaries had outstanding $7.91 billion in aggregate principal amount of indebtedness (see Note 10, Debt , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K). Our consolidated indebtedness may increase our vulnerability to any generally adverse economic and industry conditions. We and our subsidiaries may, subject to the limitations in the terms of our existing and future indebtedness, incur additional debt, secure existing or future debt or recapitalize our debt.
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Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal and interest on our indebtedness when due, or to refinance our indebtedness as we may need or desire, depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not continue to generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to satisfy our obligations under our existing indebtedness and any future indebtedness we may incur, and to make necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as reducing or delaying investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, refinancing or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. Our ability to refinance existing or future indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. In addition, our ability to make payments may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our future indebtedness. We may not be able to engage in these activities on desirable terms or at all, which may result in a default on our existing or future indebtedness and harm our financial condition and operating results.
We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.We transact business globally in multiple currencies and have foreign currency risks related to our revenue, costs of revenue, operating expenses and localized subsidiary debt denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. To the extent we have significant revenues denominated in such foreign currencies, any strengthening of the U.S. dollar would tend to reduce our revenues as measured in U.S. dollars, as we have historically experienced, and are currently experiencing. We have also experienced, and will continue to experience, fluctuations in our net income as a result of gains (losses) on the settlement and the re-measurement of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies that are not the local currency (primarily consisting of our intercompany and cash and cash equivalents balances). In addition, a portion of our costs and expenses have been, and we anticipate will continue to be, denominated in foreign currencies. If we do not have fully offsetting revenues in these currencies and if the value of the U.S. dollar depreciates significantly against these currencies, our costs as measured in U.S. dollars as a percent of our revenues will correspondingly increase and our margins will suffer. As a result, our operating results may be harmed.We may not be able to adequately protect or defend ourselves against intellectual property infringement claims, which may be time-consuming and expensive, or affect the freedom to operate our business.
Our competitors or other third parties may hold or obtain patents, copyrights, trademarks or other proprietary rights that could prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make, use, develop, sell or market our products and services, which could make it more difficult for us to operate our business. From time to time, the holders of such intellectual property rights may assert their rights and urge us to take licenses and/or may bring suits alleging infringement or misappropriation of such rights, which could result in substantial costs, negative publicity and management attention, regardless of merit.
In addition, the effective protection for our brands, technologies, and proprietary information may be limited or unavailable in certain countries, making it difficult to protect our intellectual property from misappropriation or infringement. Although we make reasonable efforts to maintain the confidentiality of our proprietary information, we cannot guarantee that these actions will deter or prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property. The theft or unauthorized use or publication of our trade secrets and confidential information could affect our competitive position.
While we endeavor to obtain and protect the intellectual property rights that we expect will allow us to retain or advance our strategic initiatives in these circumstances, there can be no assurance that we will be able to adequately identify and protect the portions of intellectual property that are strategic to our business, or mitigate the risk of potential suits or other legal demands by third parties. Accordingly, we may consider the entering into licensing agreements with respect to such rights, although no assurance can be given that such licenses can be obtained on acceptable terms or that litigation will not occur, and such licenses and associated litigation could significantly increase our operating expenses. Further, if we are determined to have or believe there is a high likelihood that we have infringed upon a third party’s intellectual property rights, we may be required to cease making, selling or incorporating certain components or intellectual property into the goods and services we offer, to pay substantial damages and/or license royalties, to redesign our products and services and/or to establish and maintain alternative branding for our products and services. In the event that we are required to take one or more such actions, our brand, business, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.Increased scrutiny and changing expectations from stakeholders with respect to the Company’s ESG practices may result in additional costs or risks.
Companies across many industries are facing increasing scrutiny related to their environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. Investor advocacy groups, certain institutional investors, investment funds and other influential investors are also increasingly focused on ESG practices and in recent years have placed increasing importance on the non-financial impacts of their investments. While our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable
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energy, if our ESG practices do not meet investor or other industry stakeholder expectations, which continue to evolve, we may incur additional costs and our brand, ability to attract and retain qualified employees and business may be harmed. Compliance with any current or future legal requirements on these topics may result in additional costs or risks to us, including harm to our reputation, reduction in customer demand, and increased legal and operational risks.Our operations could be adversely affected by events outside of our control, such as natural disasters, wars or health epidemics.We may be impacted by natural disasters, wars, health epidemics, weather conditions, the long-term effects of climate change, power outages or other events outside of our control. For example, our Fremont Factory and Gigafactory Nevada are located in seismically active regions in Northern California and Nevada, and our Gigafactory Shanghai is located in a flood-prone area. Moreover, the area in which our Gigafactory Texas is located experienced severe winter storms in the first quarter of 2021 that had a widespread impact on utilities and transportation. If major disasters such as earthquakes, floods or other climate-related events occur, or our information system or communication breaks down or operates improperly, our headquarters and production facilities may be seriously damaged, or we may have to stop or delay production and shipment of our products. Also, the broader consequences in the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which may include further embargoes, regional instability and geopolitical shifts; airspace bans relating to certain routes, or strategic decisions to alter certain routes; and potential retaliatory action by the Russian government against companies, and the extent of the conflict on our business and operating results cannot be predicted. We may incur expenses or delays relating to such events outside of our control, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.Risks Related to Government Laws and Regulations
Demand for our products and services may be impacted by the status of government and economic incentives supporting the development and adoption of such products.Government and economic incentives that support the development and adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S. and abroad, including certain tax exemptions, tax credits and rebates, may be reduced, eliminated, amended or exhausted from time to time. For example, previously available incentives favoring electric vehicles in certain areas have expired or were cancelled or temporarily unavailable, and in some cases were not eventually replaced or reinstituted, which may have negatively impacted sales. In addition, certain government and economic incentives may also be implemented or amended to provide benefits to manufacturers who assemble domestically, have local suppliers or have other characteristics that may not apply to Tesla. Such developments could negatively impact demand for our vehicles, and we and our customers may have to adjust to them, including through pricing modifications.
In addition, certain governmental rebates, tax credits and other financial incentives that are currently available with respect to our solar and energy storage product businesses allow us to lower our costs and encourage customers to buy our products and investors to invest in our solar financing funds. However, these incentives may expire when the allocated funding is exhausted, reduced or terminated as renewable energy adoption rates increase, sometimes without warning. Likewise, in jurisdictions where net metering is currently available, our customers receive bill credits from utilities for energy that their solar energy systems generate and export to the grid in excess of the electric load they use. The benefit available under net metering has been or has been proposed to be reduced, altered or eliminated in several jurisdictions, and has also been contested and may continue to be contested before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Any reductions or terminations of such incentives may harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results by making our products less competitive for customers, increasing our cost of capital and adversely impacting our ability to attract investment partners and to form new financing funds for our solar and energy storage assets.
Finally, we and our fund investors claim these U.S. federal tax credits and certain state incentives in amounts based on independently appraised fair market values of our solar and energy storage systems. Some governmental authorities have audited such values and in certain cases have determined that these values should be lower, and they may do so again in the future. Such determinations may result in adverse tax consequences and/or our obligation to make indemnification or other payments to our funds or fund investors.We are subject to evolving laws and regulations that could impose substantial costs, legal prohibitions or unfavorable changes upon our operations or products.Our business operations are and will continue to be subject to complex environmental, occupational, health and safety laws and regulations at numerous jurisdictional levels in the U.S., China, Germany and other locations abroad, including laws relating to the use, handling, storage, recycling, disposal and/or human exposure to hazardous materials,
24Table of Contentsproduct material inputs and post-consumer products and with respect to constructing, expanding and maintaining our facilities. New, or changes in, environmental and climate change laws, regulations or rules could also lead to increased costs of compliance, including remediations of any discovered issues, and changes to our operations, which may be significant, and any failures to comply could result in significant expenses, delays or fines. In addition, as we have increased our operations, we are and may continue to be subject to increased scrutiny, including litigation and government investigations, that we will need to defend against. If we are unable to successfully defend ourselves in such litigation or government investigations, it may harm our brand, ability to attract and retain qualified employees, business and financial condition. We are also subject to laws and regulations applicable to the supply, manufacture, import, sale, service and performance of our products both domestically and abroad. For example, in countries outside of the U.S., we are required to meet standards relating to vehicle safety, fuel economy and emissions that are often materially different from equivalent requirements in the U.S., thus resulting in additional investment into the vehicles and systems to ensure regulatory compliance in all countries. This process may include official review and certification of our vehicles by foreign regulatory agencies prior to market entry, as well as compliance with foreign reporting and recall management systems requirements.
In particular, we offer in our vehicles in certain markets Autopilot and FSD (Supervised) features that today assist drivers with certain tedious and potentially dangerous aspects of road travel, but which currently require drivers to remain fully engaged in the driving operation. We are continuing to develop our Autopilot and FSD (Supervised) technology. There are a variety of international, federal and state regulations that may apply to, and may adversely affect, the design and performance, sale, marketing, registration and operation of Autopilot and FSD (Supervised), and future capability, including autonomous vehicles that may not be operated by a human driver. This includes many existing vehicle standards that were not originally intended to apply to vehicles that may not be operated by a human driver. Such regulations, including their enforcement or the enforcement policy associated with the regulations, continue to rapidly change, which increases the likelihood of a patchwork of complex or conflicting regulations, or may delay, restrict or prohibit the availability of certain functionalities and vehicle designs, which could adversely affect our business.
Finally, as a manufacturer, installer and service provider with respect to solar generation and energy storage systems, a supplier of electricity generated and stored by certain of the solar energy and energy storage systems we install for customers, and a provider of grid services through virtual power plant models, we are impacted by federal, state and local regulations and policies concerning the import or export of components, electricity pricing, the interconnection of electricity generation and storage equipment with the electrical grid and the sale of electricity generated by third party-owned systems. If regulations and policies are introduced that adversely impact the import or export of components, or the interconnection, maintenance or use of our solar and energy storage systems, they could deter potential customers from purchasing our solar and energy storage products and services, threaten the economics of our existing contracts and cause us to cease solar and energy storage system sales and services in the relevant jurisdictions, which may harm our business, financial condition and operating results.Any failure by us to comply with a variety of U.S. and international privacy and consumer protection laws may harm us.Any failure by us or our vendors or other business partners to comply with our public privacy notice or with federal, state or international privacy, data protection, artificial intelligence or security laws or regulations relating to the processing, collection, use, retention, security and transfer of personally identifiable information could result in regulatory or litigation-related actions against us, legal liability, fines, damages, ongoing audit requirements and other significant costs. Substantial expenses and operational changes may be required in connection with maintaining compliance with such laws, and even an unsuccessful challenge by customers or regulatory authorities of our activities could result in adverse publicity and could require a costly response from and defense by us. In addition, certain privacy laws are still subject to a high degree of uncertainty as to their interpretation, application and impact, and may require extensive system and operational changes, be difficult to implement, increase our operating costs, adversely impact the cost or attractiveness of the products or services we offer, or result in adverse publicity and harm our reputation. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation applies to the processing of personal information collected from individuals located in the European Union requiring certain data protection measures when handling, with a significant risk of fines for noncompliance. Similarly, our North American operations are subject to complex and changing federal and US state-specific data privacy laws and regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act which imposes certain legal obligations on our use and processing of personal information related to California residents. Finally, additional privacy and cybersecurity laws have come into effect in China, and other jurisdictions where Tesla has a market presence.These laws continue to develop and may be inconsistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Complying with emerging and changing requirements may cause us to incur substantial costs and make enhancements to relevant data practices. Noncompliance could result in significant penalties or legal liability.25Table of ContentsIn addition to the risks related to general privacy regulation, we may also be subject to specific vehicle manufacturer obligations relating to cybersecurity, data privacy and data localization requirements which place additional risks to our international operations. Risks and penalties could include ongoing audit requirements, data protection authority investigations, legal proceedings by international governmental entities or others resulting in mandated disclosure of sensitive data or other commercially unfavorable terms. Notwithstanding our efforts to protect the security and integrity of our customers’ personal information, we may be required to expend significant resources to comply with data breach requirements if, for example, third parties improperly obtain and use the personal information of our customers or we otherwise experience a data loss with respect to the personal information we process and handle. A major breach of our network security and systems may occur despite defensive measures, and may result in fines, penalties and damages and harm our brand, prospects and operating results.We could be subject to liability, penalties and other restrictive sanctions and adverse consequences arising out of certain governmental investigations and proceedings.We are cooperating with certain government investigations as discussed in Note 14, Commitments and Contingencies , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. To our knowledge, no government agency in any such ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred. However, we cannot predict the outcome or impact of any such ongoing matters, and there exists the possibility that we could be subject to liability, penalties and other restrictive sanctions and adverse consequences if the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice or any other government agency were to pursue legal action in the future. Moreover, we expect to incur costs in responding to related requests for information and subpoenas, and if instituted, in defending against any governmental proceedings.We may face regulatory challenges to or limitations on our ability to sell vehicles directly.
While we intend to continue to leverage our most effective sales strategies, including sales through our website, we may not be able to sell our vehicles through our own stores in certain states in the U.S. with laws that may be interpreted to impose limitations on this direct-to-consumer sales model. It has also been asserted that the laws in some states limit our ability to obtain dealer licenses from state motor vehicle regulators, and such assertions persist. In certain locations, decisions by regulators permitting us to sell vehicles have been, and may be, challenged by dealer associations and others as to whether such decisions comply with applicable state motor vehicle industry laws. We have prevailed in many of these lawsuits and such results have reinforced our continuing belief that state franchise laws were not intended to apply to a manufacturer that does not have franchise dealers anywhere in the world. In some states, there have also been regulatory and legislative efforts by dealer associations to propose laws that, if enacted, would prevent us from obtaining dealer licenses in their states given our current sales model. A few states have passed legislation that clarifies our ability to operate, but at the same time limits the number of dealer licenses we can obtain or stores that we can operate. The application of state laws applicable to our operations continues to be difficult to predict.
Internationally, there may be laws in jurisdictions we have not yet entered or laws we are unaware of in jurisdictions we have entered that may restrict our sales or other business practices. Even for those jurisdictions we have analyzed, the laws in this area can be complex, difficult to interpret and may change over time. Continued regulatory limitations and other obstacles interfering with our ability to sell vehicles directly to consumers may harm our financial condition and operating results.
Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Common Stock
The trading price of our common stock is likely to continue to be volatile.The trading price of our common stock has been highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Our common stock has experienced over the last 52 weeks an intra-day trading high of $488.54 per share and a low of $138.80 per share. The stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In particular, a large proportion of our common stock has been historically and may in the future be traded by short sellers which may put pressure on the supply and demand for our common stock, further influencing volatility in its market price. Public perception of our company or management and other factors outside of our control may additionally impact the stock price of companies like us that garner a disproportionate degree of public attention, regardless of actual operating performance. In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market or the market price of our shares, securities
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class action litigation has been filed against us. While we defend such actions vigorously, any judgment against us or any future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.Our financial results may vary significantly from period to period due to fluctuations in our operating costs and other factors.We expect our period-to-period financial results to vary based on our operating costs, which we anticipate will fluctuate as the pace at which we continue to design, develop and manufacture new products and increase production capacity by expanding our current manufacturing facilities and adding future facilities, may not be consistent or linear between periods. Additionally, our revenues from period to period may fluctuate as we introduce existing products to new markets for the first time and as we develop and introduce new products. As a result of these factors, we believe that quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our financial results, especially in the short term, are not necessarily meaningful and that these comparisons cannot be relied upon as indicators of future performance. Moreover, our financial results may not meet expectations of equity research analysts, ratings agencies or investors, who may be focused only on short-term quarterly financial results. If any of this occurs, the trading price of our stock could fall substantially, either suddenly or over time.We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business, which could cause our stock price to decline.We provide from time to time guidance regarding our expected financial and business performance. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and our guidance may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. Our guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs and planned cost reductions. If our guidance varies from actual results, such as due to our assumptions not being met or the impact on our financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of our common stock could decline significantly.
If Elon Musk were forced to sell shares of our common stock, either that he has pledged to secure certain personal loan obligations, or in satisfaction of other obligations, such sales could cause our stock price to decline.
Certain banking institutions have made extensions of credit to Elon Musk, our Chief Executive Officer, a portion of which was used to purchase shares of common stock in certain of our public offerings and private placements at the same prices offered to third-party participants in such offerings and placements. We are not a party to these loans, which are partially secured by pledges of a portion of the Tesla common stock currently owned by Mr. Musk. If the price of our common stock were to decline substantially, Mr. Musk may be forced by one or more of the banking institutions to sell shares of Tesla common stock to satisfy his loan obligations if he could not do so through other means. Any such sales could cause the price of our common stock to decline further. Further, Mr. Musk from time to time may commit to investing in significant business or other ventures, and as a result, be required to sell shares of our common stock in satisfaction of such commitments.Anti-takeover provisions contained in our governing documents, applicable laws and certain of our debt facilities could impair a takeover attempt.Our certificate of formation and bylaws afford certain rights and powers to our board of directors that may facilitate the delay or prevention of an acquisition that it deems undesirable. We are also subject to Section 21.606 of the Texas Business Organizations Code and other provisions of Texas law that limit the ability of stockholders in certain situations to effect certain business combinations. In addition, a change in control may cause the acceleration of certain of our debt facilities. Any of the foregoing provisions and terms that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
FY 2025-12-31 (later)
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the risks described below together with the other information set forth in this report, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and future results. The risks described below are not the only risks facing our company. Risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Risks Related to Our Ability to Grow Our BusinessWe may experience issues or delays in developing, launching and ramping the production of our products, services and features, or we may be unable to control our manufacturing costs.
We are developing new technologies and services, unique manufacturing processes and design features in our products. There is no guarantee we will be able to successfully develop or timely introduce and scale these new products, services and features, or that there will be widespread consumer adoption. We also have previously experienced and may in the future experience launch and production ramp delays.
