Tesla Stock Drops 3% as 2026 Capex Rises to $25B from $20B

Tesla shares declined about 3% intraday on April 23 amid revived concerns over weaker cash generation after raising 2026 capex to $25 billion from $20 billion. The update followed an April 22 announcement detailing the tripling of spending for AI, robotics like Optimus, chip design, manufacturing expansions near Austin and Fremont, and supply chain boosts, with Q1 capex at $2.5 billion and free cash flow at $1.4 billion despite $44.7 billion in cash. Energy storage missed forecasts at $2.41 billion revenue and 8.8 GWh deployments (down 38% sequentially), though shares are up nearly 60% over the past year amid SpaceX IPO speculation.