Tesla stock drops 3% in after-hours trading after Q3 report

Tesla shares fell over 3% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, reversing an initial 2% gain following its third-quarter report, as investors weighed a lower full-year capital expenditure forecast and a cautious timeline for scaling up its Optimus humanoid robot. The electric vehicle maker reported positive free cash flow of $1.53 billion, beating expectations, but cut its full-year CapEx guidance to approximately $20 billion from a prior estimate of over $25 billion. CFO Vaibhav Taneja said the company plans to fund growth primarily from operating cash flows and secured borrowing capacity of up to $30 billion. CEO Elon Musk warned that reaching 20,000 Optimus units per week could take at least a year, describing the production ramp as a "S-curve" with a flat initial slope. Tesla also declined to comment on a potential SpaceX merger, which remains in early-stage discussions.