Waymo-Toyota Tie-Up A Threat To Elon Musk's Tesla? Dan Ives Dismisses It, Says 'No One Can Compete With Their Scale And Scope'

Dan Ives refuses to acknowledge Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL and Toyota Motor Corp's TM partnership as a threat to Tesla Inc.'s TSLA Robotaxi ambitions.

What Happened: In a post on social media platform X on Wednesday, the TSLA bull reiterated his belief in the company's FSD technology and the Robotaxi launch in June this year.

"I disagree that the Waymo/Toyota is a groundbreaking deal and a threat to Tesla. Tesla will own the autonomous market in my view and no one can compete with their scale and scope," Ives said in the post.

The investor then highlighted June's robotaxi launch as an important event for the company's autonomous driving goals. "It starts in Austin in June then the autonomous journey begins. Key chapter of growth." He said.

Why It Matters: Ives's comments come in as Tesla is already operating the Robotaxi autonomous ride-hailing service in a limited rollout in Austin as well as the San Francisco Bay Area. The service is limited to employees of the company and has already completed more than 1500 trips.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is confident in the robotaxi launch in June, as the billionaire said that the company will deploy 10 to 20 Tesla Model Ys as robotaxis on the first day of the rollout.

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However, other experts aren't as optimistic about FSD as Ives, with analyst Ross Gerber saying that the company's FSD technology was "like a 12-year-old driving" compared to Waymo's LiDAR-based system.

Elsewhere, rumors floated around that the company was looking to replace Musk as the CEO following a difficult quarter, which saw declining sales and profits, as well as increased vandalism against Tesla properties. However, Tesla has since denied the rumors.

Price Action: TSLA stock experienced a 3.38% decline at close, trading for $282.16, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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