Tesla said it "achieved record vehicle deliveries globally" for the third quarter of 2025 with a total of 497,099 vehicles delivered. It also reported a record-breaking revenue of $28.1 billion, which is 12 percent higher than the same quarter in 2024. Tesla's net income, however, slid by 37 percent year-over-year, due to several factors, namely lower EV prices, an increase in spending on AI and other R&D projects, and of course, tariffs. Vaibhav Taneja, the automaker's finance chief, said during the earnings call that tariffs on imported car parts and raw materials cost the company more than $400 million in the third quarter. Taneja added that he expects research and development spending to continue to grow.During the call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he expects the company to deploy its first robotaxis with no drivers behind the wheel by the end of this year, starting with some parts of Austin. If you'll recall, Tesla launched its first robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas back in June. There have been several reports of the robotaxis running into issues since then, including an instance wherein one drove into a parked car. Musk said Tesla was "obviously being very cautious about the deployment," but that he expects his company to be operating fully driverless vehicles in eight to ten new states before 2025 ends.Musk revealed, as well, that Tesla's homegrown AI5 artificial intelligence chip will be manufactured both by Samsung in Texas and by TSMC in Arizona. Tesla is apparently aiming to manufacture more than it needs for its electric vehicles and upcoming Optimus robots so that it can use the excess units in its data centers. He clarified that Tesla isn't going to stop using NVIDIA chips, but that it will continue using them in combination with AI5.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/teslas-profits-plunge-despite-record-revenue-and-deliveries-133004231.html?src=rss

Tesla has secured a ruling to strip a 2017 lawsuit claiming a racist work environment of its class-action status, as reported by Reuters. California Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021, ruled that the lawsuit could not proceed with class-action status because the plaintiffs' attorneys had failed to find 200 class members willing to testify. The judge said he could not assume that the experiences of a select group of workers could be applied to the entire class of would-be plaintiffs.The 2017 lawsuit began with a single employee who filed suit alleging Tesla's Fremont production floor was a "hotbed for racist behavior," and that over 100 employees had experienced racial harassment.In 2024, a lower court judge ruled the case could move forward as a class action, a decision that Tesla had been appealing since. A trial in the case was scheduled to begin in April, though now that the case has lost its class-action status, each plaintiff would have to bring their case against Tesla separately.This is not the first time that Tesla has found itself in court over alleged racial misconduct. In 2023, the automaker was sued by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over allegations that Black employees were subjected to racial slurs and retaliation.Last year, Tesla reached a confidential settlement with a single employee who said he faced discrimination at the same California plant, reporting that his coworkers left drawings of swastikas and racist figures on his workspace.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/tesla-wins-bid-to-decertify-class-action-lawsuit-alleging-racial-discrimination-191256294.html?src=rss