NEW YORK: Tesla reported lower third-quarter profits Wednesday as near-trillionaire Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker ramped up huge investments in artificial intelligence and other envelope-pushing technologies.
Besides marginally lower car sales, Tesla saw a drop in revenues from regulatory credits and energy and storage, while spending on research and development more than doubled as the company engages in a spending binge on AI, robotics and autonomous transport.
The earnings were arguably upstaged by Musk's disclosure Tuesday that special committees of independent directors at both SpaceX and Tesla have been set up to discuss a merger of the two companies. Musk, who leads both companies, declined to offer further details Wednesday.