In particular, our future business depends on development of our driver assistance systems and autonomous driving solutions and increasing the production of mass-market vehicles, including Cybercab, our purpose-built Robotaxi product. In order to be successful, we will need to further advance our capabilities in AI, and implement, maintain and ramp efficient and cost-effective manufacturing capabilities, processes and supply chains and achieve the design tolerances, high quality and output rates we have planned at our manufacturing facilities. We will also need to hire, train and compensate skilled employees to operate these facilities. Bottlenecks and other unexpected challenges such as those we experienced in the past may arise during our production ramps, and we must address them promptly while continuing to improve manufacturing processes and reducing costs. If we are not successful in achieving these goals, we could face delays in establishing and/or sustaining our product ramps or be unable to meet our related cost and profitability targets. Similarly, we are also developing Bots for future commercialization, and we may experience delays in launching and ramping the production of this product.We have experienced, and may also experience similar future delays in launching and/or ramping production of our energy storage products and Solar Roof; new product versions or variants; new vehicles; and future products, features and services based on artificial intelligence. Likewise, we may encounter delays with the design, construction and regulatory or other approvals necessary to build and bring online future manufacturing facilities and products. In addition, as we continue to develop our artificial intelligence services and products, we may face many additional challenges, including the availability and cost of energy, processing power limitations and the substantial power requirements for our data centers.
Any delay or other complication in ramping the production of our current products or the development, manufacture, launch and production ramp of our future products, features and services, or in doing so cost-effectively and with high quality, may harm our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.12Table of ContentsOur suppliers may fail to deliver components according to schedules, prices, quality and volumes that are acceptable to us, or we may be unable to manage these components effectively.
Our products contain thousands of parts purchased globally from hundreds of suppliers, including single-source direct suppliers, which exposes us to multiple potential sources of component shortages. Unexpected changes in business conditions, materials pricing, including inflation of raw material costs, labor issues, wars, trade policies, natural disasters, health epidemics, trade and shipping disruptions, port congestions, cyberattacks and other factors beyond our or our suppliers’ control could also affect these suppliers’ ability to deliver technologies or components to us or to remain solvent and operational. U.S. trade policy alterations in 2025, including heightened import tariffs and subsequent retaliatory measures, have impacted our supply chain costs, and may impact the availability of certain technologies or components, depending on the exact scope of the tariffs ultimately implemented and retaliatory export controls. Additionally, if our suppliers do not accurately forecast and effectively allocate production or if they are not willing to allocate sufficient production to us, or face other challenges such as insolvency, it may reduce our access to components and require us to search for new suppliers. The unavailability of any component or supplier could result in production delays, idle manufacturing facilities, product design changes and loss of access to important technology and tools for producing and supporting our products, as well as impact our capacity expansion and our ability to fulfill our obligations under customer contracts. For example, as companies, including Tesla, have made rapid advancements in AI in recent years, such innovation demands exponentially greater compute, memory, energy and thermal resources, which may prove insufficient in scale or affordability to meet our requirements. Moreover, significant increases in our production or product design changes by us have required and may in the future require us to procure additional components in a short amount of time. We have faced in the past, and may face suppliers who are unwilling or unable to sustainably meet our timelines or our cost, quality and volume needs, which may increase our costs or require us to replace them with other sources. Finally, as we construct new manufacturing facilities and add production lines to existing facilities, we may experience issues in correspondingly increasing the level of localized procurement at those facilities. While we believe that we will be able to secure additional or alternate sources or develop our own replacements for most of our components, there is no assurance that we will be able to do so quickly or at all. Additionally, we may be unsuccessful in our continuous efforts to negotiate with existing suppliers to obtain cost reductions and avoid unfavorable changes to terms, source less expensive suppliers for certain parts and redesign certain parts to make them less expensive to produce, especially in the case of increases in materials pricing. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
As the scale and variants of our production increases, we will also need to accurately forecast, purchase, warehouse and transport components at high volumes to our manufacturing facilities and servicing locations internationally. If we are unable to accurately match the timing and quantities of component purchases to our actual needs or successfully implement automation, inventory management and other systems to accommodate the increased complexity in our supply chain and parts management, we may incur unexpected production disruption, storage, transportation and write-off costs, which may harm our business and operating results.
We may be unable to meet our projected construction timelines, costs and production ramps at new factories, or we may experience difficulties in generating and maintaining demand for products manufactured there and related services.
Our ability to increase production of our vehicles and energy products on a sustained basis, make them affordable globally by accessing local supply chains and workforces and streamline delivery logistics is dependent on the construction and ramp of our current and future factories. The construction of and commencement and ramp of production at these factories are subject to a number of uncertainties inherent in all new manufacturing operations, including ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements, procurement and maintenance of construction, environmental and operational licenses and permitting, supply chain constraints, hiring, training and retention of qualified employees and the pace of bringing production equipment and processes online with the capability to manufacture high-quality units at scale. Moreover, we will have to establish and ramp production of our proprietary battery cells and packs at our new factories, and we additionally intend to incorporate sequential design and manufacturing changes into vehicles and energy products manufactured at each new factory. If we experience any issues or delays in meeting our projected timelines, costs, capital efficiency and production capacity for our new factories, expanding and managing teams to implement iterative design and production changes there, maintaining and complying with the terms of any debt financing that we obtain to fund them or generating and maintaining demand for the vehicles and energy products we manufacture there, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition may be harmed. Such delays could also in turn affect our ability to meet demand for our services, such as Robotaxi, which are dependent upon the production and deployment of Tesla vehicles.We may be unable to grow our global product sales, delivery and installation capabilities and our servicing and vehicle charging networks, or we may be unable to accurately project and effectively manage our growth.Our success will depend on our ability to continue to expand our sales capabilities. We are targeting a global mass demographic with a broad range of potential customers, in which we have relatively limited experience projecting demand
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and pricing our products. We currently produce numerous international variants at a limited number of factories, and if our specific demand expectations for these variants prove inaccurate, we may not be able to timely generate deliveries matched to the vehicles that we produce in the same timeframe or that are commensurate with the size of our operations in a given region. Likewise, as we develop and grow our energy products and services worldwide, our success will similarly depend on our ability to correctly forecast demand in various markets.Because we do not have independent dealer networks, we are responsible for delivering all of our vehicles to our customers. As our production volumes continue to grow, we have faced in the past, and may face challenges with deliveries at increasing volumes, particularly in international markets requiring significant transit times. We have also deployed a number of delivery models, such as deliveries to customers’ homes and workplaces and touchless deliveries, but there is no guarantee that such models will be scalable or be accepted globally. Likewise, as we ramp our energy products, we are working to substantially increase our production and installation capabilities. If we experience production delays or inaccurately forecast demand, our business, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.Moreover, because of our unique expertise with our vehicles, we recommend that our vehicles be serviced by us or by certain authorized professionals. If we experience delays in adding servicing capacity or servicing our vehicles efficiently, or experience unforeseen issues with the reliability of our vehicles, particularly higher-volume additions to our fleet such as Model 3 and Model Y, it could overburden our servicing capabilities and parts inventory. Similarly, the increasing number of Tesla vehicles also requires us to continue to rapidly increase the number of our Supercharger stations and connectors throughout the world. As we seek to expand our Robotaxi and Semi business we must also accurately forecast, develop and optimize our service and charging capabilities to ensure service quality.There is no assurance that we will be able to ramp our business to meet our sales, delivery, installation, servicing and vehicle charging targets globally, that our projections on which such targets are based will prove accurate or that the pace of growth or coverage of our customer infrastructure network will meet customer expectations. These plans require significant cash investments and management resources and there is no guarantee that they will generate additional sales or installations of our products, or that we will be able to avoid cost overruns or be able to hire additional personnel to support them. As we expand, we will also need to ensure our compliance with regulatory requirements in various jurisdictions applicable to the sale, installation and servicing of our products, the sale or dispatch of electricity related to our energy products and the operation of Superchargers. If we fail to manage our growth effectively, it may harm our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We will need to maintain and significantly grow our access to battery cells, including through the development and manufacture of our own cells, and control our related costs.We are dependent on the continued supply of lithium-ion battery cells for our vehicles and energy storage products, and we will require substantially more cells to grow our business according to our plans. Currently, we rely on suppliers such as Panasonic and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) for these cells. We have to date fully qualified only a very limited number of such suppliers and have limited flexibility in changing suppliers. Any disruption in the supply of battery cells from our suppliers could limit production of our vehicles and energy storage products. In the long term, we intend to supplement cells from our suppliers with cells manufactured by us, which we believe will be more efficient, manufacturable at greater volumes and more cost-effective than currently available cells. However, our efforts to develop and manufacture such battery cells have required, and may continue to require, significant investments, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve these targets in the timeframes that we have planned or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may have to curtail our planned vehicle and energy storage product production or procure additional cells from suppliers at potentially greater costs, either of which may harm our business and operating results.
In addition, the cost and mass production of battery cells, whether manufactured by our suppliers or by us, depends in part upon the prices and availability of raw materials such as lithium, nickel and/or other metals. The prices for these materials fluctuate and their available supply may be unstable, depending on market conditions, trade policies, refining capacity and global demand for these materials. For example, as a result of increased global production of electric vehicles and energy storage products, suppliers of these raw materials may be unable to meet our volume needs. Additionally, our suppliers may not be willing or able to reliably meet our timelines or our cost and quality needs, which may require us to replace them with other sources. Any reduced availability of these materials may impact our access to cells and our growth, and any increases in their prices may reduce our profitability if we cannot recoup such costs through increased prices. Moreover, our inability to meet demand and any product price increases may harm our brand, growth, prospects and operating results.
14Table of ContentsOur future growth and success are dependent upon demand for our electric vehicles and adoption of autonomous driving solutions.
If the market for electric vehicles in general and Tesla vehicles in particular does not develop as we expect, develops more slowly than we expect, or if demand for our vehicles decreases in our markets or our vehicles compete with each other, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.In addition, electric vehicles still constitute a small percentage of overall vehicle sales. As a result, the market for our vehicles could be negatively affected by numerous factors, such as:
• perceptions about electric vehicle features, quality, safety, performance and cost;
• perceptions about the limited range over which electric vehicles may be driven on a single battery charge, and access to charging facilities;
• competition, including from other types of alternative fuel vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and high fuel-economy internal combustion engine vehicles;
• volatility in the cost of oil, gasoline and energy;
• government regulations and economic incentives and conditions; and
• concerns about our future viability.
The target demographics for our vehicles are highly competitive. Sales of vehicles in the automotive industry tend to be cyclical in many markets, which may expose us to further volatility. We also cannot predict the duration or direction of current global trends or their sustained impact on consumer demand. Ultimately, we continue to monitor macroeconomic conditions to remain flexible and to optimize and evolve our business as appropriate, and attempt to accurately project demand and infrastructure requirements globally and deploy our production, workforce and other resources accordingly. Rising interest rates may lead to consumers to increasingly pull back spending, including on our products, which may harm our demand, business and operating results. If we experience unfavorable global market conditions, or if we cannot or do not maintain operations at a scope that is commensurate with such conditions or are later required to or choose to suspend such operations again, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.Upon launching our Robotaxi service in June 2025, we also entered into the autonomous ride-hailing service market, and have plans to mass produce Cybercab, a purpose-built Robotaxi product. As we seek to expand the scope and geographical footprint of this business, our success will be dependent upon various factors, including the acceptance and adoption by consumers of autonomous driving solutions, and Robotaxi as a preferable option, amid growing competition. If the uptake rate for autonomous driving solutions does not develop as we expect, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.We face strong competition for our products and services from a growing list of established and new competitors.The worldwide automotive market is highly competitive today and we expect it will become even more so in the future. A significant and growing number of established and new automobile manufacturers, as well as other companies, have entered, or are reported to have plans to enter, the market for electric and other alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, as well as the market for self-driving technology and services and other vehicle applications and software platforms. In addition, certain government and economic incentives which provide benefits to manufacturers who assemble domestically or have local suppliers, may provide a greater benefit to our competitors, which could negatively impact our profitability. Many of our competitors have significantly more or better-established resources than we do to devote to the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, sale and support of their products and services, and may achieve additional cost efficiencies owing to location and economic environments. Increased competition could result in our lower vehicle unit sales, price reductions, revenue shortfalls, loss of customers and loss of market share, which may harm our business, financial condition and operating results.We also face competition in our energy generation and storage business from other manufacturers, developers, installers and service providers of competing energy technologies, as well as from large utilities. In addition, decreases in the retail or wholesale prices of electricity from utilities or other renewable energy sources could make our products less attractive to customers and lead to an increased rate of customer defaults.Growth of our business is also dependent upon our ability to develop and commercialize Bots, including Optimus, which is in a nascent industry that has yet to develop commercially.
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We currently are developing Bots, including Optimus, and intend for these products, as well as accompanying services, to be an important part of our business going forward. While this development requires significant cash investments and management resources, there is no guarantee this business will be successful. We have yet to commercialize Bots and cannot predict how demand for Bots will develop, either from commercial or consumer applications. We also face significant competition from other companies that are designing, developing and building robotics applications. Our success will depend on various factors, including our ability to successfully apply our artificial neural network training experience to autonomous robots, to either source or custom develop the necessary technology and components, and the product’s cost-effectiveness, utility and competitive positioning relative to market alternatives. If our Bots program fails to develop as we expect, or progresses more slowly than expected, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.Risks Related to Our Operations
We may experience issues with lithium-ion cells or other components manufactured at our Gigafactories, which may harm the production and profitability of our vehicle and energy storage products.Our plan to grow the volume and profitability of our vehicles and energy storage products depends on significant lithium-ion battery cell production. We also produce several vehicle components at our Gigafactories, such as battery modules and packs and drive units, and manufacture energy storage products. If we are unable to or otherwise do not maintain and grow our respective operations, or if we are unable to do so cost-effectively or hire and retain highly-skilled personnel there, our ability to manufacture our products profitably would be limited, which may harm our business and operating results.Finally, the high volumes of lithium-ion cells and battery modules and packs manufactured by us and by our suppliers are stored and recycled at our various facilities. Any mishandling of these products may cause disruption to the operation of such facilities. While we have implemented safety procedures related to the handling of the cells, there can be no assurance that a safety issue or fire related to the cells would not disrupt our operations. Any such disruptions or issues may harm our brand and business.
