Tesla stock whipsaws after 3rd-quarter deliveries beat Wall Street's estimates
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2025-10-02T13:59:37Z
- Tesla reported deliveries for the third quarter that beat estimates.
- Sales may have benefited from customers rushing to buy EVs before the expiration of a key tax credit.
- Some caution that momentum could fade now that the tax credit is no longer available.
The move: Tesla stock jumped as much as 2% on Thursday, before reversing gains to trade lower by about 0.5%.
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker has had a wild year in 2025. It’s up 13% year-to-date after being down as much as 45%.
Why: Tesla reported 497,099 vehicle deliveries in the third quarter, a 7% increase over the same period last year. FactSet data shows Wall Street analysts were anticipating 447,600 quarterly deliveries.
What it means: The estimate-beating delivery figures are a needed break for the company, which saw revenue decline by the most in 10 years in the second quarter.
But there’s still reason to be cautious.
The latest figures could reflect a rush to buy EVs before the expiration of the $7,500 federal tax credit, which expired on September 30. The company had a countdown clock on its webpage urging buyers to lock in their purchase before the credit expired.
Sales could wane now that the incentive is no longer available, some analysts have warned. Additionally, Ford CEO Jim Farley recently said that Chinese companies are dominating all major US EV producers, including Tesla.
“Seeing a lot of new Teslas on the road as the rush to cash in on the credits definitely helped the qtr in a big way,” hedge fund manager and Tesla investor Ross Gerber posted on X. “Sadly though, this is the end of the rush and winter is coming.”