Tesla (TSLA) stock is pushing higher on Friday morning after the electric vehicles (EV) behemoth posted a strong third-quarter delivery report.
The company delivered 486,532 vehicles in Q3, handily beating Street estimates of about 461,000 only, even as total volume slipped roughly 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.
Despite the post-data surge, however, Tesla shares remain down over 15% versus the start of this year (2026).
Cramer’s bullish view on Tesla stock has nothing to do with deliveries
While Wall Street focuses on retail vehicle sales figures, famed investor Jim Cramer has a radically different thesis for buying TSLA stock.
On CNBC this morning, he argued that the ultimate growth catalyst for the EV firm is not strictly inside its automotive factories, but rather tied to billionaire Elon Musk’s aerospace and AI giant – SpaceX.
Following Tesla’s conversion of its $2 billion xAI investment into a direct minority stake in SpaceX earlier this year, its shareholders have direct financial exposure to the space company.
Highlighting SPCX’s expanding infrastructure, Cramer pointed out that it has “massive” compute capacity, effectively renting out raw computing power and charging customers for compute access.
He envisions a scenario where SpaceX experiences an enormous “explosion in earnings,” boosting Tesla’s balance sheet and by extension, its share price over time.
Cramer explains what drove the upside in TSLA third-quarter deliveries
Addressing Tesla’s recent delivery beat, Cramer acknowledged that traditional automotive drivers are re-evaluating electric mobility due to pain at the pump.
With global crude markets volatile and gasoline prices surging significantly across major domestic markets, consumers are increasingly viewing EVs as a budget-friendly escape from elevated fuel expenses.
Cramer noted that whenever gas prices push higher meaningfully, the perceived financial bargain of switching to an electric vehicle becomes obvious to prospective buyers.
This macro cost squeeze on combustion engine owners has provided a key tailwind for Tesla shares – helping drive delivery numbers beyond consensus estimates as cost-conscious commuters seek cheaper energy alternatives.
How to play TSLA shares after the Q3 delivery report?
All in all, Cramer’s commentary underlines a shifting narrative around Tesla’s long-term valuation model.
While short-term delivery beats validate near-term consumer demand amidst high gas prices, the overarching bull case increasingly hinges on cross-company tech synergies, AI infrastructure, and energy ecosystem expansion.
Between Tesla’s growing energy storage deployments – which reached 13.7 GWh in Q3 alone – and its shared tech nexus with Musk’s broader portfolio of compute-heavy ventures, the market is beginning to price TSLA less like a traditional automaker and more like a diversified tech empire.
For investors listening to Cramer, the delivery beat is merely a welcome bonus; the real long-term prize lies in the massive computational and technological expansion unfolding across Musk’s entire industrial ecosystem.
Note that Wall Street also currently rates TSLA shares at Overweight.
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