Could Tesla’s (TSLA: NASDAQ) entire revenue “beat” in Q4 2025 have come from a related-party sale of $143.3 million in sales to SpaceX?

There was no word of related party sales when the company squeaked out a “beat” exceeding Wall Street’s revenue expectations with Q4 2025 earnings, which led to a 3% increase in the stock price and helped Tesla claim a streak to six in eight quarters of exceeding estimates. 

But three disclosures in SEC documents filed as SpaceX prepares to launch the largest IPO in history suggest otherwise and, indeed, raise questions. Which one of these is right:

So which was it? Selling over one-hundred-million on Cybertrucks was an “immaterial” payment from SpaceX to Tesla (TSLA 10-K: Jan. 29, 2026)?

Or was it a “$143.3 million” payment from SpaceX to Tesla (TSLA 10-K: Apr. 30, 2026)? 

Or was it a “$131 million” payment from SpaceX to Tesla? (SPCX S-1: May 20, 2026)?

Two of these three filings are untrue. Or all of them. 

It’s worth noting that this related party transaction was large enough that it may have given Tesla its’ Q4  “earnings beat” when Tesla topped Wall Street revenue estimates by $125 million.

This also raises three questions: 

Why not buy them $40,000 Ford F-150s and give a truck for every seventh employee? 

Elon Musk’s achievements are jaw-dropping and inspirational. That said, it’s clear that investors in SpaceX need to calculate the risk of that his accounting shenanigans may confer to the performance and volatility of SPCX.

Not every decision at SpaceX is being made for the benefit of SpaceX.

Last week we had the unusual opportunity to opine on Artificial Intelligence, God’s love, the meaning of humanity and the latest encyclical from Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV (not to be confused with the Chicago-born CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) with Connell McShane of NewsNation.

Schwab Network also had me on to discuss the coming surge in IPOs and the glaring omission in SpaceX’s offering documents. Good times and many laughs with Marley Kaden and Sam Vadas.

We’ll be in our San Francisco office at the Ferry Building all week — when not traipsing between conferences. Give us a call.

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