In Tesla's third-quarter results for 2023, the electric vehicle manufacturer reported that it has made no changes to its significant Bitcoin holdings, which remain steady at $184 million. This steady position comes after Tesla's substantial $1.5 billion purchase of Bitcoin in March 2021. The company has not engaged in any buying or selling of Bitcoin since the second quarter of 2022, during which it sold around 75% of its Bitcoin holdings, equivalent to more than 30,000 Bitcoins for $936 million.
Instead of further investment in cryptocurrencies, Tesla has focused on enhancing its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities by doubling its computing power. This expansion in computing power is essential to meet the demands of growing training data sets and to shift the training of its humanoid robot Optimus to AI development, rather than traditional software coding.
The company has invested in one of the world's largest supercomputers to expedite AI development, reflecting the increasing importance of AI in Tesla's technology stack. This move is driven by Tesla's need to enhance AI training to accommodate advanced machine learning and deep learning tasks.
Despite these strategic developments, Tesla's third-quarter financial results fell short of Wall Street's expectations. The company reported total revenue of $23.35 billion, marking nearly a 9% increase compared to the same quarter the previous year. However, this figure was below the estimate of $24.38 billion by Zacks Investment Research. Tesla also missed earnings estimates, posting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.72.
Operating expenses for the third quarter totaled $2.41 billion, which was up over 13% from the previous quarter and more than 42.5% higher than the previous year. Tesla's expenditure on research and development in the quarter amounted to $1.16 billion, signifying a 58% increase from the previous year. This rise in expenses was attributed to key projects, including the Cybertruck, AI development, and other research and development initiatives.
In response to these financial results, Tesla's share price experienced a nearly 4.8% drop on the day, closing at $242.68. In after-hours trading, the shares fell an additional 4.25% to $232.37, according to Google Finance data.