We face risks associated with maintaining and expanding our international operations, including unfavorable and uncertain regulatory, political, economic, tax and labor conditions.We are subject to legal and regulatory requirements, political uncertainty and social, environmental and economic conditions in numerous jurisdictions, including markets in which we generate significant sales. We have little control over these matters which are inherently unpredictable. Our operations in such jurisdictions, particularly as a company based in the U.S., with additional manufacturing operations in China and Europe, create risks relating to conforming our products to regulatory and safety requirements and charging and other electric infrastructures; organizing local operating entities; establishing, staffing and managing foreign business locations; attracting local customers; navigating U.S. and foreign government taxes, regulations and permit requirements; enforceability of our contractual rights; trade restrictions, customs regulations, tariffs and price or exchange controls; and preferences in foreign nations for domestically manufactured products. For example, we monitor tax legislation changes on a global basis, including changes arising as a result of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s multi-jurisdictional plan of action to address base erosion and profit shifting. Further, the United States has recently announced changes to U.S. trade policy, including increasing tariffs on imports, in many cases significantly, and potentially renegotiating or terminating existing trade agreements. The exact scope of any such tariffs that will ultimately be implemented is not known at this time, and the impacts on our business and costs of our products is uncertain. Retaliatory tariffs imposed by other countries on U.S. exports, further increases in U.S. tariffs, and the uncertainties surrounding domestic and foreign tariffs have impacted the pricing for our products, which could adversely impact demand. We cannot predict whether, and to what extent, there may be changes to international trade agreements, such as those with China, or whether, or to what extent, quotas, duties, additional tariffs, export controls or other restrictions will be changed or imposed by the United States or by other countries. Historically, U.S. special tariff actions have increased our costs for vehicles manufactured in the United States and increased costs for those same vehicles when exported from the United States. Further, as it pertains to electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries for our energy storage products, while the Company has continuously aimed for a strong domestic supply chain, certain parts and components are difficult or impossible to source within the United States. A change on any of these conditions may increase our costs, impact our ability to sell our products and require significant management attention, and may harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results if we are unable to manage them effectively.Our business may suffer if our products or features contain defects, fail to perform as expected or take longer than expected to become fully functional.If our products contain design or manufacturing defects, whether relating to our software or hardware, that cause them not to perform as designed or intended or that require repair, or certain features of our vehicles such as new driver
16Table of Contentsassistance features take longer than expected to become enabled, are legally restricted or become subject to onerous regulation, our ability to develop, market and sell our products and services may be harmed, and we may experience delivery delays, product recalls, allegations of product liability, breach of warranty and related consumer protection claims and significant warranty and other expenses. While we are continuously working to develop and improve our products’ capability and performance, there is no guarantee that any incremental changes in the specific software or equipment we deploy in our vehicles over time will not result in initial functional disparities from prior iterations or will perform as forecast in the timeframe we anticipate, or at all. Although we attempt to remedy any issues we observe in our products as effectively and rapidly as possible, such efforts may not be timely, may hamper production or may not completely satisfy our customers. We have performed, and continue to perform, extensive internal testing on our products and features, though, like the rest of the industry, we currently have a limited frame of reference by which to evaluate certain aspects of their long-term quality, reliability, durability and performance characteristics, including exposure to or consequence of external attacks. While we attempt to identify and address or remedy defects we identify pre-production and sale, over time-in-use, defects we were unable to detect or control for may manifest that could not have reasonably been addressed prior to original sale or installations.We may be required to defend or insure against product liability claims.The automobile industry generally experiences significant product liability claims, and as such we face the risk of such claims in the event our vehicles do not perform or are claimed to not perform as expected. As is true for other automakers, our vehicles have been involved and we expect in the future will be involved in collisions resulting in death or personal injury. Such collisions, whether involving Robotaxi vehicles or customer vehicles with driver assistance features engaged, are often subject of significant public attention, especially in light of NHTSA’s Standing General Order requiring reports regarding certain crashes involving vehicles with advanced driver assistance or autonomous driving systems. We have experienced, and we expect to continue to face, claims and regulatory scrutiny arising from or related to misuse or claimed failures or alleged misrepresentations of the technologies that we are pioneering. An unfavorable outcome in some or all of these proceedings could have a material adverse impact on results of operations or cash flows for a particular period. Our view of these matters is subject to inherent uncertainties and may change in the future. In addition, the battery packs that we produce make use of lithium-ion cells. On rare occasions, lithium-ion cells can rapidly release the energy they contain by venting smoke and flames in a manner that can ignite nearby materials as well as other lithium-ion cells. While we have designed our battery packs to passively contain any single cell’s release of energy without spreading to neighboring cells, there can be no assurance that a field or testing failure of our vehicles or other battery packs that we produce will not occur, in particular due to a high-speed crash. Likewise, as our energy generation and storage products generate and store electricity, they have the potential to fail or cause injury to people or property. Any product liability claim may subject us to lawsuits and substantial monetary damages, product recalls or redesign efforts, and even a meritless claim may require us to defend it, all of which may generate negative publicity and be expensive and time-consuming. In most jurisdictions, we generally self-insure against the risk of product liability claims for vehicle exposure, meaning that any product liability claims will likely have to be paid from company funds and not by insurance.We will need to maintain public credibility and confidence in our long-term business prospects in order to succeed.In order to maintain and grow our business, we must maintain credibility and confidence among customers, suppliers, analysts, investors, ratings agencies and other parties in our long-term financial viability and business prospects. Maintaining such confidence may be challenging due to our limited operating history relative to established competitors; customer unfamiliarity with our products and services; any delays we may experience in scaling manufacturing, delivery and service operations to meet demand; competition and uncertainty regarding the future of electric vehicles, autonomous solutions or our other products and services; our quarterly production and sales performance compared with market expectations; and other factors including those over which we have no control. In particular, Tesla’s products, business, results of operations, and statements and actions of Tesla and its management are subject to significant amounts of commentary by a range of third parties. Such attention can include criticism, which may be exaggerated or unfounded, such as speculation regarding the sufficiency or stability of our management team, and has incited protests, some escalating to violence targeting our operations, products and personnel. Any such negative perceptions, whether caused by us or not, may harm our brand and our business (including sales) and make it more difficult to raise additional funds if needed.We may be unable to effectively grow, or manage the compliance, residual value, financing and credit risks related to, our various financing programs.We offer financing arrangements for our vehicles in North America, Europe and Asia primarily ourselves and through various financial institutions. We also currently offer vehicle financing arrangements directly through our local subsidiaries in certain markets. Depending on the country, such arrangements are available for specified models and may include operating leases directly with us under which we typically receive only a very small portion of the total vehicle
17Table of Contentspurchase price at the time of lease, followed by a stream of payments over the term of the lease. We have also offered various arrangements for customers of our energy generation and storage systems whereby they pay us a fixed payment to lease or finance the purchase of such systems or purchase electricity generated by them. If we do not successfully monitor and comply with applicable national, state and/or local financial regulations and consumer protection laws governing these transactions, we may become subject to enforcement actions or penalties.
The profitability of any directly-leased vehicles returned to us at the end of their leases depends on our ability to accurately project our vehicles’ residual values at the outset of the leases, and such values may fluctuate prior to the end of their terms depending on various factors such as supply and demand of our used vehicles, economic cycles, legislative changes and the pricing of new vehicles. We have made in the past and may make in the future certain adjustments to our prices from time to time in the ordinary course of business, which may impact the residual values of our vehicles and reduce the profitability of our vehicle leasing program. The funding and growth of this program also rely on our ability to secure adequate financing and/or business partners. If we are unable to adequately fund our leasing program through internal funds, partners or other financing sources, and compelling alternative financing programs are not available for our customers who may expect or need such options, we may be unable to grow our vehicle deliveries. Furthermore, if our vehicle leasing business grows substantially, our business may suffer if we cannot effectively manage the resulting greater levels of residual risk.
Similarly, we have provided residual value guarantees to vehicle customers and partners for certain financing programs, under which such counterparties may sell their vehicles through various remarketing channels, including back to Tesla. However, actual resale values are subject to fluctuations over the term of the financing arrangements, such as from one or more of the factors discussed above. If the actual resale values of any vehicles resold by our vehicle customers and partners are lower than the residual values we have agreed to with them, the residual value guarantees may be triggered and, as a result, our financial condition and operating results may be harmed.
Finally, our financing and sales programs also expose us to customer credit risk. In the event of a widespread economic downturn or other catastrophic event, our customers may be unable or unwilling to satisfy their payment obligations to us on a timely basis or at all. If a significant number of our customers default, we may incur substantial credit losses and/or impairment charges with respect to the underlying assets.If we are unable to attract, hire and retain key employees and qualified personnel, our ability to compete may be harmed.
The loss of the services of any of our key employees or any significant portion of our workforce could disrupt our operations or delay the development, introduction and ramp of our products and services. In particular, we are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla and our Chief Executive Officer. None of our key employees is bound by an employment agreement for any specific term and we may not be able to successfully attract and retain senior leadership necessary to grow our business. Our future success also depends upon our ability to attract, hire and retain a large number of engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales and delivery, service, installation, technology and support personnel, especially to support our planned high-volume product sales, market and geographical expansion and technological innovations. If we are not successful in managing these risks, our business, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.Employees may leave Tesla or choose other employers over Tesla due to various factors, such as a very competitive labor market for talented individuals with automotive or technology, including AI, experience, or any negative publicity related to us. In regions where we have or will have operations, particularly significant engineering and manufacturing centers, there is strong competition for individuals with skillsets needed for our business, including specialized knowledge of electric vehicles, engineering and electrical and building construction expertise. We also compete with both mature and prosperous companies that have far greater financial resources than we do and start-ups and emerging companies that promise short-term growth opportunities.
Finally, our compensation philosophy for all of our personnel reflects our startup origins, with an emphasis on equity-based awards and benefits in order to closely align their incentives with the long-term interests of our shareholders. We periodically seek and obtain approval from our shareholders for future increases to the number of awards available under our equity incentive and employee stock purchase plans. If we are unable to obtain the requisite shareholder approvals for such future increases, we may have to expend additional cash to compensate our employees and our ability to retain and hire qualified personnel may be harmed.
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We are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla and our Chief Executive Officer.We are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla and our Chief Executive Officer. Although Mr. Musk spends significant time with Tesla and is highly active in our management, he does not devote his full time and attention to Tesla. For example: Mr. Musk also currently holds management positions at Space Exploration Technologies Corp., X.AI Holdings Corp. (“xAI”), Neuralink Corp. and The Boring Company, and is involved in other ventures.Our information technology systems or data, or those of our service providers or customers or users could be subject to cyber-attacks or other security incidents, which could result in data breaches, intellectual property theft, claims, litigation, regulatory investigations, significant liability, reputational damage and other adverse consequences.We continue to expand our information technology systems as our operations grow, such as product data management, procurement, inventory management, production planning and execution, sales, service and logistics, dealer management, financial, tax and regulatory compliance systems. This includes the implementation of new internally developed systems and the deployment of such systems in the U.S. and abroad. While we maintain information technology measures designed to protect us against intellectual property theft, data breaches, sabotage and other external or internal cyber-attacks or misappropriation, our systems and those of our service providers are potentially vulnerable to malware, ransomware, viruses, denial-of-service attacks, phishing attacks, social engineering, computer hacking, unauthorized access, exploitation of bugs, defects and vulnerabilities, breakdowns, damage, interruptions, system malfunctions, power outages, terrorism, acts of vandalism, security breaches, security incidents, inadvertent or intentional actions by employees or other third parties, and other cyber-attacks.
To the extent any security incident results in unauthorized access or damage to or acquisition, use, corruption, loss, destruction, alteration or dissemination of our data, including intellectual property and personal information, or our products, vehicles or service offerings, or for it to be believed or reported that any of these occurred, it could disrupt our business, harm our reputation, compel us to comply with applicable data breach notification laws, subject us to time consuming, distracting and expensive litigation, regulatory investigation and oversight, mandatory corrective action, require us to verify the correctness of database contents, or otherwise subject us to liability under laws, regulations and contractual obligations, including those that protect the privacy and security of personal information. This could result in increased costs to us and result in significant legal and financial exposure and/or reputational harm.We also rely on service providers, and similar incidents relating to their information technology systems could also have a material adverse effect on our business. There have been and may continue to be significant supply chain attacks. Our service providers, including our workforce management software provider, have been subject to ransomware and other security incidents, and we cannot guarantee that our or our service providers’ systems have not been breached or that they do not contain exploitable defects, bugs, or vulnerabilities that could result in a security incident, or other disruption to, our or our service providers’ systems. Our ability to monitor our service providers’ security measures is limited, and, in any event, malicious third parties may be able to circumvent those security measures.
Further, the implementation, maintenance, segregation and improvement of these systems require significant management time, support and cost, and there are inherent risks associated with developing, improving and expanding our core systems as well as implementing new systems and updating current systems, including disruptions to the related areas of business operation. These risks may affect our ability to manage our data and inventory, procure parts or supplies or manufacture, sell, deliver and service products, adequately protect our intellectual property or achieve and maintain compliance with, or realize available benefits under, tax laws and other applicable regulations.
Moreover, if we do not successfully implement, maintain or expand these systems as planned, our operations may be disrupted, our ability to accurately and/or timely report our financial results could be impaired and deficiencies may arise in our internal control over financial reporting, which may impact our ability to certify our financial results. Moreover, our proprietary information, including intellectual property and personal information, could be compromised or misappropriated and our reputation may be adversely affected. If these systems or their functionality do not operate as we expect them to, we may be required to expend significant resources to make corrections or find alternative sources for performing these functions.19Table of Contents
Any unauthorized control or manipulation of our products’ systems could result in loss of confidence in us and our products.
Our products contain complex information technology systems. For example, our vehicles and energy storage products are designed with built-in data connectivity to accept and install periodic remote updates from us to improve or update their functionality. While we have implemented security measures intended to prevent unauthorized access to our information technology networks, our products and their systems, malicious entities have reportedly attempted, and may attempt in the future, to gain unauthorized access to modify, alter and use such networks, products and systems to gain control of, or to change, our products’ functionality, user interface and performance characteristics or to gain access to data stored in or generated by our products. We encourage reporting of potential vulnerabilities in the security of our products through our security vulnerability reporting policy, and we aim to remedy any reported and verified vulnerability. However, there can be no assurance that any vulnerabilities will not be exploited before they can be identified, or that our remediation efforts are or will be successful.
Any unauthorized access to or control of our products or their systems or any loss of data could result in legal claims or government investigations. In addition, regardless of their veracity, reports of unauthorized access to our products, their systems or data, as well as other factors that may result in the perception that our products, their systems or data are capable of being hacked, may harm our brand, prospects and operating results. We have been the subject of such reports in the past.
Our business may be adversely affected by any disruptions caused by union activities.It is not uncommon for employees of certain trades at companies such as ours to belong to a union, which can result in higher employee costs and increased risk of work stoppages. Moreover, regulations in some jurisdictions outside of the U.S. mandate employee participation in industrial collective bargaining agreements and work councils with certain consultation rights with respect to the relevant companies’ operations. Although we work diligently to provide the best possible work environment for our employees, they may still decide to join or seek recognition to form a labor union, or we may be required to become a union signatory. From time to time, labor unions have engaged in campaigns to organize certain parts of our operations, as part of which such unions have filed unfair labor practice charges against us with the National Labor Relations Board, and they may do so in the future. Any unfavorable ultimate outcome for Tesla may have a negative impact on the perception of Tesla’s treatment of our employees. Furthermore, we are directly or indirectly dependent upon companies with unionized work forces, such as suppliers and trucking and freight companies. Any work stoppages or strikes organized by such unions could delay the manufacture and sale of our products and may harm our business and operating results.We may choose to or be compelled to undertake product recalls or take other similar actions.As a manufacturing company, we must manage the risk of product recalls with respect to our products. Recalls for our vehicles have resulted from various hardware and software-related safety or non-compliance investigations. In addition to recalls initiated by us for various causes, testing of or investigations into our products by government regulators or industry groups may compel us to initiate product recalls or may result in negative public perceptions about the safety of our products, even if we disagree with the defect determination or have data that contradicts it. In the future, we may voluntarily or involuntarily initiate recalls or field actions if any of our products are determined by us or a regulator to contain a safety defect or be noncompliant with applicable laws and regulations, such as U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, or provide certain functionalities. Such recalls or field actions, whether voluntary or involuntary or caused by systems or components engineered or manufactured by us or our suppliers, could result in significant expense, supply chain complications and service burdens, and may harm our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.Our current and future warranty reserves may be insufficient to cover future warranty claims.We provide a manufacturer’s warranty on all new and used Tesla vehicles we sell directly to customers. We also provide certain warranties with respect to the energy generation and storage systems we sell, including on their installation and maintenance. For components not manufactured by us, we generally pass through to our customers the applicable manufacturers’ warranties, but may retain some warranty responsibilities for some or all of the life of such components. As part of our energy generation and storage system contracts, we may provide the customer with availability or performance guarantees that guarantee that the underlying system will meet or exceed certain availability or minimum energy generation or other energy performance requirements specified in the contract. Under these guarantees, we may bear the risk of electricity production or other performance shortfalls, including in some cases shortfalls caused by failures in components from third party manufacturers. These risks are exacerbated in the event such manufacturers cease operations or fail to honor their warranties.
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If our warranty reserves are inadequate to cover future warranty claims on our products, our financial condition and operating results may be harmed. Warranty reserves include our management’s best estimates of the projected costs to repair or to replace items under warranty, which are based on actual claims incurred to date and an estimate of the nature, frequency and costs of future claims. Such estimates are inherently uncertain and changes to our historical or projected experience, especially with respect to products that we have introduced relatively recently and/or that we expect to produce at significantly greater volumes than our past products, may cause material changes to our warranty reserves in the future.
Our insurance coverage strategy may not be adequate to protect us from all business risks.
We may be subject, in the ordinary course of business, to losses resulting from products liability, accidents, acts of God and other claims against us, for which we may have no insurance coverage. As a general matter, we do not maintain as much insurance coverage as many other companies do, and in some cases, we do not maintain any at all. Additionally, the policies that we do have may include significant deductibles or self-insured retentions, policy limitations and exclusions, and we cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be sufficient to cover all future losses or claims against us. A loss that is uninsured or which exceeds policy limits may require us to pay substantial amounts, which may harm our financial condition and operating results.
Our debt agreements contain covenant restrictions that may limit our ability to operate our business.
The terms of certain of our debt facilities contain, and any of our other future debt agreements may contain, covenant restrictions that may limit our ability to operate our business, including restrictions on our and/or our subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things, incur additional debt or create liens. In addition, under certain circumstances we are required to maintain a certain amount of liquidity. As a result of these covenants, our ability to respond to changes in business and economic conditions and engage in beneficial transactions, including to obtain additional financing as needed, may be restricted. Furthermore, our failure to comply with our debt covenants could result in a default under our debt agreements, which could permit the holders to accelerate our obligation to repay the debt. If any of our debt is accelerated, we may not have sufficient funds available to repay it.
Additional funds may not be available to us when we need or want them.Our business and our future plans for expansion, supporting infrastructure for our businesses, and AI innovations, including growth in our fleet of AI-enabled company-operated assets and new businesses, such as our development and production of Bots, are capital-intensive, and the specific timing of cash inflows and outflows may fluctuate substantially from period to period. We may need or want to raise additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-related or debt securities or through obtaining credit from financial institutions to fund, together with our principal sources of liquidity, the costs of developing and manufacturing our current or future products, to pay any significant unplanned or accelerated expenses or for new significant strategic investments, or to refinance our significant consolidated indebtedness, even if not required to do so by the terms of such indebtedness. We cannot be certain that additional funds will be available to us on favorable terms when required, or at all. If we cannot raise additional funds when we need them, our financial condition, results of operations, business and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
We may be negatively impacted by any early obsolescence of our manufacturing and other equipment.
We depreciate the cost of our manufacturing and other equipment over their expected useful lives. However, product cycles or technology may change periodically, and we may decide to update our products or processes more quickly than expected. Moreover, improvements in engineering and manufacturing expertise and efficiency may result in our ability to manufacture our products using less of our currently installed equipment. Alternatively, as we ramp and mature the production of our products and services to higher levels, we may discontinue the use of already installed equipment in favor of different or additional equipment. The useful life of any equipment that would be retired early as a result would be shortened, causing such depreciation to be accelerated, and our results of operations may be harmed.There is no guarantee that we will have sufficient cash flow from our business to pay our indebtedness or that we will not incur additional indebtedness.As of December 31, 2025, we and our subsidiaries had outstanding $8.18 billion in aggregate principal amount of indebtedness (see Note 9, Debt , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K). Our consolidated indebtedness may increase our vulnerability to any generally adverse economic and industry conditions. We and our subsidiaries may, subject to the limitations in the terms of our existing and future indebtedness, incur additional debt, secure existing or future debt or recapitalize our debt.
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Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal and interest on our indebtedness when due, or to refinance our indebtedness as we may need or desire, depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not continue to generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to satisfy our obligations under our existing indebtedness and any future indebtedness we may incur, and to make necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as reducing or delaying investments or capital expenditures, selling assets, refinancing or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. Our ability to refinance existing or future indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. In addition, our ability to make payments may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our future indebtedness. We may not be able to engage in these activities on desirable terms or at all, which may result in a default on our existing or future indebtedness and harm our financial condition and operating results.
