Tesla Inc. shares dropped in after-hours trading on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, even after the electric vehicle maker topped third-quarter earnings expectations.
The decline came as investors questioned the company's Full Self-Driving subscription figures and financial disclosures.
Tesla closed the regular session at $386.47, up 3.41%, before falling 3.32% to $373.65 after hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
Quarterly revenue reached $28.05 billion, unchanged from a year earlier but above the $27.88 billion consensus estimate.
Adjusted earnings came in at 48 cents per share, beating the expected 43 cents.
Automotive revenue fell 3% to $20.56 billion, with Tesla citing weakness in its energy business, lower average vehicle selling prices, and a year-over-year decline in deliveries.
FSD Attachment Rate Draws Scrutiny
Investor Gary Black suggested profit-taking may have driven the after-hours slide following an approximately 7% share-price increase over the previous three trading sessions.
He also questioned whether Tesla's reported 75% FSD attachment rate in North America included customers receiving a free first month of service.
Black criticized Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja's response to an analyst who asked whether the paid attachment rate was closer to 30%–40%.
"CFO Taneja didn't help matters on the call," Black said on X.
He added that Taneja "didn't really answer what seemed like an easy question."
Dan Ives, a partner and senior managing director at Wedbush Securities, highlighted growth in Tesla's subscription business.
He said FSD attachment rates exceeded 75% of North American deliveries, while active subscriptions reached 1.74 million, a 67% increase year over year.
Ives also pointed to the start of Optimus production and described Tesla's artificial intelligence ambitions as strategically aligned with a potential merger involving SpaceX.
Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities, reported that Tesla added a record 260,000 FSD subscribers in the third quarter.
He estimated those additions could generate approximately $310 million in annualized revenue, potentially lifting the subscription business's implied annual revenue run rate above $2 billion.
Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, identified FSD as an increasingly relevant factor in vehicle purchasing decisions.
However, he said the technology had not yet become the deciding factor for most consumers, though he expects its influence to expand in the coming years.
Munster also assessed Tesla's production ambitions, noting a target of 5 million vehicles annually beginning in 2030, compared with an estimated 2 million vehicles in 2026.
"Implies 25% compound growth through 2030."
The production target and subscription growth projections add context for analysts evaluating Tesla's longer-term expansion plans.
The latest report highlighted the contrast between stronger-than-expected adjusted earnings and investor concerns about automotive revenue and the composition of FSD subscription figures.
