Tesla makes a comeback 😮‍💨

Mixed auto sales, Gland’s US bet, and India’s factory activity picks up.

🗓️ Morning, folks and Happy Mondayyyy! ☀️

The dating scene was so dry, the government had to get involved.

Singapore has launched FirstDate, a pilot matchmaking service for public officers aged 21-35, as the country deals with record-low fertility.

Instead of endless swiping, users answer questions about their interests, habits and values and receive one potential match at a time. And yes, the government is essentially playing Cupid.

Behind the scenes, it uses the Gale-Shapley “stable marriage” algorithm to find mutually compatible matches. The experiment comes after Singapore recorded fewer than 30,000 births in 2025 for the first time in 60 years.

Whether an algorithm can solve the mathematics of love and eventually make more babies is another question.

Now, onto the markets 📈,

Markets are heading into a busy week, with the RBI policy decision likely to set the tone. The RBI MPC will meet from October 5-7, with its decision on repo rate due Wednesday.

The GST Council also meets on October 7, where the focus will be on making GST processes such as refunds, registrations and input tax credits simpler for businesses.

Then comes earnings season. TCS will report its Q2 numbers on October 8, giving markets an early read on corporate performance.

Globally, investors will keep an eye on crude oil, US bond yields, the US jobs report and US-Iran tensions. With Brent still above $100 a barrel, the coming week could remain volatile for Dalal Street.

💡 Spotlight: September auto sales paint a mixed picture 🚗

September was a strong month for India’s auto industry, but the growth wasn’t equal across the board.

Passenger vehicles, SUVs, commercial vehicles and exports did well, while tractors and parts of the domestic two-wheeler market struggled. Festive stocking was a major driver, as automakers sent more vehicles to dealerships ahead of the buying season.

Cars had a particularly good month.

Maruti Suzuki sold 2.36 lakh vehicles, up 24% YoY, while its utility vehicle sales jumped 62%.
Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle sales rose 15%.
Mahindra’s passenger vehicle sales grew 14%.
Hyundai recorded its highest-ever monthly sales at 77,916 units.
Kia also hit a monthly record with 32,017 units, up 41%.

SUVs remained one of the biggest growth drivers.

EV push: Tata’s EV sales jumped 67% to 15,384 units, making up nearly 22% of its passenger vehicle volumes. TVS also saw its two-wheeler EV sales more than double during the month.

Bajaj Auto’s total sales grew just 5%, below expectations, as domestic two-wheeler sales declined.

Tractors were another weak spot: Mahindra’s domestic tractor sales fell 23%, while Escorts Kubota’s fell 16%. Softer rural demand, patchy monsoons, lower Kharif sowing and the festive season shifting to October weighed on this segment.

Let’s hit it! 💪🏻

1 Big Thing: Tesla takes the fast lane 🚗

Tesla had a good Friday after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter sales. It delivered 486,532 vehicles between July and September, beating the average analyst estimate of 463,761, compiled by Bloomberg.

What’s driving demand: higher petrol prices linked to the US-Iran war have made electric vehicles more appealing. Analysts say Tesla may also be benefiting as major US carmakers scale back their EV plans.

The figures cover global deliveries, with no separate breakdown for the US. Sales were still about 2% lower than a year earlier, when Tesla delivered a record 497,099 vehicles as US buyers rushed to purchase before federal incentives ended.

Even so, Wall Street expects sales to grow modestly this year after two straight annual declines.

The bigger picture: the results suggest Tesla’s car business may be picking up, even as investors focus increasingly on Elon Musk’s plans for AI, robotaxis and humanoid robots.

Next bet: Tesla plans to spend more than $25 billion this year on its factories and robotaxi business. In a filing this week, it said it had secured $30 billion in new loans and credit lines to support its growth.

2. Expansion mode 💸

Gland Pharma is investing $21 million in its US subsidiary, Gland Pharma USA, which will use the money to buy a 60% stake in Novelstar Pharma.

The plan: the investment will help Gland Pharma expand its US business. Once the deal is completed, Novelstar will be controlled by Gland Pharma USA.

Novelstar was set up in the US on September 30 and has yet to start operations or earn revenue.

Fosun Pharma USA will own the remaining 40%. It belongs to the same Fosun group as Gland Pharma’s promoter.

By the numbers: Gland Pharma’s revenue rose 19.5% to ₹1,800 crore in the June quarter, from ₹1,506 crore a year earlier. The US business helped drive this growth, with revenue climbing 32% to ₹981 crore.

What went up ⬆️

📞 MTNL zoomed 7% following an update on its ₹891.53 crore Powai property sale.

🌐 Sterlite Technologies hit the 5% upper circuit after its subsidiary secured a long-term supply agreement worth $1.2 billion with a hyperscale partner.

🛣️ Highway Infrastructure jumped more than 5% after securing a ₹245 crore toll operations order from UP authority and NHAI.

🤖 Coforge rose 4% after expanding its Kraków Engineering Center into an AI engineering and nearshore delivery hub.

💊 Symbiotec Pharma gained nearly 2% after its subsidiary signed a US commercialisation deal for two injectable medicines.

🏦 Kotak Mahindra Bank ended higher after the RBI approved Anup Saha’s appointment as MD and CEO.

💻 Tech Mahindra gained nearly 1% after announcing that its board would consider an interim dividend and a bonus share issue later this month.

What went down ⬇️

📉 Auto stocks slipped after September sales data, Bajaj Auto fell nearly 8%, Escorts Kubota and M&M and ended up to 3% lower.

What else are we snackin’ 🍿

🔋 Battery order: HEG Advanced Materials’ arm secured a ₹127 crore order from Indus Towers to supply lithium-ion battery banks.

💰 GST collections: India’s gross GST collections rose 14.7% to over ₹2.03 lakh crore in September, while net collections increased 18.1%.

🏭 Factory growth: India’s manufacturing PMI rose to a seven-month high of 55.1 in September, as new orders grew at their fastest pace since February.

🏗️ Steel ambitions: Shyam Metalics signed an MoU with Maharashtra for a ₹50,000 crore steel complex in Chandrapur.

That’s a wrap! Don’t let the Monday blues get to you.

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Disclaimer: this newsletter is for informational and research purposes only. Nothing here should be considered financial, investment, legal, or professional advice.