How auto industry finances fared in Q3 amid tariff changes, end of EV tax credits

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Q3 brought a mix of headwinds and tailwinds for the auto industry, from some tariff relief to the sunsetting of federal EV tax credits to a fire at a supplier plant.

Here’s how Ford, Tesla, and General Motors fared financially.

Supply-chain woes: Ford reported profits of $2.4 billion, up from $900 million in Q3 2024. Revenue was up 9% YoY to $50.5 billion. The automaker said that tariffs cost it $700 million in Q3.

Ford Model e, its EV business division, reported an EBIT loss of $1.4 billion, higher than the $1.2 billion EBIT loss it reported in Q3 2024. Its internal combustion engine and commercial vehicle businesses reported earnings of $1.5 billion and $2 billion, respectively.

The automaker is navigating a supply-chain crisis after a fire halted production at a Novelis aluminum plant in New York, a crucial supplier for Ford vehicles including F-Series trucks. Ford said it expects the fire “to be a headwind of $1 billion or less” between this year and next. The company announced plans to add “up to 1,000 jobs to increase F-Series production” to recover losses from the fire.

In part because of the fire, the automaker lowered its full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to between $6 billion and $6.5 billion.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement that the automaker is “working intensively with Novelis and others to source aluminum that can be processed in the cold rolling section of the plant that remains operational while also working to restore overall plant production,” and that Ford has “made substantial progress in a short time to minimize the impact in 2025 and recover production in 2026.”

Farley hailed a recent development on tariff policy that would help offset some tariff-related costs on US-assembled vehicles, and new tariffs on medium- and heavy-duty trucks that Farley called “a positive for Ford.”

Robot army? Tesla again reported a drop in profits, with net income down 37% YoY to $1.4 billion despite record global deliveries in Q3.

Tesla’s automotive revenue rose 6% YoY, while revenue from energy generation and storage climbed 44%. Adjusted EBITDA fell 9% to $4.2 billion.

CEO Elon Musk spent part of the EV maker’s earnings call arguing in favor of a $1 trillion pay package for him that Tesla’s board is slated to vote on in November.

“My fundamental concern with regard to how much voting control I have at Tesla is, if I go ahead and build this enormous robot army, can I just be ousted at some point in the future?” he said. “I don’t feel comfortable building that robot army if I don’t have, at least, a strong influence.”

Shifting policy: GM reported $1.3 billion in Q3 profits, down from $3 billion a year ago, on $48.6 billion in revenue. The automaker raised its guidance for full-year adjusted EBIT to between $12 billion and $13 billion.

In a letter to shareholders, CEO Mary Barra thanked the Trump administration “for the important tariff updates.”

She acknowledged the more challenging landscape for EVs in the US, and said that GM is “reassessing our EV capacity and manufacturing footprint,” resulting in GM recording a $1.6 billion special charge in Q3. Barra also announced that GM would stop production of its BrightDrop electric van, citing slower-than-expected demand.

“Our portfolio and capacity plans over the last several years have been heavily influenced by steadily increasing stringency requirements for fuel economy and emissions,” Barra said. “Now, with an evolving regulatory framework and the end of the federal consumer incentives, it is clear that EV adoption will be much lower than planned.”