We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.We transact business globally in multiple currencies and have foreign currency risks related to our revenue, costs of revenue, operating expenses and localized subsidiary debt denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. To the extent we have significant revenues denominated in such foreign currencies, any strengthening of the U.S. dollar would tend to reduce our revenues as measured in U.S. dollars, as we have historically experienced. We have also experienced, and will continue to experience, fluctuations in our net income as a result of gains (losses) on the settlement and the re-measurement of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies that are not the local currency (primarily consisting of our intercompany and cash and cash equivalents balances). In addition, a portion of our costs and expenses have been, and we anticipate will continue to be, denominated in foreign currencies. If we do not have fully offsetting revenues in these currencies and if the value of the U.S. dollar depreciates significantly against these currencies, our costs as measured in U.S. dollars as a percent of our revenues will correspondingly increase and our margins will suffer. As a result, our operating results may be harmed.We may not be able to adequately protect or defend ourselves against intellectual property infringement claims, which may be time-consuming and expensive, or affect the freedom to operate our business.
Our competitors or other third parties may hold or obtain patents, copyrights, trademarks or other proprietary rights that could prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make, use, develop, sell or market our products and services, which could make it more difficult for us to operate our business. From time to time, the holders of such intellectual property rights may assert their rights and urge us to take licenses and/or may bring suits alleging infringement or misappropriation of such rights, which could result in substantial costs, negative publicity and management attention, regardless of merit.
In addition, the effective protection for our brands, technologies, and proprietary information may be limited or unavailable in certain countries, making it difficult to protect our intellectual property from misappropriation or infringement. Although we make reasonable efforts to maintain the confidentiality of our proprietary information, we cannot guarantee that these actions will deter or prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property. The theft or unauthorized use or publication of our trade secrets and confidential information could affect our competitive position.
While we endeavor to obtain and protect the intellectual property rights that we expect will allow us to retain or advance our strategic initiatives in these circumstances, there can be no assurance that we will be able to adequately identify and protect the portions of intellectual property that are strategic to our business, or mitigate the risk of potential suits or other legal demands by third parties. Accordingly, we may consider the entering into licensing agreements with respect to such rights, although no assurance can be given that such licenses can be obtained on acceptable terms or that litigation will not occur, and such licenses and associated litigation could significantly increase our operating expenses. Further, if we are determined to have or believe there is a high likelihood that we have infringed upon a third party’s intellectual property rights, we may be required to cease making, selling or incorporating certain components or intellectual property into the goods and services we offer, to pay substantial damages and/or license royalties, to redesign our products and services and/or to establish and maintain alternative branding for our products and services. In the event that we are required to take one or more such actions, our brand, business, financial condition and operating results may be harmed.Our operations could be adversely affected by events outside of our control, such as natural disasters, wars or health epidemics.We may be impacted by natural disasters, wars and other geopolitical conflicts, health epidemics, weather conditions, the long-term effects of climate change, power outages or other events outside of our control. For example, our Fremont Factory and Gigafactory Nevada are located in seismically active regions in Northern California and Nevada, and our Gigafactory Shanghai is located in a flood-prone area. Moreover, the area in which our Gigafactory Texas is located experienced severe winter storms in the first quarter of 2021 that had a widespread impact on utilities and transportation. If
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major disasters such as earthquakes, floods or other climate-related events occur, geopolitical conflicts impact our ability to access certain facilities or supply chain, or our information system or communication breaks down or operates improperly, our headquarters and production facilities may be seriously damaged, or we may have to stop or delay production and shipment of our products. We may incur expenses or delays relating to such events outside of our control, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.Risks Related to Government Laws and Regulations
Demand for our products and services may be impacted by the status of government and economic incentives supporting the development and adoption of such products.Government and economic incentives that support the development and adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S. and abroad, including certain tax exemptions, tax credits and rebates, may be reduced, eliminated, amended or exhausted from time to time. For example, previously available incentives favoring electric vehicles in certain areas have expired or were cancelled or temporarily unavailable, and in some cases were not eventually replaced or reinstituted, which may have negatively impacted sales. Specifically, recent governmental and regulatory actions have repealed and/or restricted consumer, manufacturing and charging infrastructure tax credits, and certain regulatory credit programs tied to our products. These, and any similar actions in the future, may affect demand for our vehicles, and harm our growth, prospects and operating results, and the loss of previously available tax credits and carbon offset mechanisms may further negatively impact our financial results. In addition, certain government and economic incentives may also be implemented or amended to provide benefits to manufacturers who assemble domestically, have local suppliers or have other characteristics that may not apply to Tesla. Such developments could negatively impact demand for our vehicles, and we and our customers may have to adjust to them, including through pricing modifications.
In addition, certain governmental rebates, tax credits and other financial incentives that are currently available with respect to our solar and energy storage product businesses allow us to lower our costs and encourage customers to buy our products and investors to invest in our solar financing funds. However, these incentives may expire when the allocated funding is exhausted, reduced or terminated as renewable energy adoption rates increase, sometimes without warning. For example, provisions of the OBBBA could affect battery cell expenses and impact costs for our consumers, negatively impacting demand. Compliance with evolving legislation, such as the OBBBA, also requires rigorous traceability of raw materials. If we or our suppliers are unable to provide sufficient documentation to verify the origin of critical minerals, our products may lose eligibility for tax credits and incentives, directly increasing the effective price for our customers and potentially reducing demand. In addition, in jurisdictions where net metering is currently available, our customers receive bill credits from utilities for energy that their energy generation systems generate and export to the grid in excess of the electric load they use. The benefit available under net metering has been or has been proposed to be reduced, altered or eliminated in several jurisdictions, and has also been contested and may continue to be contested before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Any reductions or terminations of such incentives may harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results by making our products less competitive for customers, increasing our cost of capital and adversely impacting our ability to attract investment partners and to form new financing funds for our solar and energy storage assets.We are subject to evolving laws and regulations that could impose substantial costs, legal prohibitions or unfavorable changes upon our operations or products.Our business operations are and will continue to be subject to complex environmental, occupational, health and safety laws and regulations at numerous jurisdictional levels in the U.S., China, Germany and other locations abroad, including laws relating to the use, handling, storage, recycling, disposal and/or human exposure to hazardous materials, product material inputs and post-consumer products and with respect to constructing, expanding and maintaining our facilities and other infrastructure. New, or changes in, environmental and climate change laws, regulations or rules could also lead to increased costs of compliance, including remediations of any discovered issues, and changes to our operations, which may be significant, and any failures to comply could result in significant expenses, delays or fines. In addition, as we have increased our operations, we are and may continue to be subject to increased scrutiny, including litigation and government investigations, that we will need to defend against. If we are unable to successfully defend ourselves in such litigation or government investigations, it may harm our brand, ability to attract and retain qualified employees, business and financial condition. We are also subject to laws and regulations applicable to the supply, manufacture, import, sale, service and performance of our products both domestically and abroad. For example, in countries outside of the U.S., we are required to meet standards relating to vehicle safety, fuel economy and emissions that are often materially different from equivalent requirements in the U.S., thus resulting in additional investment into the vehicles and systems to aim to ensure regulatory compliance in all countries. This process may include official review and certification of our vehicles by
23Table of Contentsforeign regulatory agencies prior to market entry, as well as compliance with foreign reporting and recall management systems requirements.
In particular, we offer in our customer vehicles in certain markets driver assistance features that today assist drivers with certain tedious and potentially dangerous aspects of road travel, but which currently require drivers to remain fully engaged in the driving operation. We also launched our autonomous ride-hailing service in 2025. There are a variety of international, federal and state regulations that may apply to, and may adversely inhibit, the design and capabilities, sale, marketing, registration and operation of driver assistance features, future autonomous capability on customer vehicles, as well as our Robotaxi business. This includes many existing vehicle standards that were drafted assuming the presence of a human driver. Such regulations, including their enforcement or the enforcement policy associated with the regulations, continue to rapidly change, which increases the likelihood of a patchwork of complex or conflicting regulations, or may delay, restrict or prohibit the availability of certain functionalities and vehicle designs, or affect the pace at which we expand our Robotaxi business, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
Finally, as a manufacturer, installer and service provider with respect to energy generation and storage systems, a supplier of electricity generated and stored by certain of the energy generation and storage systems we install for customers, and a provider of grid services through virtual power plant models, we are impacted by federal, state and local regulations and policies concerning the import or export of components, electricity pricing, the interconnection of electricity generation and storage equipment with the electrical grid and the sale of electricity generated by third party-owned systems. If regulations and policies are introduced that adversely impact the import or export of components, or the interconnection, maintenance or use of our solar and energy storage systems, they could deter potential customers from purchasing our solar and energy storage products and services, threaten the economics of our existing contracts and cause us to cease solar and energy storage system sales and services in the relevant jurisdictions, which may harm our business, financial condition and operating results.Any failure by us to comply with a variety of U.S. and international privacy and consumer protection laws may harm us.Any failure by us or our vendors or other business partners to comply with our public privacy notice or with federal, state or international privacy, data protection, artificial intelligence or security laws or regulations relating to the processing, collection, use, retention, security and transfer of personally identifiable information could result in regulatory or litigation-related actions against us, legal liability, fines, damages, ongoing audit requirements and other significant costs. Substantial expenses and operational changes may be required in connection with maintaining compliance with such laws, and even an unsuccessful challenge by customers or regulatory authorities of our activities could result in adverse publicity and could require a costly response from and defense by us. In addition, certain privacy laws are still subject to a high degree of uncertainty as to their interpretation, application and impact, and may require extensive system and operational changes, be difficult to implement, increase our operating costs, adversely impact the cost or attractiveness of the products or services we offer, or result in adverse publicity and harm our reputation. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation applies to the processing of personal information collected from individuals located in the European Union requiring certain data protection measures when handling, with a significant risk of fines for noncompliance. Similarly, our North American operations are subject to complex and changing federal and U.S. state-specific data privacy laws and regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act which imposes certain legal obligations on our use and processing of personal information related to California residents. Many other U.S. states have enacted their own distinct privacy laws and regulations, which often impose different, overlapping, and sometimes conflicting requirements across multiple jurisdictions. Finally, additional privacy and cybersecurity laws have come into effect in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, and other jurisdictions where Tesla has a market presence.These laws continue to develop and may be inconsistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Complying with emerging and changing requirements may cause us to incur substantial costs and make enhancements to relevant data practices. Noncompliance could result in significant penalties or legal liability.In addition to the risks related to general privacy regulation, we may also be subject to specific vehicle manufacturer obligations relating to cybersecurity, data privacy and data localization requirements which place additional risks to our international operations. Risks and penalties could include ongoing audit requirements, data protection authority investigations, legal proceedings by international governmental entities or others resulting in mandated disclosure of sensitive data or other commercially unfavorable terms. Notwithstanding our efforts to protect the security and integrity of our customers’ personal information, we may be required to expend significant resources to comply with data breach requirements if, for example, third parties improperly obtain and use the personal information of our customers or we otherwise experience a data loss with respect to the personal information we process and handle. A major breach of our
24Table of Contentsnetwork security and systems may occur despite defensive measures, and may result in fines, penalties and damages and harm our brand, prospects and operating results.We could be subject to liability, penalties and other restrictive sanctions and adverse consequences arising out of certain governmental investigations and proceedings.We are cooperating with certain government investigations as discussed in Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. To our knowledge, no government agency in any such ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred. However, we cannot predict the outcome or impact of any such ongoing matters, and there exists the possibility that we could be subject to liability, penalties and other restrictive sanctions and adverse consequences if the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice or any other government agency were to pursue legal action in the future. Moreover, we expect to incur costs in responding to related requests for information and subpoenas, and if instituted, in defending against any governmental proceedings.We may face regulatory challenges to or limitations on our ability to sell vehicles directly.
While we intend to continue to leverage our most effective sales strategies, including sales through our website, we may not be able to sell our vehicles through our own stores in certain states in the U.S. with laws that may be interpreted to impose limitations on this direct-to-consumer sales model. It has also been asserted that the laws in some states limit our ability to obtain dealer licenses from state motor vehicle regulators, and such assertions persist. In certain locations, decisions by regulators permitting us to sell vehicles have been, and may be, challenged by dealer associations and others as to whether such decisions comply with applicable state motor vehicle industry laws. We have prevailed in many of these lawsuits and such results have reinforced our continuing belief that state franchise laws were not intended to apply to a manufacturer that does not have franchise dealers anywhere in the world. In some states, there have also been regulatory and legislative efforts by dealer associations to propose laws that, if enacted, would prevent us from obtaining dealer licenses in their states given our current sales model. A few states have passed legislation that clarifies our ability to operate, but at the same time limits the number of dealer licenses we can obtain or stores that we can operate. The application of state laws applicable to our operations continues to be difficult to predict.
Internationally, there may be laws in jurisdictions we have not yet entered or laws we are unaware of in jurisdictions we have entered that may restrict our sales or other business practices. Even for those jurisdictions we have analyzed, the laws in this area can be complex, difficult to interpret and may change over time. Continued regulatory limitations and other obstacles interfering with our ability to sell vehicles directly to consumers may harm our financial condition and operating results.
Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Common Stock
The trading price of our common stock is likely to continue to be volatile.The trading price of our common stock has been highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Our common stock has experienced over the last 52 weeks an intra-day trading high of $498.83 per share and a low of $214.25 per share. The stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In particular, a large proportion of our common stock has been historically and may in the future be traded by short sellers which may put pressure on the supply and demand for our common stock, further influencing volatility in its market price. Public perception of our company or management and other factors outside of our control may additionally impact the stock price of companies like us that garner a disproportionate degree of public attention, regardless of actual operating performance. In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market or the market price of our shares, securities class action litigation has been filed against us. While we defend such actions vigorously, any judgment against us or any future shareholder litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.Our financial results may vary significantly from period to period due to fluctuations in our operating costs and other factors.We expect our period-to-period financial results to vary based on our operating costs, which we anticipate will fluctuate as the pace at which we continue to design, develop and manufacture new products and increase production capacity by expanding our current manufacturing facilities and adding future facilities, may not be consistent or linear between periods. Additionally, our revenues from period to period may fluctuate as we introduce existing products to new
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markets for the first time and as we develop and introduce new products. As a result of these factors, we believe that quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our financial results, especially in the short term, are not necessarily meaningful and that these comparisons cannot be relied upon as indicators of future performance. Moreover, our financial results may not meet expectations of equity research analysts, ratings agencies or investors, who may be focused only on short-term quarterly financial results. If any of this occurs, the trading price of our stock could fall substantially, either suddenly or over time.We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business, which could cause our stock price to decline.We provide from time to time guidance regarding our expected financial and business performance. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and our guidance may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. Our guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to anticipated production and sales volumes, costs and operational efficiencies. If our guidance varies from actual results, such as due to our assumptions not being met or the impact on our financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of our common stock could decline significantly.
There is a risk that the technologies and initiatives associated with the 2025 CEO Performance Award, including the product goals, are misaligned with current or future consumer demand, resulting in our failure to invest in or pursue another opportunity that generates significant financial returns or leads to greater shareholder value.
If the 2025 CEO Performance Award inadvertently directs our focus and resources toward specific technologies that are misaligned with market preferences, or such preferences evolve unfavorably, or customer demand for these innovations does not materialize as anticipated, we may miss opportunities better aligned with other needs. In particular, the product goals may not be indicative of the types of products or services that would, in the long run, generate financial returns necessary to justify the significant market capitalization goals of the 2025 CEO Performance Award. The product goals were designed to incentivize Elon Musk to devote time and energy to development of these products and services, as these products and services are directionally consistent with Mr. Musk’s vision for the future of our company. Our investments in these technologies and initiatives, including those underlying the product goals, frequently involve long development timelines and substantial capital, and there is no assurance that these investments will deliver the expected business, financial or reputational benefits. As a result, misalignment of consumer demand and the technologies and initiatives associated with the 2025 CEO Performance Award, including the product goals, may impair our ability to realize returns on such investments and could lead to strategic misalignment, underperformance or write-downs of related assets, all of which could have a negative impact on our financial performance and stock price.
If Elon Musk were forced to sell shares of our common stock, either that he has the ability to pledge to secure certain personal loan obligations, or in satisfaction of other obligations, such sales could cause our stock price to decline.
Certain banking institutions have in the past made extensions of credit to Elon Musk, our Chief Executive Officer that were secured by pledges of our common stock. If Mr. Musk were to choose to partially secure any loans with pledges of Tesla common stock that he owns, and the price of our common stock were to decline substantially, Mr. Musk may be forced by one or more of the banking institutions to sell shares of Tesla common stock to satisfy his loan obligations if he could not do so through other means. Further, Mr. Musk from time to time may commit to investing in significant business or other ventures, and as a result, be required to sell shares of our common stock in satisfaction of such commitments. Mr. Musk may also sell a portion of his shares in order to satisfy tax obligations relating to the 2018 CEO Performance Award. Any such sales could cause the price of our common stock to decline.Anti-takeover provisions contained in our governing documents, applicable laws and certain of our debt facilities could impair a takeover attempt.Our certificate of formation and bylaws afford certain rights and powers to our board of directors that may facilitate the delay or prevention of an acquisition that it deems undesirable. We are also subject to Section 21.606 of the Texas Business Organizations Code and other provisions of Texas law that limit the ability of shareholders in certain situations to effect certain business combinations. In addition, a change in control may cause the acceleration of certain of our debt facilities. Any of the foregoing provisions and terms that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our shareholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
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Item 7 · Management's Discussion & Analysis
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FY 2024-12-31 (earlier)
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONSThe following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For further discussion of our products and services, technology and competitive strengths, refer to Item 1- Business. For discussion related to changes in financial condition and the results of operations for fiscal year 2023-related items, refer to Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 29, 2024.
