Elon Musk’s political entanglements continue to impact Tesla’s business, with revenue dropping 12% and profits falling 16% in the latest quarter. Musk shifts focus to robotaxis and robotics, but profits have yet to materialize. Potential buyers in Europe balking at buying Teslas, allowing rival EV makers to steal market share.

Tesla introduces paid robotaxi service in Austin, plans for driverless cabs in other cities. Musk aims for hundreds of thousands of robotaxis on U.S. roads by next year. Autonomous taxis face tough competition, with Waymo already in several cities and logging its ten-millionth paid trip.

Federal budget eliminates electric car credit and penalties for emissions, threatening Tesla’s carbon credit sales business. Musk predicts rough quarters ahead but expects Tesla’s economics to improve with autonomy at scale. Company plans to launch a cheaper model in the last quarter of the year.

Musk anticipates regulatory approval for Full Self-Driving software in Europe by the end of the year. Tesla aims to ramp up production of humanoid Optimus robots to 100,000 a month in five years. Musk expresses desire for more control over Tesla but not to the point of being irremovable.

Gross margins for the quarter fall to 17.2%, while Tesla’s bitcoin investment yields a $284 million paper gain. Musk’s focus on robotaxis and robotics as the future of the company faces challenges in translating promise into profit.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Tesla’s profit plunges again as the fallout from Musk’s politics continues to repel buyers