Tesla Profit Falls Well Short of Expectations

- Tesla Inc.'s second-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street's estimates, a setback for the electric-vehicle maker as it looks to build out new lines of business around robotics, autonomy and AI. Adjusted earnings per share were 33 cents in the period, the company said Wednesday in a statement. That's lower than the 51-cent average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. It also reported negative free cash flow of $1.09 billion.  Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has warned spending this year will total more than $25 billion, and the company is looking to increase production of cars, batteries and robots across half a dozen plants as it follows his futuristic vision. The impact of that investment is now filtering through the company's financials, so investors will want more details.