Tesla Investor Touts EV Giant's Billions-Mile Leap In Gathering Self-Driving Data: 'How Can Any Automaker Catch Up?'

Sawyer Merritt, a prominent Tesla investor, recently emphasized the electric vehicle giant’s unparalleled data collection prowess, citing the staggering mileage covered by Tesla TSLA owners.

What Happened: During CNBC’s “Last Call” on Thursday, Merritt highlighted that Tesla owners are now driving approximately 1 billion miles every 68 days using Full-Self Driving (FSD). This, he said, was roughly 250% increase than what the number was three months ago.

He posed a rhetorical question, “How can any automaker catch up to Tesla in terms of data gathering?”

See Also: Here’s How Much Warren Buffett Could Have Made Investing In Tesla

Why It Matters: Merritt’s comments come in the wake of Tesla reporting a 9% year-on-year decrease in Q1 revenue, which fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Despite this, the company’s stock experienced a significant 12% increase on Wednesday, marking its strongest session since January 2022. This surge occurred despite the earnings miss, with investors seemingly encouraged by Tesla’s commitment to launching more affordable models and expanding its market reach.

Adding to the positive sentiment, Tesla received an important endorsement from Bank of America, which upgraded its rating on the stock from Neutral to Buy. Analyst John Murphy highlighted Tesla’s ability to address recent challenges effectively. Furthermore, billionaire investor Ron Baron believes Tesla’s stock has fallen far enough and is now set to rise significantly from current levels.

Price Action: As of Thursday, Tesla’s stock closed at $170.18, marking a 4.97% change from the previous close.

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