Tesla, Inc. TSLA has reported earnings per share of $2.90 in third-quarter 2018, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of loss of 55 cents. The company reported loss of $2.92 per share in the prior-year quarter.During the reported quarter, net income attributable to common shareholders amounted $516.2 million compared with the year-ago net loss of $488.5 million.Revenues increased to $6.8 billion from $3 billion registered in third-quarter 2017. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.7 billion.During the quarter under review, Tesla delivered 27,710 Model S and Model X vehicles, and 56,065 Model 3 vehicles to the customers.Total automotive revenues, including revenues from automotive sales and leasing, increased appreciably year over year to $6.1 billion in the reported quarter. The rise was due to a robust increase in Model 3 deliveries.Energy generation and storage revenues increased from $317.5 million in third-quarter 2017 to $399.3 million in the reported quarter. The rise was mainly due to considerable growth of energy-storage deployments, and higher mix of cash and loan sales for solar deployments.Services and other revenues increased 21.1% year over year to $445 million, primarily due to higher used-car sales.Tesla’s third-quarter 2018 automotive gross margin was 25.8%, increasing 752 basis points (bps) from third-quarter 2017.Energy generation and storage gross margin declined 804 bps on a year-over-year basis to 17.2%.Tesla, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Tesla, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Tesla, Inc. QuoteFinancial PositionTesla had cash and cash equivalents of $2.97 billion as of Sep 30, 2018, compared with $3.37 billion, as of Dec 31, 2017.Net cash provided by operating activities amounted to $139.1 million in third-quarter 2018 compared with net cash of $300.6 million used in third-quarter 2017. Capital expenditure declined to $510.3 million from $1.12 billion in the year-ago quarter.Business ExpansionIn third-quarter 2018, Tesla opened four new stores and service locations. The company also opened 44 new supercharger locations, reaching the global total of 1,352.Model 3 UpdateThe company roughly produced 5,300 Model 3 vehicles in the last week of the third quarter. The Model 3 production system was stable during the quarter. The company started the quarter by producing only Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) Model 3s and ended it by manufacturing almost the entire All-Wheel Drive (AWD) version of Model 3.Labor time required per Model 3 declined by over 30% in third-quarter 2018 from that of second-quarter 2018.OutlookThe company expects Model 3 production and deliveries to continue increasing in fourth-quarter 2018. Model 3 gross margin is likely to remain unchanged in fourth-quarter 2018. Tesla expects to deliver around 100,000 units of Model S and Model X in 2018, similar to the prior-quarter guidance.Zacks Rank & Key PicksTesla currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. ALSN, Advance Auto Parts, Inc. AAP and Navistar International Corporation NAV, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Allison Transmission has an expected long-term growth rate of 10%. Over the past six months, shares of the company have surged 13%.Advance Auto Parts has an expected long-term growth rate of 12.3%. Over the past two years, shares of the company have risen 40.6%.Navistar has an expected long-term growth rate of 5%. Over the past two years, shares of the company have risen 35.3%.Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.See the pot trades we're targeting>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (AAP): Free Stock Analysis Report Navistar International Corporation (NAV): Free Stock Analysis Report Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (ALSN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.