Hyperdrive
Tesla’s Self-Driving Software Is a Perpetual Revenue Letdown
- Carmaker’s deferred revenue balance is now at $3.5 billion
- It expects to recognize $848 million in the next 12 months
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The chasm between what Elon Musk says about commercializing self-driving technology and what Tesla Inc. says later in regulatory filings has never been wider.
On Wednesday, Tesla released its 10-Q, a quarterly report that provides a more detailed view into the company’s financial position. For several years running, Tesla has provided regular updates in these statements on how much revenue it’s taken in from customers and not yet fully recognized. Some of this deferred revenue relates to a work-in-progress product: Full Self-Driving, or FSD, for short.