Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) spent 5,789 million dollars on capital projects in the second quarter of 2026, more than double its first-quarter spending. Operating cash flow of 4,697 million dollars did not cover that bill. Free cash flow therefore turned negative for the first time in the eight quarters in our database. The company published its third-quarter production and delivery figures on October 2, and it reports full third-quarter results on October 21.

Free cash flow is the cash a company keeps after it pays for the equipment and facilities it needs to run. We calculate it as operating cash flow minus capital expenditure. For the second quarter of 2026, the inputs in our database give negative 1,092 million dollars, as calculated by Trend & Ticker (4,697 minus 5,789).

Spending rose faster than cash came in

Our database holds quarterly cash flow figures for the eight quarters from the third quarter of 2024 through the second quarter of 2026. Operating cash flow was 6,238 million dollars in the third quarter of 2025. It fell to 3,813 million in the fourth quarter, then rose to 3,937 million in the first quarter of 2026 and 4,697 million in the second.

Operating cash flow in the second quarter of 2026 was lower than in the third quarter of 2025, while capital spending more than doubled over the same span. The company still generated cash from its business, but it generated less than it put into its facilities and equipment in the most recent quarter.

Capital spending has climbed for three straight quarters

Capital expenditure was 2,248 million dollars in the third quarter of 2025, 2,393 million in the fourth quarter, and 2,493 million in the first quarter of 2026. The second quarter jumped to 5,789 million. That is 2.32 times the first-quarter figure, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. Our database does not break that spending down by project, so the filings are the place to look for the detail. View Tesla financial data

Free cash flow by quarter, as calculated by Trend & Ticker, was 3,990 million dollars in the third quarter of 2025, 1,420 million in the fourth quarter, and 1,444 million in the first quarter of 2026. The second quarter came in at negative 1,092 million. Earlier quarters in the same data set ran from 2,742 million in the third quarter of 2024 down to 146 million in the second quarter of 2025. All of them were positive. View Tesla financial data

Adding the four most recent quarters gives 5,762 million dollars of free cash flow for the twelve months to June 2026, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. That total matches the trailing figure in our dossier. Without the second-quarter outflow of 1,092 million, the same four quarters would have added up to 6,854 million, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. View Tesla financial data

Revenue has recovered while profit has not

Revenue was 96,773 million dollars in fiscal 2023, 97,690 million in fiscal 2024, and 94,827 million in fiscal 2025. Over the twelve months to June 2026, revenue reached 103,619 million, up 11.75% on the prior twelve-month period according to our dossier. The top line has moved back above its earlier level.

Profit has moved in the other direction. Net income was 14,997 million dollars in fiscal 2023, 7,091 million in fiscal 2024, and 3,794 million in fiscal 2025. Over the trailing twelve months it was 3,804 million. Net income in fiscal 2024 was down 52.7% on fiscal 2023, as calculated by Trend & Ticker (7,091 divided by 14,997, less one).

Operating margin is the share of revenue left after operating costs. On a trailing basis it was 4.22% in our data. Gross margin is the share left after the direct cost of sales, and it was 18.85% on the same basis. Net margin was 3.67%. Trailing net income is about one quarter of the fiscal 2023 figure, as calculated by Trend & Ticker.

Research spending grew fastest among the costs in our data

Research and development expense was 3,969 million dollars in fiscal 2023, 4,540 million in fiscal 2024, and 6,411 million in fiscal 2025. The fiscal 2025 figure is 41.2% higher than the year before, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. Over the same period, selling, general and administrative expense rose from 4,800 million to 5,150 million and then to 5,834 million, an increase of 13.3% in fiscal 2025.

Research and development made up 6.76% of fiscal 2025 revenue, as calculated by Trend & Ticker (6,411 divided by 94,827). That share was 4.1% in fiscal 2023. Gross profit in fiscal 2025 was 17,094 million dollars, which is 18.03% of revenue. Operating income was 4,355 million, or 4.59% of revenue, as calculated from our figures. View Tesla financial data

Share count has grown slowly

Dilution is the increase in the number of shares that a company's profit is spread across. When the share count rises, each existing share owns a smaller part of the business, even if total profit stays flat. Our dossier shows diluted weighted-average shares of 3,485 million in fiscal 2023, 3,498 million in fiscal 2024, and 3,528 million in fiscal 2025.

The fiscal 2025 share count is 1.23% higher than fiscal 2023, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. That is a small change next to the fall in earnings per share. Diluted earnings per share were 4.30 dollars in fiscal 2023, 2.04 dollars in fiscal 2024, and 1.08 dollars in fiscal 2025. Most of that decline comes from profit, not from new shares. View Tesla financial data

Third-quarter volume ran ahead of production

The October 2 release, furnished to the SEC as an exhibit to a Form 8-K, reports 464,391 vehicles produced and 486,532 delivered in the third quarter of 2026. Deliveries exceeded production by 22,141 vehicles, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. The company sold more cars than it built in the period.

Model 3 and Model Y made up 478,237 of the deliveries, or 98.3%. Other models accounted for 8,295 deliveries. The release says 1% of total deliveries were vehicles subject to operating lease accounting. It also reports 13.7 GWh of energy storage deployments in the quarter. View Tesla financial data

Volume and cash flow are different measures. A delivered car becomes cash only when it is paid for. The release does not report revenue, so the third-quarter sales figure cannot be read from it yet.

The balance sheet still holds net cash

Cash in our database stood at 43,524 million dollars at the end of the second quarter of 2026, against debt of 7,721 million dollars. As calculated by Trend & Ticker, that leaves net cash of 35,803 million dollars. Our company facts list 3,949.5 million shares outstanding.

The cash balance is large relative to debt, so one negative quarter does not change the debt picture. What it does change is the source of funding. Spending above operating cash flow now draws on the cash balance, and that balance has to cover every quarter in which the gap stays open.

What the October 21 report has to answer

Tesla has said it will report third-quarter 2026 financial results on Wednesday, October 21, after the market closes. The webcast starts at 4:30 p.m. Central Time. The release says revenue, margins, net income and cash flow will come with those results and in the 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30.

Our database does not yet hold those third-quarter figures, so the open question is not answered here. The question is whether capital spending stays near the 5,789 million dollar level of the second quarter or falls back toward the 2,493 million dollars spent in the first quarter. The next number that answers it arrives with the October 21, 2026 earnings release.