Tesla Stock Trends Higher: What's Going On?

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares are gaining Monday ahead of third-quarter earnings due Wednesday after the close, as Roadster excitement fuels SpaceX merger chatter. Tesla stock is charging ahead with explosive momentum. Why is TSLA stock up today? Tesla Reports Q3 Earnings Wednesday Wall Street awaits Tesla’s third-quarter report on Wednesday, Oct. 21, after the closing bell. Forecasts call for earnings of 43 cents per share on $27.88 billion in sales. Delivering those numbers would hint that the slide in Tesla’s earnings is flattening out. Earnings of 43 cents would outpace the second quarter’s 33 cents on an adjusted basis. Adjusted EPS in that quarter had shrunk approximately 18% year-over-year. Sales, meanwhile, would barely move. The $27.88 billion forecast sits about 1.3% under the second quarter’s $28.24 billion and roughly 0.8% under the third quarter of 2025. Last quarter showed growth without matching profit. Sales rose 26% to $28.24 billion, but operating income sank 57% to $398 million. Operating margin shrank to 1.4%, compared with 4.1% in the prior-year quarter, and spending of $5.79 billion on capital projects pushed free cash flow to negative $1.09 billion. Roadster Reveal Revives Merger Talk Merger speculation has also intensified in recent days. Tesla staged the second-generation Roadster’s debut Thursday night at SpaceX’s test site in McGregor, Texas. Thrusters from SpaceX Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX) let the car travel inverted on a curved ramp, tumble in midair and leap over a lineup of Tesla vehicles. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives believes the demonstration bolstered the argument for merging Tesla and SpaceX. Barclays has also raised the possibility of a deal ahead of Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in early December. Investor Ross Gerber and Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management likewise predict the companies will join forces. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard backed Tesla with an Overweight rating and $485 price target to start the week. Sheppard’s note spotlights last week’s Roadster reveal. Thrusters adapted from SpaceX technology, powered by compressed gas, let the car float and reach 60 mph from a standstill in under one second, the analyst said. Elon Musk disclosed during the demonstration that Tesla aims to start building the car in 2028. Tesla has a consensus Buy rating with an average price forecast of $415, according to Benzinga data. TSLA Shares Are Jumping TSLA Price Action: Tesla shares were up 4.03% at $369.02 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro. Tesla crossed above its 50-day moving average of $360.27 on Monday, putting the stock back above a key medium-term trend line. The stock was last above the 50-day average but below the 20-day average of $370.01 and below the 200-day average of $387.59, .benzinga-widget#bz-embed-widget-block_d42c80627f1db7b55ca142163404a562 iframe.w-full { width: 100%; } Read Also: Dan Ives Says Meta, SpaceX and Tesla Face Big Questions This Week — His 3 'Big Focus Points' Ahead of Tech Earnings Image: Shutterstock