Oct 22 (Reuters) - Tesla reported record

third-quarter revenue, beating Wall Street estimates on

Wednesday, driven by the highest quarterly sales of its electric

vehicles as car buyers rushed to lock in a key U.S. tax credit

ahead of its expiry last month.

The electric vehicle maker reported total revenue of $28.1

billion for the third quarter ended September 30, compared with

analysts' average estimate of $26.37 billion, according to data

compiled by LSEG.

Profit per share in the third quarter was 50 cents, below

analysts' estimates of 55 cents.

Tesla's limited rollout of its self-driving "robotaxi"

service in Austin, Texas, earlier this year marked a key

strategic pivot, underpinning investor expectations that the

company will transition from pure vehicle sales to focusing on

self-driving technology.

While most of Tesla's current revenue is still derived from

vehicle sales, its $1.45 trillion valuation largely reflects

investor bets on robotics and AI.

Tesla introduced lower-cost "Standard" variants of Model Y

and Model 3 vehicles earlier this month as part of a

volume-growth push, cutting features and prices to make the

vehicles more accessible after the expiration of a $7,500 U.S.

tax credit on EV purchases.

A rush in the U.S. to grab the federal incentive before it

went away at the end of September resulted in the company

delivering a record number of vehicles in the third quarter.

While Tesla hopes the cheaper variants will drive higher

volumes, analysts warn the move will squeeze margins as

thousands of dollars of cost cuts per vehicle may not fully

compensate for lower selling prices.

Wall Street expects Tesla's deliveries in 2025 to fall 8.5%

due to the expiry of the tax credit, reliance on older models

and rising competition. Musk's embrace of right-wing politics

has also alienated some potential buyers.

Tesla is banking on the rollout of its lower-cost standard

variants to revive volume growth, though some analysts remain

skeptical of a strong rebound as the cheaper version could take

away sales of more profitable premium vehicles.

For years, Tesla has benefited from selling regulatory

credits to other automakers as they worked to comply with

emissions or zero-emission vehicle mandates, representing a

meaningful supplemental revenue stream.

That tailwind is rapidly fading. U.S. policy changes are

expected to reduce this income stream significantly, and

analysts now estimate revenue for the highly profitable

regulatory credits could fall dramatically in the coming

quarters.