Tesla, Tesla, Tesla, a terrible report from Tesla – but we listened to the investor call and found many interesting and important things:
The main headline from the investor call is, of course, that Tesla is expanding its control over the supply chain and preparing the ground for mass production of Optimus,
But more than that, Tesla's investor call for Q2 2026 provided a glimpse into the direction the company is heading:
If in the past investors focused mainly on electric vehicles, today it seems Tesla is building a huge industrial infrastructure for Optimus robots, AI chips, and autonomous taxis.
But an equally interesting point in the call, which perhaps many investors didn't quite notice, is the supply chain for chips and memory:
Elon Musk publicly thanked Micron for allocating significant amounts of memory to Tesla, despite the global shortage and rising prices.
According to him, the allocation was made under fair terms and will ensure Tesla's supply for the coming years (sounds like a long-term contract).
Following this, Musk spoke about his huge chip factory project: Musk emphasized that the TeraFab factory is a necessary condition for expanding Optimus production.
According to him, without this factory, it will not be possible to significantly increase the production rate of the robots, due to limitations in memory, logic, and chip packaging technologies.
At the same time, Tesla has already ordered equipment for a new development factory in Austin, with the main goal of centralizing the entire chip development process in one place, from lithography and mask production, through logic and memory, to packaging and testing.
This means that Tesla wants to significantly shorten development times and not be dependent on external factors at every stage.
Another interesting point from the call is that Tesla's partners continue to invest huge sums to support the company's plans.
Samsung is building its new chip factory in Texas, TSMC is building its factories in Arizona, Panasonic continues to expand battery production, and Micron is ensuring memory supply.
In addition, Tesla is developing a new supply chain for specialized robot components, such as MIM components and flexible printed circuits, components that are almost non-existent in the automotive supply chain.
In areas where there are no suitable suppliers, Tesla simply builds the capability itself.
The field of autonomous taxis also received significant attention in the call:
Musk clarified that Tesla does not plan to rely on ride-sharing companies, but rather to operate the entire service itself, as part of a full vertical integration model. According to him, demand is expected to exceed the company's ability to provide the service in the initial years.
The main challenge today is to achieve an extremely high level of reliability for autonomous driving systems, while obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals in the US.
Regarding SpaceX, Musk refrained from addressing the possibility of a merger between the companies, but confirmed that cooperation has expanded significantly.
Among other things, Starlink is already installed in Cybertrucks and other vehicles to maintain continuous connectivity even in areas without cellular reception. Additionally, Musk noted that in the future the system could also be used as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.
In the field of autonomous trucks, Tesla is still prioritizing the completion of autonomous driving in Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck vehicles. Only after that does the company plan to begin deploying autonomous Semi trucks, likely by the end of this year or early next year.
Musk also revealed a particularly ambitious production target:
According to him, the Optimus 4 production line in Austin is planned to reach a rate of about 10 million units per year, with deep vertical integration that also includes the production of electronic components and printed circuits.
In addition, Tesla plans to begin mass production of new AI chips in the middle of next year, and only then to economically upgrade HW3 vehicles to the new systems.
And a final point: the energy sector continues to gain momentum:
Musk explained that AI data centers create sharp fluctuations in electricity consumption, sometimes a jump of about 70% in a short time during model training. Because of this, there is very high demand for Megapack systems, which allow stabilizing the power grid and providing energy backup. According to him, SpaceX is also among the system's customers.
In short, the call indicates that Tesla is no longer just building a car manufacturer, but is trying to control almost all layers of the next-generation value chain, from AI chips and memory, through robot production, to energy infrastructure and communication systems. If these plans succeed, the company will become less dependent on external suppliers and will be able to significantly increase the production rate of its new products in the coming years.
Meanwhile, investors are not satisfied with dreams; they want numbers, and as a result, the stock fell about 14% yesterday.
But, here it is worth asking, just as investors are punishing Google for its capital expenditures, which, if they generate revenue, could justify the price premium, might we also find in Tesla that dreams have turned into reality?