Overview and 2024 Highlights
Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. We design, develop, manufacture, lease and sell high-performance fully electric vehicles, solar energy generation systems and energy storage products. We also offer maintenance, installation, operation, charging, insurance, financial and other services related to our products. Additionally, we are increasingly focused on products and services based on AI, robotics and automation.
In 2024, we produced approximately 1,773,000 consumer vehicles and delivered approximately 1,789,000 consumer vehicles. We are focused on profitable growth, including by leveraging existing factories and production lines to introduce new and more affordable products, further improving and deploying our FSD (Supervised) capabilities, including future autonomous capabilities through our purpose-built Robotaxi product, Cybercab, reducing costs, increasing vehicle production, utilized capacity and delivery capabilities, improving and developing our vehicles and battery technologies, vertically integrating and localizing our supply chain, and expanding our global infrastructure, including our service and charging infrastructure.
In 2024, we deployed 31.4 GWh of energy storage products. We are focused on ramping the production and increasing the market penetration of our energy storage products.
In 2024, we recognized total revenues of $97.69 billion, representing an increase of $917 million compared to the prior year. In 2024, our net income attributable to common stockholders was $7.09 billion, representing a decrease of $7.91 billion compared to the prior year, primarily due to the impact of releasing $6.54 billion of our valuation allowance associated with U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets in the fourth quarter of 2023.We continue to ramp production and build and optimize our manufacturing capacity, expand our operations while focusing on further cost reductions and operational efficiencies to enable increased deliveries and deployments of our products, and invest in research and development to accelerate our AI, software, and fleet-based profits for further revenue growth.
We ended 2024 with $36.56 billion in cash and cash equivalents and investments, representing an increase of $7.47 billion from the end of 2023. Our cash flows provided by operating activities were $14.92 billion in 2024 compared to $13.26 billion in 2023, representing an increase of $1.67 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to $11.34 billion in 2024 compared to $8.90 billion in 2023, representing an increase of $2.44 billion. Overall growth has allowed our business to generally fund itself, and we will continue investing in a number of capital-intensive projects and research and development in upcoming periods.32Management Opportunities, Challenges and Uncertainties and 2025 Outlook
Automotive—Production
The following is a summary of the status of production of each of our announced vehicle models in production and under development, as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
Region Vehicle Model(s) Production Status
California Model S / Model X Active
Model 3 / Model Y Active
Shanghai Model 3 / Model Y Active
Berlin Model Y Active
Texas Model Y Active
Cybertruck Active
Cybercab In development
Nevada Tesla Semi Pilot production
TBD Roadster In development
We are focused on growing our manufacturing capacity, which includes capacity for manufacturing newer vehicle models such as our Cybertruck, Tesla Semi and future vehicles utilizing aspects of our next generation platform, and ramping the production at our Gigafactories to their installed production capacities as well as increasing production rate and efficiency at our current factories. The next phase of production growth will depend on the continued ramp at our factories and be initiated by advances in autonomy and the introduction of new products, including those built on our next generation vehicle platform, as well as our ability to add to our available sources of battery cell supply by manufacturing our own cells that we are developing to have high-volume output, lower capital and production costs and longer range. Our goals are to improve vehicle performance, decrease production costs and increase affordability and customer awareness.
These plans are subject to uncertainties inherent in establishing and ramping manufacturing operations, which may be exacerbated by new product and manufacturing technologies we introduce, the number of concurrent international projects, any industry-wide component constraints, labor shortages and any future impact from events outside of our control. For example, during the first quarter of 2024, we experienced a sequential decline in production volumes partially caused by the early phase of the production ramp of the updated Model 3 at our Fremont factory, and factory shutdowns at Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg resulting from shipping diversions caused by the Red Sea conflict and an arson attack. In the first quarter of 2025, as we launch our New Model Y worldwide, we may similarly experience delays or declines in production volumes due to simultaneous manufacturing ramps in facilities on three continents. Moreover, we have set ambitious technological targets with our plans for battery cells as well as for iterative manufacturing and design improvements for our vehicles with each new factory.
Automotive—Demand, Sales, Deliveries and Infrastructure
Our cost reduction efforts, cost innovation strategies, and additional localized procurement and manufacturing are key to our vehicles’ affordability and have allowed us to competitively price our vehicles. We will also continue to generate demand by improving our vehicles’ performance and functionality, including through product offerings and features based on artificial intelligence such as Autopilot, FSD (Supervised), and other software, and delivering new vehicles and vehicle options, such as our launch of the updated Model 3 in 2024, and the New Model Y in the first quarter of 2025. In addition, we have been increasing awareness, and expanding our vehicle financing programs, including attractive leasing terms for our customers.
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However, we operate in a cyclical industry that is sensitive to shifting consumer trends, political and regulatory uncertainty, including with respect to trade and the environment, all of which can be compounded by inflationary pressures, rising energy prices, interest rate fluctuations and the liquidity of enterprise customers. For example, as inflationary pressures increased across the markets in which we operate, central banks in developed countries raised interest rates rapidly and substantially, which impacted the affordability of vehicle lease and finance arrangements. Further, sales of vehicles in the automotive industry also tend to be cyclical in many markets, which may expose us to increased volatility as we expand and adjust our operations. Moreover, as additional competitors enter the marketplace and help bring the world closer to sustainable transportation, we will have to adjust and continue to execute well to maintain our momentum. Additionally, our suppliers’ liquidity and allocation plans may be affected by current challenges in the North American automotive industry, which could reduce our access to components or result in unfavorable changes to cost. These macroeconomic and industry trends have had, and will likely continue to have, an impact on the pricing of, and order rate for our vehicles, and in turn our operating margin. Changes in government and economic policies, incentives or tariffs may also impact our production, sales, cost structure and the competitive landscape. We will continue to adjust accordingly to such developments, and we believe our ongoing cost reduction, including improved production innovation and efficiency at our newest factories and lower logistics costs, and focus on operating leverage will continue to benefit us in relation to our competitors, while our new products will help enable future growth.
As our production increases, we must work constantly to similarly increase vehicle delivery capability so that it does not become a bottleneck on our total deliveries. We are also committed to reducing the percentage of vehicles delivered in the third month of each quarter, which will help to reduce the cost per vehicle. As we expand our manufacturing operations globally, we will also have to continue to increase and staff our delivery, servicing and charging infrastructure accordingly, maintain our vehicle reliability and optimize our Supercharger locations to ensure cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction. In particular, as other automotive manufacturers have announced their adoption of the North American Charging Standard (“NACS”) and agreements with us to utilize our Superchargers, we must correspondingly expand our network in order to ensure adequate availability to meet customer demands. We also remain focused on continued enhancements of the capability and efficiency of our servicing operations.Energy Generation and Storage Demand, Production and DeploymentThe long-term success of this business is dependent upon incremental volume growth. We continue to increase the production and capabilities of our energy storage products to meet high levels of demand, including the introduction of Powerwall 3 in 2024, and the ramps of our Megafactories in Shanghai and Lathrop, California. For Megapack, energy storage deployments can vary meaningfully quarter to quarter depending on the timing of specific project milestones and logistics. As these product lines grow, we will have to maintain adequate battery cell supply for our energy storage products. At the same time, changes in government and economic incentives or tariffs may also impact our sales, cost structure and the competitive landscape.Cash Flow and Capital Expenditure TrendsOur capital expenditures are typically difficult to project beyond the short-term given the number and breadth of our core projects at any given time, and may further be impacted by uncertainties in future global market conditions. We are simultaneously developing and ramping new products, building or ramping manufacturing facilities on three continents, piloting the development and manufacture of new battery cell technologies, expanding our Supercharger network and investing in autonomy and other artificial intelligence enabled training and products, and the pace of our capital spend may vary depending on overall priority among projects, the pace at which we meet milestones, production adjustments to and among our various products, increased capital efficiencies and the addition of new projects. Owing and subject to the foregoing as well as the pipeline of announced projects under development, all other continuing infrastructure growth and varying levels of inflation, we currently expect our capital expenditures to exceed $11.00 billion in 2025 and in each of the following two fiscal years.
Our business has generally been consistently generating cash flow from operations in excess of our level of capital spend, and with better working capital management resulting in shorter days sales outstanding than days payable outstanding, our sales growth is also generally facilitating positive cash generation. We have and will continue to utilize such cash flows, among other things, to invest in autonomy, do more vertical integration, expand our product roadmap and provide financing options to our customers. At the same time, we are likely to see heightened levels of capital expenditures during certain periods depending on the specific pace of our capital-intensive projects and other potential variables such as rising material prices and increases in supply chain and labor expenses resulting from changes in global trade conditions and labor availability. Overall, we expect our ability to be self-funding to continue as long as macroeconomic factors support current trends in our sales.
34Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”). The preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience, as appropriate, and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period to period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be affected.The estimates used for, but not limited to, determining significant economic incentive for resale value guarantee arrangements, sales return reserves, resale value guarantee liabilities, income tax, the collectability of accounts and finance receivables, inventory valuation, warranties, fair value of long-lived assets, goodwill, fair value of financial instruments, fair value and residual value of operating lease vehicles and solar energy systems subject to leases could be impacted. We have assessed the impact and are not aware of any specific events or circumstances that required an update to our estimates and assumptions or materially affected the carrying value of our assets or liabilities as of the date of issuance of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These estimates may change as new events occur and additional information is obtained. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.Revenue Recognition
Automotive SalesAutomotive sales revenue includes revenues related to cash and financing deliveries of new vehicles, and specific other features and services that meet the definition of a performance obligation under Accounting Standards Codification 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”), including access to our FSD (Supervised) features and their ongoing maintenance, internet connectivity, free Supercharging programs and over-the-air software updates. We recognize revenue on automotive sales upon delivery to the customer, which is when the control of a vehicle transfers. Payments are typically received at the point control transfers or in accordance with payment terms customary to the business, except sales we finance for which payments are collected over the contractual loan term. We also recognize a sales return reserve based on historical experience plus consideration for expected future market values, when we offer resale value guarantees or similar buyback terms. Other features and services such as access to our internet connectivity, unlimited free Supercharging and over-the-air software updates are provisioned upon control transfer of a vehicle and recognized over time on a straight-line basis as we have a stand-ready obligation to deliver such services to the customer. Other limited free Supercharging incentives are recognized based on actual usage or expiration, whichever is earlier. We recognize revenue related to these other features and services over the performance period, which is generally the expected ownership life of the vehicle. Revenue related to FSD (Supervised) features is recognized when functionality is delivered to the customer and their ongoing maintenance is recognized over time. For our obligations related to automotive sales, we estimate standalone selling price by considering costs used to develop and deliver the service, third-party pricing of similar options and other information that may be available.Inventory Valuation
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is computed using standard cost for vehicles and energy products, which approximates actual cost on a first-in, first-out basis. We record inventory write-downs for excess or obsolete inventories based upon assumptions about current and future demand forecasts. If our inventory on-hand is in excess of our future demand forecast, the excess amounts are written-off.
We also review our inventory to determine whether its carrying value exceeds the net amount realizable upon the ultimate sale of the inventory. This requires us to determine the estimated selling price of our vehicles less the estimated cost to convert the inventory on-hand into a finished product. Once inventory is written-down, a new, lower cost basis for that inventory is established and subsequent changes in facts and circumstances do not result in the restoration or increase in that newly established cost basis.
Should our estimates of future selling prices or production costs change, additional and potentially material write-downs may be required. A small change in our estimates may result in a material charge to our reported financial results.35WarrantiesWe provide a manufacturer’s warranty on all new and used vehicles and a warranty on the installation and components of the energy generation and storage systems we sell for periods typically between 10 to 25 years. We accrue a warranty reserve for the products sold by us, which includes our best estimate of the projected costs to repair or replace items under warranties and recalls if identified. These estimates are based on actual claims incurred to date and an estimate of the nature, frequency and costs of future claims. These estimates are inherently uncertain and changes to our historical or projected warranty experience may cause material changes to the warranty reserve in the future. The warranty reserve does not include projected warranty costs associated with our vehicles subject to operating lease accounting and our solar energy systems under lease contracts or PPAs, as the costs to repair these warranty claims are expensed as incurred. The portion of the warranty reserve expected to be incurred within the next 12 months is included within Accrued liabilities and other, while the remaining balance is included within Other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. For liabilities that we are entitled to receive indemnification from our suppliers, we record receivables for the contractually obligated amounts on the consolidated balance sheets as a component of Prepaid expenses and other current assets for the current portion and as Other non-current assets for the long-term portion. Warranty expense is recorded as a component of Cost of revenues in the consolidated statements of operations. Due to the magnitude of our automotive business, our accrued warranty balance is primarily related to our automotive segment.Stock-Based CompensationWe use the fair value method of accounting for our stock options and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) granted to employees and for our employee stock purchase plan (the “ESPP”) to measure the cost of employee services received in exchange for the stock-based awards. The fair value of stock option awards with only service and/or performance conditions is estimated on the grant or offering date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires inputs such as the risk-free interest rate, expected term and expected volatility. These inputs are subjective and generally require significant judgment. The fair value of RSUs is measured on the grant date based on the closing fair market value of our common stock. The resulting cost is recognized over the period during which an employee is required to provide service in exchange for the awards, usually the vesting period, which is generally four years for stock options and RSUs and six months for the ESPP. Stock-based compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis, net of actual forfeitures in the period.
For performance-based awards, stock-based compensation expense is recognized over the expected performance achievement period of individual performance milestones when the achievement of each individual performance milestone becomes probable.
As we accumulate additional employee stock-based awards data over time and as we incorporate market data related to our common stock, we may calculate significantly different volatilities and expected lives, which could materially impact the valuation of our stock-based awards and the stock-based compensation expense that we will recognize in future periods. Stock-based compensation expense is recorded in Cost of revenues, Research and development expense and Selling, general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations.Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and in many foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets that are not more likely than not to be realized. We monitor the realizability of our deferred tax assets taking into account all relevant factors at each reporting period. In completing our assessment of realizability of our deferred tax assets, we consider our history of income (loss) measured at pre-tax income (loss) adjusted for permanent book-tax differences on a jurisdictional basis, volatility in actual earnings, excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation in recent prior years, and impacts of the timing of reversal of existing temporary differences. We also rely on our assessment of the Company’s projected future results of business operations, including uncertainty in future operating results relative to historical results, volatility in the market price of our common stock and its performance over time, variable macroeconomic conditions impacting our ability to forecast future taxable income, and changes in business that may affect the existence and magnitude of future taxable income. Our valuation allowance assessment is based on our best estimate of future results considering all available information.
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Furthermore, significant judgment is required in evaluating our tax positions. In the ordinary course of business, there are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax settlement is uncertain. As a result, we recognize the effect of this uncertainty on our tax attributes or taxes payable based on our estimates of the eventual outcome. These effects are recognized when, despite our belief that our tax return positions are supportable, we believe that it is more likely than not that some of those positions may not be fully sustained upon review by tax authorities. We are required to file income tax returns in the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions, which requires us to interpret the applicable tax laws and regulations in effect in such jurisdictions. Such returns are subject to audit by the various federal, state and foreign taxing authorities, who may disagree with respect to our tax positions. We believe that our consideration is adequate for all open audit years based on our assessment of many factors, including past experience and interpretations of tax law. We review and update our estimates in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit, the lapse of a statute of limitations or a change in estimate. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters differs from our expectations, such differences may impact income tax expense in the period in which such determination is made.
Results of Operations
RevenuesYear Ended December 31, 2024 vs. 2023 Change 2023 vs. 2022 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2024 2023 2022 $ % $ %
Automotive sales $ 72,480 $ 78,509 $ 67,210 $ (6,029) (8) % $ 11,299 17 %
Automotive regulatory credits 2,763 1,790 1,776 973 54 % 14 1 %
Automotive leasing 1,827 2,120 2,476 (293) (14) % (356) (14) %
Total automotive revenues 77,070 82,419 71,462 (5,349) (6) % 10,957 15 %
Services and other 10,534 8,319 6,091 2,215 27 % 2,228 37 %
Total automotive & services and other segment revenue 87,604 90,738 77,553 (3,134) (3) % 13,185 17 %
Energy generation and storage segment revenue 10,086 6,035 3,909 4,051 67 % 2,126 54 %
Total revenues $ 97,690 $ 96,773 $ 81,462 $ 917 1 % $ 15,311 19 %Automotive & Services and Other SegmentAutomotive sales revenue includes revenues related to cash and financing deliveries of new vehicles, including access to our FSD (Supervised) features and their ongoing maintenance, internet connectivity, free Supercharging programs and over-the-air software updates. These deliveries are vehicles that are not subject to lease accounting.Automotive regulatory credits includes sales of regulatory credits to other automotive manufacturers. Our revenue from automotive regulatory credits is directly related to our new vehicle production, sales and pricing negotiated with our customers. We monetize them proactively as new vehicles are sold based on standing arrangements with buyers of such credits, typically as close as possible to the production and delivery of the vehicle or changes in regulation impacting the credits.Automotive leasing revenue includes the amortization of revenue for vehicles under direct operating lease agreements. Additionally, automotive leasing revenue includes direct sales-type leasing programs where we recognize all revenue associated with the sales-type lease upon delivery to the customer.
Services and other revenue consists of sales of used vehicles, non-warranty maintenance services and collision, part sales, paid Supercharging, insurance services revenue and retail merchandise sales.
