On Tuesday, during Tesla Inc.'s TSLA first-quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk predicted that car ownership will soon become obsolete.
What Happened: Musk said that most people will no longer buy cars in the future, framing the shift as an inevitable change. He compared traditional gasoline vehicles to outdated technologies, likening them to flip phones in an era dominated by smartphones.
“In the not too distant future, buying a gasoline car that is not autonomous will be like riding a horse while using a flip phone,” Musk stated.
The tech mogul's comments came in response to an inquiry from Pierre Ferragu, an analyst at New Street Research, who had questioned why Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y haven't captured a larger portion of the market.
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“Why are there so many people still buying BMWs and Mercedes?” he asked.
Ferragu compared the Model 3 to the iPhone, noting how it represented a “revolutionary product” with the potential to dominate the car industry in the same way Apple Inc.'s AAPL transformed the smartphone market.
Following the earnings call, Ferragu took to X, formerly Twitter, and interpreted Musk's words, saying, ”My interpretation of Elon's response: Tesla will become the iPhone of cars when it is fully self-driving.”
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Why It’s Important: Tesla reported first-quarter revenue of $19.34 billion, marking a 9% decline compared to the same period last year. The figure came in below Wall Street expectations, falling short of the $21.35 billion consensus estimate.
The EV giant reaffirmed that its plans to launch more affordable models are progressing as scheduled, with production set to begin in the first half of 2025.
Tesla also confirmed that its Robotaxi offering, dubbed the Cybercab, is slated to enter volume production in 2026.
Earlier this month, Tesla disclosed that its Giga Texas production facility uses Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology to move vehicles from the production line to the outbound logistics lot.
Tesla’s FSD system relies on a camera-based approach, which is believed to be less precise than the LiDAR-based systems used by companies like Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Waymo.
Waymo has also logged over 20 million miles using Unsupervised FSD, significantly outpacing Tesla in terms of real-world autonomous driving experience. Despite this, the broader debate around self-driving technology remains unresolved.
Tesla's FSD capabilities have faced criticism from experts who argue that they fall short of Waymo's performance.
Price Action: Tesla shares rose 4.60% on Tuesday, closing at $237.97. Despite the daily gain, the stock remains down 37.26% year-to-date, according to Benzinga Pro.
Based on Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Tesla currently holds a growth score of 67.63%. Click here to see how it stacks up against other companies in the sector.
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