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Hyundai Motor's Q1 profit sinks while Tesla's rises amid tariffs, currency swings and global tensions

Published: 23 Apr. 2026, 17:14

Hyundai Motor's humanoid robot Atlas, left, and Tesla's Optimus robot [JOONGANG ILBO]

Hyundai Motor and Tesla reported sharply diverging first-quarter results as tariffs, currency swings and geopolitical tensions weighed unevenly on the two automakers, which are both doubling down on humanoid robots as a future growth engine.

Hyundai Motor’s operating profit in the first quarter fell 30.1 percent on year to 2.51 trillion won ($1.69 billion), while its revenue from January to March rose 3.4 percent on year to a record 45.9 trillion won.

The contrast between the record first-quarter revenue figure and the sharp decline in operating profit underscored mounting cost pressures despite resilient sales.

The company said strong demand for higher-margin models such as hybrid vehicles in advanced markets, particularly the United States, helped offset a broader downturn in global auto demand. Hyundai’s global sales fell 2.5 percent on year to 976,219 units, but U.S. sales rose to a first-quarter record of 243,572 units.

“Despite difficult market conditions, including a 7.2 percent decline in global auto demand compared to a year earlier, we are maintaining solid sales through high-value models,” a Hyundai official said.

The drop in profit was driven largely by external factors. The United States imposed reciprocal tariffs on automobiles starting in the second quarter of last year, resulting in about 860 billion won in additional costs.

Incentive spending rose by roughly 300 billion won to support demand, while disruptions linked to Iran war and a temporary halt in sales of the Palisade SUV shaved an estimated 250 billion won off operating profit.

The headquarters of Hyundai Motor in Seocho District, southern Seoul, as seen on on Jan. 23, 2025 [NEWS1]

By contrast, Tesla posted stronger-than-expected earnings, buoyed in part by one-off tariff-related gains and favorable exchange rates.

The company said its first-quarter revenue rose 16 percent on year to $22.39 billion, while operating profit surged 136 percent to $900 million.

Tesla said it saw “continued demand” for its vehicles in Asia-Pacific and South America, along with rebounds in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as North America.

Beyond near-term performance, investors are watching closely to see how quickly both companies can commercialize humanoid robots — a sector both companies view as a key long-term growth driver.

Hyundai said its robotics unit, Boston Dynamics, plans to open a Robot Meta-Plant Application Center in Savannah, Georgia, in the third quarter and build a production facility capable of manufacturing 30,000 Atlas humanoid robots annually by 2028.

“We plan to open the RMAC in Savannah in the third quarter as scheduled and establish a production plant with annual capacity of 30,000 units by 2028,” said Koo Za-yong, Hyundai Motor’s head of investor relations. “Full-scale commercialization and deployment will begin in earnest in the second half of this year,” he added.

A Tesla Cybertruck is parked at a Tesla dealer in Paramus, New Jersey, on July 23, 2024. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Tesla, for its part, is accelerating its shift away from being purely an electric vehicle business toward AI and its humanoid robot, Optimus.

The company is already piloting a robotaxi service and plans to begin producing Optimus at facilities that previously made vehicles such as the Model S and Model X starting in the second quarter, in addition to ramping up production of its electric truck, “Semi.”

That push, however, comes with rising costs. Tesla said it expects capital expenditure to reach $25 billion this year — roughly triple last year’s level — as it invests heavily in robotics and AI.

“We expect capital expenditure to increase significantly this year,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk, adding the company believes “the growth in revenue will justify that increase.”

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor is working with Nvidia to accelerate the processing of autonomous driving data and plans to deploy a prototype of a software-defined vehicle on public roads later this year for certification, according to Hyundai Motor CFO Lee Seung-jo.

“We have been pursuing collaboration with Nvidia to rapidly train large volumes of autonomous driving data, and we plan to utilize data accumulated by external partners across the global ecosystem as well,” Lee said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KO SUK-HYUN [[email protected]]