2024 compared to 2023
Automotive sales revenue decreased $6.03 billion, or 8%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to lower average selling price on our vehicles driven by overall price reductions and attractive financing options provided in 2024 as well as mix. Additionally, there was a decrease of approximately 22,000 combined Model 3 and Model Y cash deliveries. The decreases were partially offset by an increase of approximately 19,000 deliveries of other models primarily due to our production ramp of Cybertruck. Additionally, we recognized $596 million of FSD (Supervised) revenue due to release of certain features in 2024.37Automotive regulatory credits revenue increased $973 million, or 54%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, driven by demand for credits in North America as other automobile manufacturers scale back on their battery electric vehicle plans.
Automotive leasing revenue decreased $293 million, or 14%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to lower direct sales-type leasing deliveries as we have shifted towards providing leasing options through commercial banking partner programs that allow for us to recognize upfront revenue in automotive sales and a decrease in lease buyouts.
Services and other revenue increased $2.22 billion, or 27%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to increases in sales of used vehicles, non-warranty maintenance services and collision revenue, paid Supercharging revenue, insurance services revenue and part sales revenue.Energy Generation and Storage SegmentEnergy generation and storage revenue includes sales and leasing of solar energy generation and energy storage products, financing of solar energy generation products, services related to such products and sales of solar energy systems incentives.
2024 compared to 2023
Energy generation and storage revenue increased $4.05 billion, or 67%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to a 16.7 GWh increase in Megapack and Powerwall deployments compared to the prior year.Cost of Revenues and Gross MarginYear Ended December 31, 2024 vs. 2023 Change 2023 vs. 2022 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2024 2023 2022 $ % $ %Cost of revenuesAutomotive sales $ 61,870 $ 65,121 $ 49,599 $ (3,251) (5) % $ 15,522 31 %
Automotive leasing 1,003 1,268 1,509 (265) (21) % (241) (16) %
Total automotive cost of revenues 62,873 66,389 51,108 (3,516) (5) % 15,281 30 %
Services and other 9,921 7,830 5,880 2,091 27 % 1,950 33 %
Total automotive & services and other segment cost of revenues 72,794 74,219 56,988 (1,425) (2) % 17,231 30 %
Energy generation and storage segment 7,446 4,894 3,621 2,552 52 % 1,273 35 %
Total cost of revenues $ 80,240 $ 79,113 $ 60,609 $ 1,127 1 % $ 18,504 31 %
Gross profit total automotive $ 14,197 $ 16,030 $ 20,354
Gross margin total automotive 18.4 % 19.4 % 28.5 %
Gross profit total automotive & services and other segment $ 14,810 $ 16,519 $ 20,565
Gross margin total automotive & services and other segment 16.9 % 18.2 % 26.5 %
Gross profit energy generation and storage segment $ 2,640 $ 1,141 $ 288
Gross margin energy generation and storage segment 26.2 % 18.9 % 7.4 %
Total gross profit $ 17,450 $ 17,660 $ 20,853
Total gross margin 17.9 % 18.2 % 25.6 %
38Automotive & Services and Other SegmentCost of automotive sales revenue includes direct and indirect materials, labor costs, manufacturing overhead, including depreciation costs of tooling and machinery, shipping and logistic costs, vehicle connectivity costs, FSD (Supervised) ongoing maintenance costs, allocations of electricity and infrastructure costs related to our Supercharger network and reserves for estimated warranty expenses. Cost of automotive sales revenues also includes adjustments to warranty expense and charges to write down the carrying value of our inventory when it exceeds its estimated net realizable value and to provide for obsolete and on-hand inventory in excess of forecasted demand. Additionally, cost of automotive sales revenue benefits from manufacturing credits earned.
Cost of automotive leasing revenue includes the depreciation of operating lease vehicles, cost of goods sold associated with direct sales-type leases and warranty expense related to leased vehicles.
Costs of services and other revenue includes cost of used vehicles including refurbishment costs, costs associated with providing non-warranty after-sales services, costs associated with our body shops and part sales, costs of paid Supercharging, costs to provide vehicle insurance and costs of retail merchandise sales.
2024 compared to 2023
Cost of automotive sales revenue decreased $3.25 billion, or 5%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 due to a decrease in the average combined cost per unit of our vehicles primarily from lower raw material costs, freight and duties as well as mix, in addition to the volume changes in deliveries year over year as discussed above. The decreases were partially offset by higher costs for Cybertruck.
Cost of automotive leasing revenue decreased $265 million, or 21%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to a decrease in direct sales-type leasing cost of revenue driven by lower deliveries and a decrease in our direct operating lease cost of revenue driven by lower lease buyouts compared to the prior periods.
Cost of services and other revenue increased $2.09 billion, or 27%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to volume increases in used vehicle sales at lower average vehicle acquisition cost, insurance services, paid Supercharging, part sales and non-warranty maintenance services and collision.
Gross margin for total automotive decreased from 19.4% to 18.4% in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 due to lower average selling price on our vehicles and Cybertruck ramp, partially offset by lower average combined cost per unit of our vehicles and increases in regulatory credit and FSD (Supervised) revenue, as discussed above.
Gross margin for total automotive & services and other segment decreased from 18.2% to 16.9% in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The changes in gross margin are primarily due to the automotive gross margin factors discussed above.Energy Generation and Storage SegmentCost of energy generation and storage revenue includes direct and indirect material and labor costs, manufacturing overhead, including depreciation costs of tooling and machinery, freight, warranty expense, and cost of servicing. Cost of energy generation and storage revenue also includes charges to write down the carrying value of our inventory when it exceeds its estimated net realizable value and to provide for obsolete and on-hand inventory in excess of forecasted demand. Additionally, cost of energy generation and storage revenue benefits from manufacturing credits earned. In agreements for solar energy systems and PPAs where we are the lessor, the cost of revenue is primarily comprised of depreciation of the cost of leased solar energy systems, maintenance costs associated with those systems and amortization of any initial direct costs.
2024 compared to 2023
Cost of energy generation and storage revenue increased $2.55 billion, or 52%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to increases in Megapack and Powerwall deployments, partially offset by increases in IRA manufacturing credits recognized as compared to the prior year.
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Gross margin for energy generation and storage increased from 18.9% to 26.2% in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to margin improvements for our energy storage products driven by cost reductions, including benefits from IRA manufacturing credits, and a higher proportion of our storage business, which operated at a higher gross margin, within the segment as compared to the prior periods.Research and Development ExpenseYear Ended December 31, 2024 vs. 2023 Change 2023 vs. 2022 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2024 2023 2022 $ % $ %
Research and development $ 4,540 $ 3,969 $ 3,075 $ 571 14 % $ 894 29 %
As a percentage of revenues 5 % 4 % 4 %
Research and development (“R&D”) expenses consist primarily of personnel costs for our teams in engineering and research, manufacturing engineering and manufacturing test organizations, prototyping expense, contract and professional services and amortized equipment expense.
R&D expenses increased $571 million, or 14%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The overall increases were primarily driven by additional costs year over year related to AI programs. R&D expenses as a percentage of revenue increased from 4% to 5% in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 as we continue to expand our product roadmap and technologies.Selling, General and Administrative ExpenseYear Ended December 31, 2024 vs. 2023 Change 2023 vs. 2022 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2024 2023 2022 $ % $ %
Selling, general and administrative $ 5,150 $ 4,800 $ 3,946 $ 350 7 % $ 854 22 %
As a percentage of revenues 5 % 5 % 5 %
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses generally consist of personnel and facilities costs related to our stores, marketing, sales, executive, finance, human resources, information technology and legal organizations, as well as fees for professional and contract services and litigation settlements.
SG&A expenses increased $350 million, or 7%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 driven by a $171 million increase in facilities related expenses, a $115 million increase in employee and labor costs, including professional services and a $57 million increase in marketing expenses.Restructuring and OtherYear Ended December 31, 2024 vs. 2023 Change 2023 vs. 2022 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2024 2023 2022 $ % $ %
Restructuring and other $ 684 $ — $ 176 $ 684 Not meaningful $ (176) (100)%
In the second quarter of 2024, we initiated and substantially completed certain restructuring actions to reduce costs and improve efficiency. As a result, we recognized $583 million of employee termination expenses in Restructuring and other in our consolidated income statement. These expenses were substantially paid with an immaterial accrual remaining in Accrued liabilities and other in our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2024.Interest IncomeYear Ended December 31, 2024 vs. 2023 Change 2023 vs. 2022 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2024 2023 2022 $ % $ %
Interest income $ 1,569 $ 1,066 $ 297 $ 503 47 % $ 769 259 %
Interest income increased $503 million, or 47%, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, primarily due to higher interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments compared to the prior year due to an increase in our portfolio balance and a higher weighted average interest rate.
40Other Income (Expense), NetYear Ended December 31, 2024 vs. 2023 Change 2023 vs. 2022 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2024 2023 2022 $ % $ %
Other income (expense), net $ 695 $ 172 $ (43) $ 523 304% $ 215 Not meaningful
Other income (expense), net, consists of foreign exchange gains and losses related to our foreign currency-denominated monetary assets and liabilities and fair value remeasurements of our digital assets following the adoption of ASU 2023-08 effective January 1, 2024. See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.
Other income (expense), net, changed favorably by $523 million in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to remeasurement of our bitcoin digital assets to fair value in 2024 (see above), partially offset by unfavorable fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates on our intercompany balances. As our intercompany balances are significant in nature and we do not typically hedge foreign currency risk, we can experience significant fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rate gains and losses from period to period.Provision for (Benefit from) Income TaxesYear Ended December 31, 2024 vs. 2023 Change 2023 vs. 2022 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2024 2023 2022 $ % $ %
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes $ 1,837 $ (5,001) $ 1,132 $ 6,838 Not meaningful $ (6,133) Not meaningful
Effective tax rate 20 % (50) % 8 %
Our provision for (benefit from) income taxes changed by $6.84 billion in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. Our effective tax rate changed to an expense of 20% in the year ended December 31, 2024 from a benefit of 50% in the year ended December 31, 2023. These changes are primarily due to the impact of releasing the valuation allowance on our U.S. deferred tax assets in the fourth quarter of 2023.
We monitor the realizability of our deferred tax assets taking into account all relevant factors at each reporting period. In the fourth quarter of 2023, based on the relevant weight of positive and negative evidence, including the amount of our taxable income in recent years which was objective and verifiable, and consideration of our expected future taxable earnings, we concluded that it is more likely than not that most of our U.S. federal and certain state deferred tax assets are realizable and released $6.54 billion of our valuation allowance. As of December 31, 2024, we continue to conclude that it is more likely than not that our deferred tax assets are realizable, except for our California deferred tax assets, U.S. foreign tax credits and certain foreign operating losses.
See Note 13, Income Taxes , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.Liquidity and Capital ResourcesWe expect to continue to generate net positive operating cash flow. The cash we generate from our core operations enables us to fund ongoing operations and production, our research and development projects for new products and technologies including our proprietary battery cells, additional manufacturing ramps at existing manufacturing facilities, the construction of future factories, and the continued expansion of our retail and service locations, body shops, Mobile Service fleet, Supercharger, including to support NACS, energy product installation capabilities and autonomy and other artificial intelligence enabled products.
In addition, because a large portion of our future expenditures will be to fund our growth, we expect that if needed we will be able to adjust our capital and operating expenditures by operating segment. For example, if our near-term manufacturing operations decrease in scale or ramp more slowly than expected, including due to global economic or business conditions, we may choose to correspondingly slow the pace of our capital expenditures. Finally, we continually evaluate our cash needs and may decide it is best to raise additional capital or seek alternative financing sources to fund the rapid growth of our business, including through drawdowns on existing or new debt facilities or financing funds. Conversely, we may also from time to time determine that it is in our best interests to voluntarily repay certain indebtedness early.
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Accordingly, we believe that our current sources of funds will provide us with adequate liquidity during the 12-month period following December 31, 2024, as well as in the long-term.See the sections below for more details regarding the material requirements for cash in our business and our sources of liquidity to meet such needs.
Material Cash Requirements
From time to time in the ordinary course of business, we enter into agreements with vendors for the purchase of components and raw materials to be used in the manufacture of our products. However, due to contractual terms, variability in the precise growth curves of our development and production ramps, and opportunities to renegotiate pricing, we generally do not have binding and enforceable purchase orders under such contracts beyond the short-term, and the timing and magnitude of purchase orders beyond such period is difficult to accurately project.As discussed in and subject to the considerations referenced in Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Management Opportunities, Challenges and Uncertainties and 2025 Outlook—Cash Flow and Capital Expenditure Trends in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we currently expect our capital expenditures to support our projects globally to exceed $11.00 billion in 2025 and in each of the following two fiscal years.
As of December 31, 2024, we and our subsidiaries had outstanding $7.91 billion in aggregate principal amount of indebtedness, of which $2.35 billion is current. As of December 31, 2024, our total minimum lease payments was $7.05 billion, of which $1.19 billion is due in the succeeding 12 months. For details regarding our indebtedness and lease obligations, refer to Note 10, Debt , and Note 11, Leases , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Sources and Conditions of LiquidityOur sources to fund our material cash requirements are predominantly from our deliveries and servicing of new and used vehicles, sales and installations of our energy storage products, interest income, and proceeds from debt facilities and equity offerings, when applicable.
As of December 31, 2024, we had $16.14 billion and $20.42 billion of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, respectively. Balances held in foreign currencies had a U.S. dollar equivalent of $2.90 billion and consisted primarily of euros and Chinese yuan. We had $5.00 billion of unused committed credit amounts as of December 31, 2024. For details regarding our indebtedness, refer to Note 10, Debt , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We continue adapting our strategy to meet our liquidity and risk objectives, such as investing in U.S. government securities and other investments, invest in autonomy, do more vertical integration, expand our product roadmap and provide financing options to our customers.Summary of Cash Flows
Year Ended December 31,(Dollars in millions) 2024 2023 2022Net cash provided by operating activities$ 14,923 $ 13,256 $ 14,724Net cash used in investing activities$ (18,787) $ (15,584) $ (11,973)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
$ 3,853 $ 2,589 $ (3,527)Cash Flows from Operating ActivitiesOur cash flows from operating activities are significantly affected by our cash investments to support the growth of our business in areas such as research and development and selling, general and administrative and working capital. Our operating cash inflows include cash from vehicle sales and related servicing, customer lease and financing payments, customer deposits, cash from sales of regulatory credits and energy generation and storage products, and interest income on our cash and investments portfolio. These cash inflows are offset by our payments to suppliers for production materials and parts used in our manufacturing process, operating expenses, operating lease payments and interest payments on our financings.
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Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $1.67 billion to $14.92 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024 from $13.26 billion during the year ended December 31, 2023. This increase was primarily due to favorable changes in net operating assets and liabilities of $2.29 billion, partially offset by a decrease in net income excluding non-cash expenses, gains and losses of $623 million.Cash Flows from Investing ActivitiesNet cash flows from investing activities and their variability across each period related primarily to capital expenditures, which were $11.34 billion and $8.90 billion for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, mainly for AI-related capital expenditures, global factory expansion and machinery and equipment as we expand and enhance our product roadmap. We also purchased $7.45 billion and $6.62 billion of investments, net of proceeds from maturities and sales, for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.Cash Flows from Financing ActivitiesNet cash flows from financing activities increased by $1.26 billion to $3.85 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024 from $2.59 billion during the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to a $1.81 billion increase in proceeds from issuances of debt, partially offset by a $1.15 billion increase in repayments of debt. See Note 10, Debt , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details regarding our debt obligations. Additionally, there was an increase of $541 million in proceeds from exercises of stock options and other stock issuances compared to the prior year.Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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FY 2025-12-31 (later)
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONSThe following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For further discussion of our products and services, technology and competitive strengths, refer to Item 1- Business. For discussion related to changes in financial condition and the results of operations for fiscal year 2024-related items, refer to Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2024, which was filed with the SEC on January 30, 2025.
Overview and 2025 Highlights
We are focused on bringing artificial intelligence into the real world, through products and services like FSD (Supervised) and Robotaxi, as well as working to develop and commercialize AI robots (including Optimus). We intend to leverage our current operations, in which we design, develop, manufacture, sell and lease high-performance fully electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems that increasingly deliver AI-related and enhanced software and services to our customers, to achieve that objective.
As a result of rapidly evolving trade and fiscal policy, uncertainty in the automotive and energy markets continues, posing risks to our global supply chain and cost structure which could have a meaningfully adverse impact on demand for our products and our profitability. The current tariff regime will have a relatively larger impact on our energy generation and storage business compared to our automotive business. While we prepare for near-term challenges to our business under current policies, we are focused on long-term growth opportunities as we continue to make prudent investments.
In 2025, we produced approximately 1.66 million consumer vehicles and delivered approximately 1.64 million consumer vehicles. We are focused on profitable growth via a differentiated and efficiently managed product portfolio that leverages our existing factories and production lines, further improving and deploying our FSD (Supervised) capabilities, including future autonomous capabilities through our purpose-built Robotaxi product, Cybercab, reducing costs, increasing vehicle production, utilized capacity and delivery capabilities, improving and developing our vehicles, battery and AI compute technologies, vertically integrating and localizing our supply chain, and expanding our global infrastructure, including our service and charging infrastructure. We have continued to expand and refine our Robotaxi service after its June 2025 launch, capitalizing on our AI investments and scalable mobility infrastructure to advance a service-driven business model.
In 2025, we deployed 46.7 GWh of energy storage products. We are focused on ramping the production, increasing the market penetration of our energy storage products, developing our battery technologies and vertically integrating, localizing and expanding our supply chain.
In 2025, we recognized total revenues of $94.83 billion, representing a decrease of $2.86 billion compared to the prior year. In 2025, our net income attributable to common stockholders was $3.79 billion, representing a decrease of $3.30 billion compared to the prior year. We continue to ramp production and build and optimize our manufacturing capacity, expand our operations while focusing on further cost reductions and operational efficiencies to enable increased deliveries and deployments of our products, and invest in research and development to accelerate our AI, software and fleet-based profits for further revenue growth.
