Tesla reported a quarterly revenue record overnight, but earnings still managed to miss analyst forecasts and fall from a year ago.

The company earned adjusted income of $US1.8 billion ($2.77 billion) in the third quarter, down 29 per cent from a year ago. Despite the earnings miss, it was still the company's best quarter so far this year.

The drop in earnings came even after Tesla reported record sales of nearly 500,000 cars during the quarter, as Americans rushed to buy electric cars before a $US7500 ($11,558) federal tax credit expired on October 1.

But electric vehicle sales in the US are widely expected to plunge in the fourth quarter.

That's because people who would have normally bought EVs later in the year flocked to buy cars early to lock in the tax break.

The loss of the

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