Tesla Inc’s profit plunged as rising costs undercut a record quarter of vehicle sales, exposing strains on its operations while Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk shifts focus away from the automotive business. 

Musk used Tesla’s third-quarter earnings to talk up ambitious-but-opaque initiatives including the company’s humanoid robot and artificial intelligence programs, and also pleaded with investors to back his trillion-dollar compensation package. But he offered few details about how Tesla will revive its core business selling electric vehicles after a 40 per cent drop in operating profit. 

“We’re left with this lingering uncertainty regarding what the near-term growth drivers will be,” said Garrett Nelson, senior equity research analyst at CFRA.  

Adjusted earnings were 50 cents a share in the period, down 31 per cent from a year ago, the company said Wednesday in a statement. Analysts had expected 54 cents on average in estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The results, which extended a string of four straight quarters of weaker-than-expected profit, show the company isn’t immune to the rising costs buffeting the auto industry as President Donald Trump radically overhauls US policy. Tesla’s operating expenses soared 50 per cent to $3.4 billion in the quarter, and it now estimates the impact of US tariffs was $400 million in the period. 

Musk has repeatedly outlined a future built around AI, robots and self-driving technology — a vision that has led investors to bid up the stock. But questions are growing over the timeline to develop these businesses and the costs associated with building them out, and Tesla offered few answers in its latest report.