We ended 2025 with $44.06 billion in cash and cash equivalents and investments, representing an increase of $7.50 billion from the end of 2024. Our cash flows provided by operating activities were $14.75 billion in 2025 compared to $14.92 billion in 2024, representing a decrease of $176 million. Capital expenditures amounted to $8.53 billion in 2025 compared to $11.34 billion in 2024, representing a decrease of $2.82 billion. Overall growth has allowed our business to generally fund itself, and we will continue to make critical high-value investments while maintaining a strong balance sheet.
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Management Opportunities, Challenges and Uncertainties and 2026 Outlook
Automotive and AI Enabled Products—Production
We are focused on growing and optimizing our manufacturing capacity, which includes capacity for manufacturing newer vehicle models and future vehicles utilizing aspects of our next generation platform, while maximizing production rate and efficiency at our Gigafactories. In 2025, we completed the refresh of our vehicle lineup with the launch of the new Model Y and additional variants for Model 3 and Model Y. The next phase of production growth will be initiated by advances in autonomy and the introduction of new products, including those built on our next generation vehicle platform, as well as our ability to efficiently manufacture our own cells that we are developing to have high-volume output, lower capital and production costs and longer range. Our goals are to improve vehicle performance, decrease production costs and increase affordability and customer awareness. We are also capitalizing on our strengths in real-world AI data to advance the development of Optimus, a general purpose, autonomous humanoid robot.
These plans are subject to uncertainties inherent in establishing and ramping manufacturing operations, which may be exacerbated by new product and manufacturing technologies we introduce, the number of concurrent international projects, any industry-wide component constraints, labor shortages and any future impact from events outside of our control. For example, changes to fiscal and trade policy with respect to tariffs, export controls and other restrictions may impact our global supply chain cost structure and availability, affecting not only vehicle production, but also facility expansions. Moreover, we have set ambitious technological targets with our plans for battery cells as well as for iterative manufacturing and design improvements for our vehicles.
Automotive and AI Enabled Products—Demand, Sales, Deliveries and Infrastructure
Our cost reduction efforts, cost innovation strategies, and additional localized procurement and manufacturing are key to our vehicles’ affordability and have allowed us to competitively price our vehicles. We will also continue to generate demand by improving our vehicles’ performance and functionality, including through product offerings and features utilizing artificial intelligence such as FSD (Supervised) and other software, and delivering new vehicles and vehicle options. In addition, we believe the launch of our Robotaxi service unlocks the potential for significant business growth to advance a service-driven business model. We will continue to improve safety and profitability while scaling the network. In addition, we have been increasing awareness, and expanding our vehicle financing programs, including attractive leasing terms for our customers. We will also continue to work on developing our robotics offerings.
However, we operate in a cyclical industry that is sensitive to shifting consumer trends, political and regulatory uncertainty, including with respect to trade and the environment, all of which can be compounded by inflationary pressures, rising energy prices, interest rate fluctuations and the liquidity of enterprise customers. For example, as inflationary pressures increased across the markets in which we operate, central banks in developed countries raised interest rates rapidly and substantially, which impacted the affordability of vehicle lease and finance arrangements. Further, sales of vehicles in the automotive industry also tend to be cyclical in many markets, which may expose us to increased volatility as we expand and adjust our operations. Moreover, as additional competitors enter the marketplace and help bring the world closer to sustainable transportation, we will have to adjust and continue to execute well to maintain our momentum. Additionally, our suppliers’ liquidity and allocation plans may be affected by current challenges in the automotive industry, which could reduce our access to components or result in unfavorable changes to cost. These macroeconomic and industry trends have had, and will likely continue to have, an impact on the pricing of, and order rate for our vehicles, and in turn our operating margin.
Changes in government and economic policies, incentives or tariffs may also impact our production, cost structure and the competitive landscape. For instance, while the final scope and application of recently announced changes in trade policy remain uncertain at this time, higher tariffs on imports and subsequent retaliatory tariffs could adversely impact consumer spending and demand for durable goods and related services. Furthermore, certain provisions of the OBBBA, including the removal of tax credits for electric vehicles, may also impact consumer demand for electric vehicles in general. We will continue to adjust accordingly to such developments, and we believe our ongoing cost reduction efforts, including through production innovation, process improvements and logistics optimization, and focus on operating leverage, vertical integration and supply chain localization will continue to benefit us in relation to our competitors. Our new products and our advances in autonomy and robotics, position us for future growth.32As our vehicle production increases, we must work constantly to similarly increase vehicle delivery capability so that it does not become a bottleneck on our total deliveries. As we expand our manufacturing operations globally, we will also have to continue to increase and staff our delivery, servicing and charging infrastructure accordingly, maintain our vehicle reliability and optimize our Supercharger locations to ensure cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction. In particular, as other automotive manufacturers have announced their adoption of NACS and agreements with us to utilize our Superchargers, we must correspondingly expand our network in order to ensure adequate availability to meet customer demands. We also remain focused on continued enhancements of the capability and efficiency of our servicing operations. In tandem with the launch of our Robotaxi business, we are focused on developing and optimizing dedicated infrastructure, including in relation to vehicle cleaning and maintenance, charging, security, teleoperations and fleet management, to ensure service quality as we continue to scale.Energy Generation and Storage Demand, Production and DeploymentThe long-term success of this business is dependent upon incremental volume growth. We continue to increase the production and capabilities of our energy storage products to meet high levels of demand, including the ramps of our Megafactories in Shanghai and Lathrop, California, and the construction of a new Megafactory near Houston, Texas. In 2025, we introduced Megapack 3 and Megablock, our next-generation industrial storage product, and began manufacturing a new residential retrofit solar panel. For Megapack, energy storage deployments can vary meaningfully quarter to quarter depending on the timing of specific project milestones and logistics. As these product lines grow, we will have to maintain adequate battery cell supply for our energy storage products. At the same time, changes in government and economic incentives or tariffs may also impact our sales, cost structure and the competitive landscape. For instance, import tariffs by the US government and the provisions of the OBBBA could significantly increase battery cell expenses and impact costs for our consumers, negatively impacting consumer demand. Despite these challenges, as AI infrastructure drives rapid load growth, we see opportunities for our energy storage products to stabilize the grid, shift energy when it is needed most and provide additional power capacity.Cash Flow and Capital Expenditure TrendsOur capital expenditures are typically difficult to project beyond the short-term given the number and breadth of our core projects at any given time, and may further be impacted by uncertainties in future global market conditions and shifting global trade and fiscal policy. We are simultaneously developing and ramping new products, building or ramping manufacturing facilities on three continents, piloting the development and manufacture of new battery cell technologies, expanding our Supercharger network and investing in autonomy, robotics and other artificial intelligence enabled training and products and its supporting infrastructure, and the pace of our capital spend may vary depending on overall priority among projects, the pace at which we meet milestones, production adjustments to and among our various products, increased capital efficiencies and the addition of new projects. We are focused on long-term growth opportunities through critical, high-value investments. We currently expect our capital expenditures to be in excess of $20 billion in 2026, driven by our AI initiatives, including investments in compute infrastructure and data centers, the expansion and ramp of our manufacturing and R&D production lines and facilities, and growth in our fleet of company-operated AI-enabled assets and our retail, service and charging footprint. We believe this strategy will position our Company for further growth as we make investments in a capital efficient manner.
Our business has generally been consistently generating cash flow from operations in excess of our level of capital spend, and with better working capital management resulting in shorter days sales outstanding than days payable outstanding, our sales growth is also generally facilitating positive cash generation. We have and will continue to utilize such cash flows, among other things, to invest in autonomy and robotics, further vertically integrate our supply chain, expand our product roadmap and provide financing options to our customers. At the same time, periods of heightened levels of capital expenditures due to capital-intensive projects and other potential variables such as rising material prices and increases in supply chain and labor expenses resulting from changes in global trade conditions and labor availability, will necessitate additional funding beyond our operating cash flow.
33Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”). The preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience, as appropriate, and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period to period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be affected.The estimates used for, but not limited to, determining significant economic incentive for resale value guarantee arrangements, sales return reserves, resale value guarantee liabilities, income tax, the collectability of accounts and finance receivables, fair value and probability assessments of stock-based awards, inventory valuation, warranties, fair value of long-lived assets, fair value of financial instruments, fair value and residual value of operating lease vehicles and energy generation and storage systems subject to leases could be impacted. We have assessed the impact and are not aware of any specific events or circumstances that required an update to our estimates and assumptions or materially affected the carrying value of our assets or liabilities as of the date of issuance of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These estimates may change as new events occur and additional information is obtained. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.Revenue Recognition
Automotive SalesAutomotive sales revenue includes revenues related to cash and financing deliveries of new vehicles, and specific other features and services that meet the definition of a performance obligation under Accounting Standards Codification 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”), including access to our internet connectivity, access to our FSD (Supervised) features and their ongoing maintenance, free Supercharging programs and over-the-air software updates. We recognize revenue on automotive sales, net of any discounts or financial subsidies, upon delivery to the customer, which is when the control of a vehicle transfers. Payments are typically received at the point control transfers or in accordance with payment terms customary to the business, except sales we finance for which payments are collected over the contractual loan term. We also recognize a sales return reserve based on historical experience plus consideration for expected future market values when we offer resale value guarantees or similar buyback terms. Other features and services such as access to our internet connectivity, unlimited free Supercharging and over-the-air software updates are provisioned upon transfer of control of a vehicle and recognized over time on a straight-line basis as we have a stand-ready obligation to deliver such services to the customer. Other limited free Supercharging incentives are recognized based on actual usage or expiration, whichever is earlier. We recognize revenue related to these other features and services over the performance period, which is generally the expected ownership life of the vehicle. Revenue related to FSD (Supervised) features is recognized when functionality is delivered to the customer and their ongoing maintenance is recognized over time. For our obligations related to automotive sales, we estimate standalone selling price by considering costs used to develop and deliver the service, third-party pricing of similar options and other information that may be available. Customers may purchase subscriptions, including FSD (Supervised) and premium connectivity, after taking delivery of their vehicles. Revenue from subscriptions is recognized either over time or point in time depending on the nature of contractual terms.
Any fees or financial subsidies that are paid or payable by us to a customer’s lender when we arrange the financing are recognized upfront as an offset against automotive sales revenue. As our contract costs related to automotive sales are typically fulfilled within one year, the costs to obtain a contract are expensed as incurred. Amounts billed to customers related to shipping and handling are classified as automotive sales revenue, and we have elected to recognize the cost for freight and shipping when control over vehicles, parts or accessories have transferred to the customer as an expense in cost of automotive sales revenue. Our policy is to exclude taxes collected from a customer from the transaction price of automotive contracts.
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We offer resale value guarantees to our commercial banking partners in connection with certain vehicle leasing programs. Under these programs, we originate the lease with our end customer and immediately transfer the lease and the underlying vehicle to our commercial banking partner, with the transaction being accounted for as a sale under ASC 606. We receive upfront payment for the vehicle, do not bear casualty and credit risks during the lease term, and we provide a guarantee capped to a limit if they are unable to sell the vehicle at or above the vehicle’s contractual or determined residual value at the end of the lease term. We estimate a guarantee liability in accordance with ASC 460, Guarantees and record it within other liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. On a quarterly basis, we assess the estimated market value of vehicles sold under these programs to determine whether there have been changes to the amount of expected resale value guarantee liabilities. As we accumulate more data related to the resale values of our vehicles or as market conditions change, there may be material changes to their estimated values.Inventory Valuation
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is computed using standard cost for vehicles and energy products, which approximates actual cost on a first-in, first-out basis. We record inventory write-downs for excess or obsolete inventories based upon assumptions about current and future demand forecasts. If our inventory on-hand is in excess of our future demand forecast, the excess amounts are written-off.
We also review our inventory to determine whether its carrying value exceeds the net amount realizable upon the ultimate sale of the inventory. This requires us to determine the estimated selling price of our vehicles less the estimated cost to convert the inventory on-hand into a finished product. Once inventory is written-down, a new, lower cost basis for that inventory is established and subsequent changes in facts and circumstances do not result in the restoration or increase in that newly established cost basis.
Should our estimates of future selling prices or production costs change, additional and potentially material write-downs may be required. A small change in our estimates may result in a material charge to our reported financial results.WarrantiesWe provide a manufacturer’s warranty on all new and used vehicles and a warranty on the installation and components of the energy generation and storage systems we sell for periods typically between 1 to 25 years. We accrue a warranty reserve for the products sold by us, which includes our best estimate of the projected costs to repair or replace items under warranties and recalls if identified. These estimates are based on actual claims incurred to date and an estimate of the nature, frequency and costs of future claims. These estimates are inherently uncertain and changes to our historical or projected warranty experience may cause material changes to the warranty reserve in the future. The warranty reserve does not include projected service costs associated with our vehicles subject to operating lease accounting and our energy generation and storage systems under lease contracts or PPAs, as these service costs are expensed as incurred. The portion of the warranty reserve expected to be incurred within the next 12 months is included within Accrued liabilities and other, while the remaining balance is included within Other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. For liabilities that we are entitled to receive indemnification from our suppliers, we record receivables for the contractually obligated amounts on the consolidated balance sheets as a component of Prepaid expenses and other current assets for the current portion and as Other non-current assets for the long-term portion. Warranty expense is recorded as a component of Cost of revenues in the consolidated statements of operations. Due to the magnitude of our automotive business, our accrued warranty balance is primarily related to our automotive segment.Stock-Based CompensationWe use the fair value method of accounting for our restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), stock options and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) granted to employees and for our employee stock purchase plan (“the ESPP”) to measure the cost of employee services received in exchange for the stock-based awards. Stock-based compensation expense for equity awards is a non-cash expense and is recorded in Cost of revenues, Research and development expense and Selling, general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations based on the function of the employee.
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Equity awards with service and/or performance conditions
The fair value of stock option awards with service and/or performance conditions and the ESPP is estimated on the grant or offering date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires inputs such as the risk-free interest rate, expected award term and expected share price volatility. The fair value of RSUs with service and/or performance conditions is measured on the grant date based on the closing fair market value of our common stock. The resulting stock-based compensation expense for stock options, RSUs and the ESPP is recognized over the period during which an employee is required to provide service in exchange for the awards, usually the vesting period, which is generally four years for stock options and RSUs and six months for the ESPP.
The fair value of restricted stock granted to our CEO with service and/or performance conditions is measured on the grant date based on the closing fair market value of our common stock, adjusted to take into account the illiquidity discount due to any applicable required holding period, less any purchase price or offset amount. The illiquidity discount is determined using a valuation model that requires inputs such as expected share price volatility and the employee’s expected tax rate. The inputs used in the valuation models, which are subjective and generally require significant judgment, are unique to each award based on the best available information at the valuation date.
Stock-based compensation expense for equity awards with performance conditions is recognized over the requisite service period when the vesting of the award becomes probable. Stock-based compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis for equity awards with only a service condition and on a graded vesting basis for equity awards with a performance condition, net of actual forfeitures in the period.
Equity awards with market, service and performance conditions
The fair value and derived service period of performance-based awards granted to our CEO with market, service and performance conditions are estimated on the grant date using a Monte Carlo simulation model. A Monte Carlo simulation model requires inputs such as the risk-free interest rate, expected award term, expected share dilution and expected share price volatility. For awards with a holding requirement that is in effect post-vesting, the fair value is adjusted to take into account an illiquidity discount, which is determined using a valuation model that requires inputs such as expected share price volatility and the employee’s expected tax rate. These inputs, which are subjective and generally require significant judgment, are unique to each award based on the best available information at the valuation date.
For such awards, stock-based compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the expected performance achievement period of individual performance milestones when the achievement of each individual performance milestone becomes probable. If applicable, stock-based compensation expense for such awards is recognized over the longer of (i) the expected service period, (ii) the expected achievement period for the operational milestone (performance condition) and (iii) the expected achievement period for the related market capitalization milestone determined on the grant date, with recognition beginning at the point in time that the relevant operational milestone is considered probable of achievement. If such operational milestone becomes probable any time after the grant date or the expected achievement period changes, we will recognize a cumulative expense adjustment from the grant date to that point in time. Stock-based compensation expense will continue to be recognized over the expected achievement period for the operational milestone (if applicable) regardless of whether the market capitalization milestone is achieved earlier than its expected achievement period or achieved at all, as long as the service condition continues to be satisfied. If an operational milestone is subsequently determined to be improbable of achievement, stock-based compensation expense previously recognized would be reversed in the period the condition is deemed improbable.Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and in many foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets that are not more likely than not to be realized. We monitor the realizability of our deferred tax assets taking into account all relevant factors at each reporting period. In completing our assessment of realizability of our deferred tax assets, we consider our history of income (loss) measured at pre-tax income (loss) adjusted for permanent book-tax differences on a jurisdictional basis, volatility in actual earnings, excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation in recent prior years, and impacts of the timing of reversal of existing temporary differences. We also rely on our assessment of the Company’s projected future results of business operations, including uncertainty in future operating results relative to historical results, volatility in the market price of our common stock and its performance over time, variable macroeconomic conditions impacting our ability to forecast future taxable income, and changes in business that may affect the existence and magnitude of future taxable income. Our valuation allowance assessment is based on our best estimate of future results considering all available information.
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Furthermore, significant judgment is required in evaluating our tax positions. In the ordinary course of business, there are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax settlement is uncertain. As a result, we recognize the effect of this uncertainty on our tax attributes or taxes payable based on our estimates of the eventual outcome. These effects are recognized when, despite our belief that our tax return positions are supportable, we believe that it is more likely than not that some of those positions may not be fully sustained upon review by tax authorities. We are required to file income tax returns in the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions, which requires us to interpret the applicable tax laws and regulations in effect in such jurisdictions. Such returns are subject to audit by the various federal, state and foreign taxing authorities, who may disagree with respect to our tax positions. We believe that our consideration is adequate for all open audit years based on our assessment of many factors, including past experience and interpretations of tax law. We review and update our estimates in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit, the lapse of a statute of limitations or a change in estimate. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters differs from our expectations, such differences may impact income tax expense in the period in which such determination is made.
