Tesla, Inc.’s TSLA “We, Robot” event is scheduled for Thursday at 10 p.m. EDT, with investors hoping that the event will give a lift to the stock. Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster previewed the event in a note released Friday.
What’s In A Name: The name “We, Robot” is potentially inspired from Isaac Asimov’s short-story collection, “I Robot,” said Munster in the note. The event’s name has kindled hopes for announcements regarding Optimus and potentially an expanded family of robots, ne said.
The tech venture capitalist said these products likely won't see availability for at least five years, more likely a decade. “In other words, while it's important to hear what the company is thinking about beyond cars, the substance of the event for investors is around what will come out over the next two years, notably the Model 2 and Robotaxi,” he said.
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Product Announcements: Munster said he expects announcements concerning three different vehicles at the event – a robotaxi, Model 2 electric vehicle and a Cybervan.
Tesla will likely show a physical prototype of the Robotaxi at the event, said Munster. He expects the model to have a futuristic feel like that of the Cybertruck, without a steering wheel, pedals, or mirrors. The company will likely demo the Robotaxi, summoned by the Tesla ride-hailing app and showing off its autonomous capabilities by maneuvering some sort of track or route, ne added.
The Elon Musk-led company will likely preview the $25,000 Model 2 EV, aka Model A, the fund manager said. The EV will have similarities with the Robotaxi but it would have a steering wheel, pedals and mirrors and won’t require full self-driving to operate, he said. “The body will be distinguishable from the Robotaxi, but overall will be on the same production as Robotaxi,” he added.
Musk could surprise with plans to launch a fully autonomous passenger van, likely a Robotaxi XL for 8-10 people, the tech venture capitalist said. “While the passenger van will be light on Tesla's sleek signature design, it will be heavy on leveraging autonomy for the ride-hailing vision of affordable transportation,” he said.
This vehicle, the tech specialist said, will be focused on dense urban areas and could play a role in the future of public transportation. This will expand the ride-hailing addressable market by 20%, he said.
Why It’s Important: Tesla’s core business of selling cars hasn’t recovered strongly from the rut seen since 2022 and this has weighed down on the stock. Analysts now hope for the robotaxi business and other ancillary businesses to come to the rescue and give a thrust to the sagging stock.
Tesla bull and Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood said in a recent interview with Yahoo Finance that the software-as-a-service model, associated with Tesla’s autonomous driving system, with gross margin of 80%+ compares to the 15-30% gross margins on the EV side. Analysts, therefore, will have to bump up their expectations, she added.
Tesla ended Friday’s session up 3.91% at $250.08, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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