Piper Sandler Adjusts Price Target on Tesla to $475 From $450

Tesla reported Q3 deliveries of 486,532, beating estimates. CEO Elon Musk discussed potential merger talks with SpaceX, though he cautioned against assuming a certainty. The NHTSA requested details on Tesla's Cybercab safety compliance, with responses due by Oct. 30. Tesla unveiled the Roadster, claiming a 0-60 mph time of 0.81 seconds, with production set for 2028.

Tesla reported 3Q 2026 revenue of $28.05B, down 0.2% YoY, with net income falling 42.7% to $787M and EPS declining 43.6% to $0.22. Nine-month revenue rose 13%, driven by automotive and services, while energy revenue declined 6%.

Elon Musk confirmed merger talks between SpaceX and Tesla, which could combine their Bitcoin holdings of 30,221 BTC, worth about $2.5 billion. Samson Mow previously predicted Musk's deeper Bitcoin involvement and a $1.33 million BTC price by 2026. A merger would not create additional demand but could influence future Bitcoin strategy.

Tesla (TSLA) reduced its 2026 capital spending forecast to $20B from $25B, spending $4.73B in Q3, $3.2B less than expected. This resulted in $1.53B in free cash flow, contrary to analyst expectations of a $5B burn. CFO Taneja indicated future spending will increase for projects like robotaxis, Optimus, solar, and a semiconductor fab. Tesla secured $30B in borrowing capacity but doesn't plan to use it this year. Shares fell 2% after hours.

Global stocks fell on Thursday, with tech shares declining after Meta's earnings beat expectations but raised concerns over capital commitments. Meta's shares dropped 0.8%, while Tesla's fell nearly 5% in premarket trading. Geopolitical tensions pushed oil prices up 3%, and U.S. Treasury yields dropped 7 basis points to 5.075%. Bitcoin and ether each lost 3%.

Mizuho raised its price target for Tesla to $460 from $450. The adjustment follows Tesla's Q3 earnings report, which showed a decline in adjusted earnings and revenue. UBS also updated its price target for Tesla to $425 from $391.