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Jul 20, 2026, 7:38 AM UTC Market News Edge source feed
Elon Musk’s EV maker is slated to report earnings of 52 cents in what turned out to be a record quarter for deliveries.
Tesla TSLA heads into one of its biggest events of the quarter with shares hovering around $380, about 25% below their record high near $500.
The stock has also slipped beneath its 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages — a trio technical traders rarely enjoy seeing stacked overhead.
The EV maker reports second-quarter earnings after Wednesday's closing bell. Wall Street expects roughly $0.52-$0.54 per share in earnings on about $26 billion in revenue, setting the stage for another closely watched Elon Musk production.
On paper, the quarter looked impressive. Tesla delivered a record 480,126 vehicles, smashing expectations of roughly 403,000 and beating its previous delivery record. Now comes the harder question: did all those extra cars actually make money?
Investors will be watching automotive gross margin excluding regulatory credits — a mouthful that measures how profitable Tesla's car business is before accounting for one-off regulatory benefits. It's one of Wall Street's favorite health checks for the company.
Analysts want to see that figure hold at or above roughly 12.5%, matching last quarter. If margins improve while deliveries hit records, it would suggest Tesla isn't relying too heavily on discounts and incentives to move inventory.
A revenue beat alone may not impress. Tesla has spent years trading like a high-growth technology company rather than a traditional automaker, meaning investors usually care more about future profitability than just selling more cars.
That’s why another big headline item is robotaxis. Investors want meaningful updates on Tesla's autonomous driving ambitions after months of promises.
Positive progress could help justify the company's lofty valuation, which still assumes substantial future growth.
Tesla currently trades at roughly 349 times earnings — or P/E, short for price-to-earnings ratio. That's a measure of how much investors are willing to pay today for each dollar of profit, and Tesla's multiple remains one of the richest on the planet (and other planets?)
That said, record deliveries, healthy margins and tangible robotaxi progress would give both bulls and the valuation a stronger foundation. Miss one — or worse, two or three — and the recent downtrend may decide to stick around a little longer.