Tesla Says $25 Billion Capex Plan Is Pressuring Profits

According to Axios, Tesla said its heavy spending on humanoid robots, self-driving cars and AI chips is weighing on profits, even as revenue rose in the second quarter on record vehicle deliveries. Chief Executive Elon Musk said he was "never been more optimistic about the future," while acknowledging the investments could produce uneven results. Tesla said it plans to spend more than $25 billion on capital investments this year, with the pace expected to rise over the next two or three years, and that it may borrow as much as $30 billion to speed up investments in robotaxis, Optimus robots, semiconductors, solar manufacturing and AI compute infrastructure. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $28 billion, up 23% from a year earlier, while net income fell 5% to $1.1 billion and operating margin declined to 1.4% from 4.1% a year ago. Tesla also said it began production of its driverless Cybercab in Texas during the quarter, is moving cautiously with its Robotaxi rollout, expects Tesla Semi production later this year in Nevada, and plans to start Optimus production in Fremont, California, later this year.