US automakers reported higher third-quarter revenue, but say costs are climbing. Steel, copper, computer chips and diesel have all become pricier, partly because of tariffs the Trump administration has imposed since 2025. General Motors expects materials and diesel to cost it as much as $2 billion this year, and it still pays about $2.5 billion in tariffs. Ford expects a year-over-year headwind of about $2 billion from commodities, memory chips and logistics. Stellantis will give more detail in the fourth quarter. Demand remains firm. GM's light-duty truck sales rose 9%, and Stellantis' US pickup sales rose 34%. The average new vehicle price was just over $50,000 in September. Electric vehicle sales fell after the $7,500 federal tax credit ended, while hybrid sales rose 27%.

Tesla shares rose 9% last week to $407.46 on speculation about a merger with SpaceX, even as the company's fundamentals weakened. Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight, citing a potential deal, and reports said the two companies have formed committees to discuss one. Tesla has issued no official release. Third-quarter revenue was $28.05 billion, roughly flat year over year. Operating income fell 56% and free cash flow dropped 62% to $1.53 billion, while capex rose 110.5%. The stock now trades 0.44% below the consensus analyst target of $409.27. Of 44 analysts, 21 rate it Hold, and only four rate it Sell or Strong Sell. On the positive side, Tesla reported its highest vehicle backlog in four years, 1.74 million active FSD subscriptions, and $45.45 billion in cash.

Tesla is close to 1,000 vehicle registrations in India this year, with 990 recorded between January 1 and October 26, according to Vahan data compiled by Flash Finance. That is about 72% of Mercedes-Benz's 1,369 electric car registrations and a quarter of BMW's 4,014. In October alone, Tesla registered 220 cars through October 26, ahead of Mercedes-Benz's 47 but behind BMW's 349. Tesla's overseas shareholders put about ₹86 crore of fresh equity into its Indian unit in FY26, lifting equity capital from ₹50 crore to about ₹136 crore. The unit's net profit rose to ₹5.16 crore from ₹55.49 lakh, while revenue reached ₹247.31 crore. The Model Y now starts at ₹50.89 lakh after a ₹9 lakh price cut.