Independent research firm Melius Research's analyst Rob Wertheimer has hailed Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Full Self-Driving (FSD) system's role in the company's future growth.
‘Tesla Is A Must Own'
In a new investor note released by the analyst, Wertheimer said that Tesla's autonomous driving lead is "approaching an irreversible tipping point," adding that the lead could trigger "one of the biggest value shifts in modern industrial history." He also outlined Tesla stock as "a must own."
Wertheimer also highlighted that the automotive industry is at risk because of a value shift of "hundreds of billions" for Tesla in the next five years. He added that despite self-driving awareness being low in people, with "not even 1 out of 100 Americans" having experienced a self-driving car, a rollout of the technology at scale would "shock" people, as tens of thousands have already tried the company's Supervised FSD technology.
Elon Musk Says Automakers Refused FSD Licensing
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, responding to the thread, shared that the EV giant had offered its FSD technology to automakers as a licensing deal, but the legacy automakers refused. He added that car companies risk being left behind in the autonomous driving race, comparing them to dinosaurs in his response.
Musk had also hinted that the FSD v14.3 update could enable unsupervised FSD for Tesla vehicles, calling it the final piece in the puzzle. Tesla also recently completed the self-certification process to deploy its autonomous vehicles in Nevada, paving the way for Robotaxi's commercial operations in the state.
It’s also worth noting that the FSD v14 has garnered praise from various experts, including Gerber Kawasaki's co-founder Ross Gerber, a vocal Tesla critic. However, Gerber still highlighted some issues with the technology's mapping capabilities.
Tesla's Chip-Building Efforts
Musk also recently touted Tesla’s AI chip-building credentials, predicting that the company would be making more chips than any other chipmaker in the industry. Tesla’s AI lead, Ahsok Elluswamy, backed Musk’s claims, outlining deep collaboration between Tesla’s hardware and software teams as a key element to chip progress.
Tesla scores well on Momentum and Quality metrics, while offering satisfactory Growth, but poor Value. Tesla also has a favourable price trend in the Medium and Long term. For more such insights, sign up for Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings today!
Price Action: TSLA surged 6.82% to $417.78 at market close, surged 0.24% to $418.78 during after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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