Results of Operations
RevenuesYear Ended December 31, 2025 vs. 2024 Change 2024 vs. 2023 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2025 2024 2023 $ % $ %
Automotive sales $ 65,821 $ 72,480 $ 78,509 $ (6,659) (9) % $ (6,029) (8) %
Automotive regulatory credits 1,993 2,763 1,790 (770) (28) % 973 54 %
Automotive leasing 1,712 1,827 2,120 (115) (6) % (293) (14) %
Total automotive revenues 69,526 77,070 82,419 (7,544) (10) % (5,349) (6) %
Services and other 12,530 10,534 8,319 1,996 19 % 2,215 27 %
Total automotive & services and other segment revenue 82,056 87,604 90,738 (5,548) (6) % (3,134) (3) %
Energy generation and storage segment revenue 12,771 10,086 6,035 2,685 27 % 4,051 67 %
Total revenues $ 94,827 $ 97,690 $ 96,773 $ (2,863) (3) % $ 917 1 %Automotive & Services and Other SegmentAutomotive sales revenue includes revenues related to cash and financing deliveries of new vehicles, including internet connectivity, access to our FSD (Supervised) features and their ongoing maintenance, free Supercharging programs and over-the-air software updates. These deliveries are vehicles that are not subject to lease accounting.Automotive regulatory credits includes sales of regulatory credits to other automotive manufacturers. Our revenue from automotive regulatory credits is directly related to our new vehicle production, sales and pricing negotiated with our customers. We monetize them proactively as new vehicles are sold based on standing arrangements with buyers of such credits, typically as close as possible to the production and delivery of the vehicle or changes in regulation impacting the credits.Automotive leasing revenue includes the amortization of revenue for vehicles under direct operating lease agreements and lease buyout revenue. Additionally, automotive leasing revenue includes direct sales-type leasing programs where we recognize all revenue associated with the sales-type lease upon delivery to the customer.
Services and other revenue consists of sales of used vehicles, non-warranty maintenance services and collision, paid Supercharging sessions, automotive insurance business revenue, part sales and retail merchandise sales.
2025 compared to 2024
Automotive sales revenue decreased $6.66 billion, or 9%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, due a decrease of approximately 8% in cash deliveries and a lower average selling price per unit driven by sales mix and higher customer incentives such as attractive financing options.
Automotive regulatory credits revenue decreased $770 million, or 28%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. Fluctuations in automotive regulatory credits are impacted by our supply of credits, subject to changes in regulation, production and sales. In 2025, governmental and regulatory actions, such as OBBBA, have restricted certain regulatory credit programs tied to our products. Furthermore, we are impacted by the demand for credits by other automobile manufacturers.37Services and other revenue increased $2.00 billion, or 19%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases in paid Supercharging sessions, non-warranty maintenance services and collision revenue, used vehicle sales volume and automotive insurance business revenue.Energy Generation and Storage SegmentEnergy generation and storage revenue includes sales, leasing, and financing of energy generation and storage products, services related to such products and sales of energy generation incentives.
2025 compared to 2024
Energy generation and storage revenue increased $2.69 billion, or 27%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to increases in Megapack and Powerwall deployments, partially offset by a decrease in average selling price of Megapack.Cost of Revenues and Gross MarginYear Ended December 31, 2025 vs. 2024 Change 2024 vs. 2023 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2025 2024 2023 $ % $ %Cost of revenuesAutomotive sales $ 56,267 $ 61,870 $ 65,121 $ (5,603) (9) % $ (3,251) (5) %
Automotive leasing 898 1,003 1,268 (105) (10) % (265) (21) %
Total automotive cost of revenues 57,165 62,873 66,389 (5,708) (9) % (3,516) (5) %
Services and other 11,599 9,921 7,830 1,678 17 % 2,091 27 %
Total automotive & services and other segment cost of revenues 68,764 72,794 74,219 (4,030) (6) % (1,425) (2) %
Energy generation and storage segment 8,969 7,446 4,894 1,523 20 % 2,552 52 %
Total cost of revenues $ 77,733 $ 80,240 $ 79,113 $ (2,507) (3) % $ 1,127 1 %
Gross profit total automotive $ 12,361 $ 14,197 $ 16,030
Gross margin total automotive 17.8 % 18.4 % 19.4 %
Gross profit total automotive & services and other segment $ 13,292 $ 14,810 $ 16,519
Gross margin total automotive & services and other segment 16.2 % 16.9 % 18.2 %
Gross profit energy generation and storage segment $ 3,802 $ 2,640 $ 1,141
Gross margin energy generation and storage segment 29.8 % 26.2 % 18.9 %
Total gross profit $ 17,094 $ 17,450 $ 17,660
Total gross margin 18.0 % 17.9 % 18.2 %Automotive & Services and Other SegmentCost of automotive sales revenue includes direct and indirect materials, labor costs, manufacturing overhead, including depreciation costs of tooling and machinery, shipping and logistic costs, tariffs, reserves for estimated warranty expenses, FSD (Supervised) ongoing maintenance costs, vehicle connectivity costs, and allocations of electricity and infrastructure costs related to our free Supercharging programs. Cost of automotive sales revenues also includes adjustments to warranty expense and charges to write down the carrying value of our inventory when it exceeds its estimated net realizable value and to provide for obsolete and on-hand inventory in excess of forecasted demand. Additionally, cost of automotive sales revenue benefits from manufacturing credits recognized.
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Cost of automotive leasing revenue includes the depreciation of operating lease vehicles, cost of goods sold associated with lease buyouts and direct sales-type leases, and servicing of leased vehicles.
Costs of services and other revenue includes cost of used vehicles including refurbishment costs, labor and material costs associated with providing non-warranty maintenance services and collision, operating costs of paid Supercharging sessions, claim costs associated with providing automotive insurance, and costs associated with our part sales and retail merchandise sales.
2025 compared to 2024
Cost of automotive sales revenue decreased $5.60 billion, or 9%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 due to the decrease in deliveries year over year as discussed above and lower average cost per unit due to sales mix and lower material costs, partially offset by lower fixed cost absorption and an increase in tariffs compared to the prior year.
Cost of services and other revenue increased $1.68 billion, or 17%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases in used vehicle sales volume and cost, cost of paid Supercharging sessions, cost related to our automotive insurance business, and cost related to our non-warranty maintenance services and collision revenue.
Gross margin for total automotive decreased from 18.4% to 17.8% in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to a decrease in regulatory credits revenue as well as the changes in automotive sales revenue and cost of automotive sales revenue, as discussed above.
Gross margin for total automotive & services and other segment decreased from 16.9% to 16.2% in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to a decrease in regulatory credits revenue, partially offset by an improvement in services and other margins.Energy Generation and Storage SegmentCost of energy generation and storage revenue includes direct and indirect material, tariffs, labor costs, manufacturing overhead, including depreciation costs of tooling and machinery, shipping and logistic costs, warranty expense and cost of servicing. Cost of energy generation and storage revenue also includes charges to write down the carrying value of our inventory when it exceeds its estimated net realizable value and to provide for obsolete and on-hand inventory in excess of forecasted demand. Additionally, cost of energy generation and storage revenue benefits from manufacturing credits earned. In agreements for energy generation and storage systems and PPAs where we are the lessor, the cost of revenue is primarily comprised of depreciation of the cost of leased energy generation and storage systems, maintenance costs associated with those systems and amortization of any initial direct costs.
2025 compared to 2024
Cost of energy generation and storage revenue increased $1.52 billion, or 20%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily from increases in Megapack and Powerwall deployments, partially offset by a decrease in average cost per unit for Megapack and Powerwall from lower raw material costs, lower manufacturing costs for Megapack in part from the ramp of Shanghai Megafactory, partially offset by higher tariffs.
Gross margin for energy generation and storage increased from 26.2% to 29.8% in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due the changes in energy generation and storage revenue and cost of energy generation and storage revenue, as discussed above.Research and Development ExpenseYear Ended December 31, 2025 vs. 2024 Change 2024 vs. 2023 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2025 2024 2023 $ % $ %
Research and development $ 6,411 $ 4,540 $ 3,969 $ 1,871 41 % $ 571 14 %
As a percentage of revenues 7 % 5 % 4 %
Research and development (“R&D”) expense consists primarily of personnel costs for our teams in engineering and research, facilities costs such as data center depreciation, prototyping expense, and professional and contract services.
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R&D expense increased $1.87 billion, or 41%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to increases in costs related to AI and other programs as we continue to expand our product roadmap and technologies and an increase in stock-based compensation of $500 million. R&D expense as a percentage of revenue increased from 5% to 7% in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to higher R&D expense and a decrease in total revenue as compared to the prior year.Selling, General and Administrative ExpenseYear Ended December 31, 2025 vs. 2024 Change 2024 vs. 2023 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2025 2024 2023 $ % $ %
Selling, general and administrative $ 5,834 $ 5,150 $ 4,800 $ 684 13 % $ 350 7 %
As a percentage of revenues 6 % 5 % 5 %
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expense generally consist of personnel and facilities costs related to our stores, marketing, sales, executive, finance, human resources, information technology and legal organizations, as well as fees for professional and contract services, litigation settlements, bank charges and marketing fees.
SG&A expenses increased $684 million, or 13%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 driven by a $354 million increase in operating expenses including legal charges, a $256 million increase in employee and labor costs, including professional services, a $235 million increase in stock-based compensation, partially offset by an $83 million decrease in marketing expenses and a $78 million decrease in facilities related expenses.Restructuring and OtherYear Ended December 31, 2025 vs. 2024 Change 2024 vs. 2023 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2025 2024 2023 $ % $ %
Restructuring and other $ 494 $ 684 $ — $ (190) (28)% $ 684 Not meaningful
In the second quarter of 2024, we initiated and substantially completed certain restructuring actions to reduce costs and improve efficiency. As a result, we recognized $583 million of employee termination expenses in Restructuring and other in our consolidated statement of operations.
In the third quarter of 2025, we initiated certain actions in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency through convergence of AI chip design efforts. As a result, we recognized $390 million of expenses within our automotive segment in the second half of 2025, related to charges for supercomputer assets, contract terminations and employee terminations.Interest IncomeYear Ended December 31, 2025 vs. 2024 Change 2024 vs. 2023 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2025 2024 2023 $ % $ %
Interest income $ 1,680 $ 1,569 $ 1,066 $ 111 7 % $ 503 47 %
Interest income increased $111 million, or 7%, in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to higher interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments due to an increase in our average portfolio balance, partially offset by a lower average interest rate.Other Income (Expense), NetYear Ended December 31, 2025 vs. 2024 Change 2024 vs. 2023 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2025 2024 2023 $ % $ %
Other (expense) income, net $ (419) $ 695 $ 172 $ (1,114) Not meaningful $ 523 304%
Other (expense) income, net, consists of foreign exchange gains and losses related to our foreign currency-denominated monetary assets and liabilities and fair value remeasurements of our digital assets following the adoption of ASU 2023-08 effective January 1, 2024. See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.
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Other (expense) income, net, changed unfavorably by $1.11 billion in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to mark-to-market on our bitcoin digital assets and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates on our intercompany balances. As our intercompany balances are significant in nature and we do not typically hedge foreign currency risk, we can experience significant fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rate gains and losses from period to period.Provision for (Benefit from) Income TaxesYear Ended December 31, 2025 vs. 2024 Change 2024 vs. 2023 Change
(Dollars in millions) 2025 2024 2023 $ % $ %
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes $ 1,423 $ 1,837 $ (5,001) $ (414) (23)% $ 6,838 Not meaningful
Effective tax rate 27 % 20 % (50) %
Our provision for (benefit from) income taxes decreased by $414 million in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to a reduction in income before income taxes. Our effective tax rate increased from 20% to 27% in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to changes in the mix of our jurisdictional earnings, a decrease in foreign income deductions resulting from lower taxable income attributable to the OBBBA and the remeasurement of our deferred tax assets related to net controlled foreign corporation tested income (“NCTI”) under the OBBBA.
See Note 12, Income Taxes , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details.Liquidity and Capital ResourcesAs discussed in Part II, Item 9B, Other Information—xAI Investment of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company entered into an agreement in January 2026 to make a minority equity investment.
We generally expect to continue to generate net positive operating cash flow. The cash we generate from our core operations enables us to fund ongoing operations and production, our research and development projects for new products and technologies including our proprietary battery cells, additional manufacturing ramps at existing manufacturing facilities, the construction of future factories, and the continued expansion of our retail and service locations, body shops, Mobile Service fleet, Supercharger, energy product installation capabilities and autonomy and other artificial intelligence enabled products.
In addition, because a large portion of our future expenditures will be to fund our growth, we expect that if needed we will be able to adjust our capital and operating expenditures by operating segment. For example, if our near-term manufacturing operations decrease in scale or ramp more slowly than expected, including due to global economic, tax, trade or business conditions, we may choose to correspondingly slow the pace of our capital expenditures. Finally, we continually evaluate our cash needs and may decide it is best to raise additional capital or seek alternative financing sources to fund the rapid growth of our business, including through drawdowns on existing or new debt facilities or financing funds. Conversely, we may also from time to time determine that it is in our best interests to voluntarily repay certain indebtedness early.
Accordingly, we believe that our current sources of funds will provide us with adequate liquidity during the 12-month period following December 31, 2025, as well as in the long-term.See the sections below for more details regarding the material requirements for cash in our business and our sources of liquidity to meet such needs.
Material Cash Requirements
From time to time in the ordinary course of business, we enter into agreements with vendors for the purchase of components and raw materials to be used in the manufacture of our products. However, due to contractual terms, variability in the precise growth curves of our development and production ramps, and opportunities to renegotiate pricing, we generally do not have binding and enforceable purchase orders under such contracts beyond the short-term, and the timing and magnitude of purchase orders beyond such period is difficult to accurately project.41
As discussed in and subject to the considerations referenced in Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Management Opportunities, Challenges and Uncertainties and 2026 Outlook—Cash Flow and Capital Expenditure Trends in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we currently expect our capital expenditures to exceed $20 billion in 2026 driven by our AI initiatives, including investments in compute infrastructure and data centers, the expansion and ramp of our manufacturing and R&D production lines and facilities, and growth in our fleet of company-operated AI-enabled assets and our retail, service and charging footprint. Changes in trade policy may necessitate adjustments to our project timelines, potentially impacting our capital expenditure expectations.
As of December 31, 2025, we and our subsidiaries had outstanding $8.18 billion in aggregate principal amount of indebtedness, of which $1.58 billion is current. As of December 31, 2025, our total minimum lease payments was $7.96 billion, of which $1.32 billion is due in the succeeding 12 months. For details regarding our indebtedness and lease obligations, refer to Note 9, Debt , and Note 10, Leases , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Sources and Conditions of LiquidityOur sources to fund our material cash requirements are predominantly from our deliveries and servicing of new and used vehicles, deployments and servicing of our energy storage products, interest income, and proceeds from debt facilities and equity offerings, when applicable.
As of December 31, 2025, we had $16.51 billion and $27.55 billion of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, respectively. Balances held in foreign currencies had a U.S. dollar equivalent of $4.37 billion and consisted primarily of Chinese yuan and euro. We had $6.43 billion of unused committed credit amounts as of December 31, 2025. For details regarding our indebtedness, refer to Note 9, Debt , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We continue adapting our strategy to meet our liquidity and risk objectives, such as investing in U.S. government securities and other investments, investing in autonomy, further vertically integrating our supply chain, expanding our product roadmap and providing financing options to our customers.Summary of Cash Flows
Year Ended December 31,(Dollars in millions) 2025 2024 2023Net cash provided by operating activities$ 14,747 $ 14,923 $ 13,256Net cash used in investing activities$ (15,478) $ (18,787) $ (15,584)
Net cash provided by financing activities
$ 1,139 $ 3,853 $ 2,589Cash Flows from Operating ActivitiesOur cash flows from operating activities are significantly affected by our cash investments to support the growth of our business in areas such as research and development and selling, general and administrative and working capital. Our operating cash inflows include cash from vehicle sales and related servicing, sales of energy generation and storage products, customer lease and financing payments, sales of regulatory credits and interest income on our cash and investments portfolio. These cash inflows are offset by our payments to suppliers for production materials and parts used in our manufacturing process, operating expenses, operating lease payments and interest payments on our financings.
Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $176 million to $14.75 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025 from $14.92 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in net income excluding non-cash expenses, gains and losses of $737 million, partially offset by favorable changes in net operating assets and liabilities of $561 million.Cash Flows from Investing ActivitiesNet cash flows from investing activities and their variability across each period related primarily to capital expenditures, which were $8.53 billion and $11.34 billion for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, mainly for global AI and operational infrastructure and factory expansion, as well as machinery and equipment as we expand and enhance our product roadmap. We also purchased $6.95 billion and $7.45 billion of investments, net of proceeds from maturities and sales, for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
42Cash Flows from Financing ActivitiesNet cash flows from financing activities decreased by $2.71 billion to $1.14 billion during the year ended December 31, 2025 from $3.85 billion during the year ended December 31, 2024. The decrease was primarily due to a $3.05 billion increase in repayments of debt and a $158 million decrease in proceeds from issuances of debt. See Note 9, Debt , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details regarding our debt obligations. Additionally, the decrease was partially offset by a $277 million decrease in principal payments on finance leases, a $133 million decrease in payments for buy-outs of noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries and $101 million of proceeds received from directors in shareholder settlement net of payment for related legal fees during the year ended December 31, 2025.Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies , to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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