Analysts say Tesla Inc‘s TSLA stock could continue to slide after the lack of clear business plans for Robotaxis and no updates on the lower-cost production vehicle, following the highly anticipated Robotaxi Day on Thursday.
The Tesla Analysts:
- Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives maintained an Outperform rating with a $300 price target.
- Bank of America analyst John Murphy reiterated a Buy rating with a $255 price target.
- Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard maintained a Neutral rating with a $245 price target.
- Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter maintained an Overweight rating with a $310 price target.
- RBC Capital analyst Tom Narayan maintained an Outperform rating with a $236 price target.
- Truist analyst William Stein reiterated a Hold rating with a $236 price target.
- Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rush maintained a Perform rating and has no price target.
- Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney maintained a Neutral rating with a $230 price target.
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Wedbush on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was a "glimpse of the future" for Tesla and the next generation of consumer transportation, Ives said in a note Friday morning.
"Musk laid out the vision and we saw the vehicles up close and ultimately believe last night will mark the inflection point from Tesla as an EV maker to a broader AI/Robotics/Disruptive Tech mobility player," Ives said.
The analyst said Cybercab and Optimus "could be a major financial contributor to Tesla," with an estimate of up to 20% of overall profits and a margin boost by the end of the 2020s.
With Tesla stock trading down Friday, Ives said he understands the "knee jerk reaction" after the company spent less time on its strategic vision of autonomous vehicles, but thinks it's overdone to call the event a failure.
"We strongly disagree with the notion that last night was a disappointment as we would argue the opposite, seeing Cybercab with our own eyes and the massive improvements in Optimus."
Ives said he would be a buyer on Friday's weakness, leaving Robotaxi Day "more bullish on the Tesla story."
Bank of America on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was a "good event" and might have provided the proper timing to raise low-cost capital for the company, Murphy said.
"TSLA Robotaxi event lived up to the hype, in our view," the analyst added.
Murphy said Tesla's goal of 2026 production for the Cybercab could prove optimistic.
With investments in robotaxis, robotics and artificial intelligence, Tesla needs "significant capital," Murphy added.
"We would not be surprised if TSLA raised capital, which it has historically been able to do at an extremely low cost compared to its peers."
Cantor Fitzgerald on Tesla: While Tesla shared an initial goal of Cybercab production in 2026, Sheppard was disappointed not to get commentary on the exact timing of the rollout, expectations for fleet size, and battery range of the vehicle.
The analyst said state-by-state regulations for autonomous vehicles could impact the rollout of the Cybercab.
"We continue to expect the Robotaxi rollout to happen gradually in stages, and in select markets," Sheppard said.
After the Robotaxi Day, the analyst shifts attention to Tesla's full self-driving (FSD) technology as a point of emphasis with the expectation that the rollout of the 12.5 software to be well received and help boost margins. The company's potential to license the technology to other companies and the launch of FSD in China in the first quarter are also future catalysts, the analyst added.
Piper Sandler on Tesla: Robotaxi Day may have underwhelmed investors, while being well received by "true believers," Potter said in a new investor note.
"[The] Robotaxi Event was amazing, but probably not enough to sustain recent momentum. On balance, we think most trading-oriented firms will be underwhelmed by the robotaxi unveiling," Potter said.
The analyst said that Tesla stock selling off over the next several weeks won't be a surprise.
Potter added that positives from the event include the Cybercab’s selling price, unsupervised FSD launching in California and Texas next year, the unexpected reveal of the Robovan, Optimus interactions with event guests, and the Cybercab design.
Disappointments from the event may be the timing of the Cybercab production, a lack of pricing details for the robotaxi business model and no update on Model 2, the analyst said.
RBC Capital on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was heavy on branding and marketing and light on details, Narayan said in a new investor note.
"Investors we spoke to at the event thought the event was light of real numbers and timelines," he added.
The analyst said he expects Tesla shares to sell off after the event.
The key positive takeaway from the analyst was Musk mentioning that robotaxis can be bought by fleet operators.
"We are still bullish on Tesla's long-term prospects and on robotaxis in general."
Truist on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was "more fanfare than substance," Stein said in a new investor note.
"This event was somewhat disappointing," he added.
The analyst said the event was disappointing because it did not showcase a new vehicle to help with unit growth in 2025 or a new version of FSD.
While the Cybercab and Optimus being highlighted at the event were impressive and expected, the analyst said they're likely not enough to move the stock.
Oppenheimer on Tesla: Thursday night's event acted as a product release party and had limited details on a business model, Rusch said in a new investor note.
The analyst said there were no updates on a low-cost vehicle production plan, and demonstrations of the robotaxi didn't show its ability to handle challenging conditions.
"We continue to see a window of opportunity for the company and believe the platform has significant capability, but found the event underwhelming as it did not address our underlying concerns on inefficiencies in learning cycles due to single sensor focus and potential performance limitations," Rusch said.
Goldman Sachs on Tesla: Optimus and Cybercab stole the show at the Robotaxi Day event and will become a "growing part" of the discussion of Tesla, Delaney said in a new investor note.
Like others, the analyst saw a lack of key details on the business plan and other expected items presented as potentially weighing on shares.
"We believe the lack of data shared on Full Self Driving performance, relatively limited due to robotaxi business plan, and absence of a lower-cost consumer vehicle unveil may be disappointing for some market participants and lead the stock to pull back after the recent run," Delaney said.
TSLA Price Action: Tesla stock is down 7.6% to $220.53 on Friday, versus a 52-week trading range of $138.80 to $271.00. Tesla stock is down over 10% year-to-date in 2024.
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Photo courtesy of Tesla.
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