Tesla shares fall as investors look past its record vehicle deliveries

Tesla shares slumped after the automaker posted a record quarter of vehicle sales that will be difficult to replicate now that US electric car subsidies have expired.

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The company delivered 497,099 electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide in the most recent quarter, 7.4 per cent more than a year ago. Although the total far exceeds the roughly 439,600 average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg, Tesla's shares fell 5.1 per cent on Oct 2 following a record monthly gain in market capitalisation.

The divergence illustrates how investor sentiment has become increasingly detached from Tesla's core EV business, focusing instead on the potential profit to be reaped by its still-developing robotaxi, artificial intelligence and robotics ventures, which Mr Musk has said will drive the company's future market value.

"We see no change to our thesis and believe astute investors are looking beyond near-term delivery volatility to higher-margin" initiatives such as Tesla robotaxis and Optimus humanoid robots, Benchmark analyst Mickey Legg said in a note to clients.