Bitcoin Holdings Remain Steady

Tesla, the iconic electric vehicle manufacturer, has opted for a game of statue with its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, making no adjustments for the fifth consecutive quarter. As of September 30, the carmaker’s digital asset treasure chest stands at a cool $184 million—just a smidge of the $1.5 billion in Bitcoin it initially purchased in March 2021. Since then, the only significant movement was a sell-off of roughly 75% of its Bitcoin stash in Q2 2022. That little escapade netted Tesla $936 million for more than 30,000 BTC. The moral of the story? Sometimes it’s better to hold the line than ride the rollercoaster.

Computing Power Goes Super Saiyan

If Tesla isn’t shuffling its Bitcoin around, what is it doing? Well, it seems they’ve decided to channel their inner techie genius and more than double their computing capacity for AI projects. In their latest earnings call, they proudly announced commissioning one of the world’s largest supercomputers. This beast of a machine will supercharge AI development alongside a growing training data set and the switchover of its humanoid robot Optimus to AI-driven functionalities.

Q3 Earnings: A Mixed Bag

Now, let’s put on our serious hats—because the numbers aren’t entirely glowing. Tesla reported third-quarter earnings of $23.35 billion, which sounds fantastic until you realize it’s a miss against Wall Street’s expectations of $24.38 billion. The revenue was up by nearly 9% from the previous year, yet it feels like the carmaker crashed into the wrong pit stop on this track.

Expensive Adventures in R&D

Speaking of crashing, Tesla’s operating expenses for Q3 reached $2.41 billion, marking an eyebrow-raising leap of more than 13% compared to last quarter and a jaw-dropping increase of over 42.5% from last year. Much of this can be attributed to their ramped-up research and development expenses totaling $1.16 billion—a whopping 58% increase from the previous year. Tesla’s focus? Cybertruck, AI developments, and a sprinkling of other innovative projects that have more bells and whistles than a New Year’s celebration.

Stock Market Reactions: A Bumpy Ride

After delivering these results, the stock market responded like a surprise twist in a good horror movie—rather negatively. Tesla shares saw a decline of nearly 4.8%, closing at $242.68. If that wasn’t enough, they dipped further in after-hours trading, landing at $232.37. At this rate, stockholders might soon start asking for a ‘Tesla Support Group’ to cope with the rollercoaster ride.