Tesla

Tesla in brief

• Rank: #51 of 100 in America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026; #3 of 7 in Automotive & Mobility.
• WCRC Power Score: 73.12 out of 100.
• Founded: 2003, by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning; Elon Musk, JB Straubel and Ian Wright are also recognised as co-founders.
• Owner: Tesla, Inc., Austin, Texas.
• Leadership: Elon Musk, CEO.
• Latest revenue: $94.8bn revenue (FY2025, -2.9%), as per company filings.

What makes Tesla powerful

Tesla's power comes from technology and scale. It delivered 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter of 2026, and the Model 3 and Model Y made up 478,237 of them. Its energy business adds a second engine. Tesla deployed 13.7 GWh of battery storage in the third quarter alone, up 9.6% from a year earlier.

Software is the other half of the brand. Active Full Self-Driving subscriptions reached 1.74 million in the third quarter, up 67%. Its Robotaxi service had logged nearly 2 million cumulative unsupervised miles after an eightfold rise in the quarter, and the Cybercab began giving Robotaxi rides in Austin on September 3. That mix of electric cars, batteries and driving software keeps Tesla at the center of debates about the future of transport, and keeps its brand in the news.

Tesla's energy business deployed 13.7 GWh of battery storage in the third quarter of 2026, up 9.6% from a year earlier.

Why Tesla ranks #51

Tesla sits at #51 with a WCRC Power Score of 73.12, a fraction behind Xbox and Pepsi and ahead of Levi's and Ralph Lauren. It scores highly on product and innovation and on positioning and recall, since its software and self-driving work keep it in the headlines. Consumer trust is its weak spot, hurt by controversy around its chief executive, and thin profit margins hold back its financial strength. That keeps it below Xbox and Pepsi but ahead of the fashion brands below.

The Achilles' heel

Tesla's Achilles' heel is profit and competition. In the third quarter of 2026 its GAAP net income fell 43% to $787 million, and its operating margin was just 2.6%, down from 5.8% a year earlier. Deliveries of its other models, including the Cybertruck, fell 48%. Rival electric carmakers keep adding cheaper models, and Tesla no longer has the market to itself.

The 2026 story

Tesla's 2026 is a bet on autonomy. On October 2 it reported 486,532 third-quarter deliveries. That beat the analyst consensus of 461,974 but was 2.1% below the 497,099 it delivered a year earlier. On October 21 its quarterly results showed active Full Self-Driving subscriptions up 67% and capital spending of $4.73 billion in the quarter, more than double a year earlier. The company is betting that Robotaxi and the Cybercab, rather than new car models, will drive its next phase of growth.

Pillar profile

Provisional desk scores out of 100, for the WCRC Business Intelligence Unit to validate.

Versus its nearest rivals

Questions people ask

Also featured in

• Most powerful Automotive & Mobility brands
• Biggest American Brands by Revenue
• Most powerful brands in Texas

Key facts

Sources

• Annual report (Form 10-K) and financial results of Tesla, Inc. filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
• Company website, official announcements and press releases
• Published interviews and statements by the leadership
• WCRC Business Intelligence Unit research: consumer sentiment, ratings and reviews, search demand, media and social data