Tesla is speeding toward a head-on collision with the realities of the auto industry. Amid protests over CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with President Donald Trump’s administration, not to mention Tesla’s stagnant model line and obsolete technology, the company’s revenue for the first quarter of 2025 slid 9% year over year to $19.34 billion while global deliveries shrank 13%. The second quarter was equally dire: Tesla delivered just 384,122 cars, down 13% year over year, and took in $22.5 billion in revenue, 12% lower than the same period last year. Tesla sales have now been eclipsed by China’s BYD for three consecutive quarters. But Musk wants Tesla fanboys not to worry. Instead of focusing on the company’s declining sales figures, Musk spent most of his opening remarks on his recent earnings call talking about the enormous potential of the company’s Robotaxi service and Optimus humanoid robots to make Tesla—and its investors—very, very rich.

Full critique : Amid falling car sales, Musk has been hyping his humanoid robot, Optimus, as Tesla’s next big product and a potential $10 trillion business. All signs point to the contrary.