Free cash flow
Tesla, Inc. Free cash flow increased by 1.7% to $1.44B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 117.5%, from $664.00M to $1.44B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 5.5% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
cf_free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $619.00M | $1.33B | $2.78B | $2.23B | $621.00M | $3.30B | $1.42B | $441.00M | $1.01B | $848.00M | $2.06B | -$2.53B | $1.34B | $2.74B | $2.03B | $664.00M | $146.00M | $3.99B | $1.42B | $1.44B |
| QoQ Change | — | +114.5% | +109.0% | -19.7% | -72.1% | +430.9% | -56.9% | -68.9% | +127.9% | -15.6% | +143.4% | -222.6% | +153.0% | +104.3% | -25.9% | -67.3% | -78.0% | >999% | -64.4% | +1.7% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | +0.3% | +148.3% | -48.8% | -80.2% | +61.8% | -74.3% | +45.4% | -673.9% | +33.5% | +223.3% | -1.6% | +126.2% | -89.1% | +45.5% | -30.1% | +117.5% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Tesla, Inc.'s free cash flow?
- Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) reported free cash flow of $1.44B in Q1 2026.
- How has Tesla, Inc.'s free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Tesla, Inc.'s free cash flow increased by 117.5% year-over-year, from $664.00M to $1.44B.
- What is the long-term trend for Tesla, Inc.'s free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Tesla, Inc.'s free cash flow has grown at a 5.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $5.02B to $6.22B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.