Tesla has a lot to prove.
Hype Pain
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is making a big gamble by branching out into the self-driving taxi business.
And ahead of the automaker’s highly anticipated Robotaxi event this Thursday, where it’s expected to reveal its robotaxi car nicknamed the “Cybercab,” many Wall Street analysts aren’t feeling too optimistic about Tesla’s prospects.
Based on a roundup of investor opinions from Business Insider, a common concern is that Tesla could still be years away from being ready to operate a driverless taxi service.
Garrett Nelson, a senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, argued in a note to BI that Tesla still has to surmount “numerous technological hurdles” — not to mention regulatory ones —before it can be potential competitor to companies like Waymo.
It’s hard to argue otherwise: the automaker has yet to deploy fully autonomous driving capabilities, and its flagship Full Self-Driving mode is still classified as a driver assistance system, meaning it isn’t intended to operate without human intervention.
Tech Troubles
Other firms are also doubtful about Tesla delivering a new car in the near future, even if the hype is strong the short term.
“We wouldn’t be surprised to see relative strength in the stock leading into the event. But can TSLA live up to expectations and sustain momentum post the event? We are less convinced on this front,” analysts at the global investment firm UBS said in a note, per BI.
And robotaxis aren’t the only concern here: many investors hope that Tesla will finally unveil an affordable $25,000 EV that Musk has long promised, but aren’t confident it’ll happen this year.
“We recognize the potential for this event to be a positive catalyst if TSLA were to reveal the car it intends to introduce in 2025 that includes a smaller form factor and a less expensive drivetrain,” investment bank Truist Securities said in a note, as quoted by BI. “However, we see this as relatively unlikely.”
Uneventful
Not all Wall Street bigwigs are down on Tesla. Those bullish on the automaker are generally optimistic about not only its robotaxi initiative, but its inroads in the AI industry.
“We believe Robotaxi Day will be a seminal and historical day for Musk and Tesla and marks a new chapter of growth around autonomous, FSD, and AI future at Tesla,” the private financial services firm Wedbush Securities said, as quoted by BI. “We continue to believe Tesla is the most undervalued AI name in the market.”
Still, a little skepticism seems to be the order of the day outside the circle of Tesla devotees. Last week, Deepwater Management partner Gene Munster went on CNBC to warn that the Robotaxi event will be “light on details.” Those expecting any real insights into Tesla’s progress on its Robotaxi — let alone an affordable $25,000 EV — will probably be disappointed. Instead, expect it to be more of a “launch party,” Munster said.
One thing’s for sure: there’s a lot riding on what Tesla can show for itself on Thursday.
“This is the most hyped event that Musk has had in almost a decade,” Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Market, told BI. “They’ve been talking about autonomous driving, the Robotaxi, for about ten years. Now, we finally get to see what’s underneath the hood.”
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