Tesla R&D spending climbs to 8.7% of revenue

Tesla's R&D-to-revenue ratio hit a record 8.7% in Q1 2026, up from 3.3% in early 2023, and stood at 8.4% in Q2 2026. Absolute quarterly R&D spending rose from $771 million to almost $2.4 billion. The company also pushed the full self-driving rollout to Q2 2027 in select areas only.

• R&D-to-revenue ratio reached 8.7% in Q1 2026 vs 3.3% in early 2023
• Quarterly R&D spending grew from $771 million to about $2.4 billion
• Quarterly revenue ranged between $19.3 billion and $28.1 billion
• Full self-driving rollout delayed to Q2 2027, limited to certain areas