Tesla reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter profits on Wednesday, sending its already struggling shares down more than 3% in after-hours trading, as the carmaker leans increasingly on robotics and artificial intelligence rather than vehicle sales to drive its future. The results underline how Tesla, once the core of Elon Musk's business empire, has been overshadowed by SpaceX, which last month completed the largest stock market debut in history and briefly made Musk the world's first trillionaire, even as both companies' shares have since slid.

Tesla posted earnings of 31 cents per share, well below the 51 cents Wall Street had forecast, though revenue of $28.23bn beat the expected $25.71bn, partly thanks to stronger European sales driven by continuing EV subsidies and higher petrol prices. The company is betting heavily on its Optimus robot and Robotaxi driverless service, which Musk again talked up on the earnings call while admitting the technology remains extremely difficult to scale; Robotaxi is expanding to Tampa and Orlando in addition to existing operations in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Miami, though only around 50 vehicles currently run in Austin, far short of Musk's long-promised mass rollout.