Cathie Wood Says Tesla Is 'Biggest AI Project' In World, Sees Convergence Of 3 Key Technologies Driving Stock To $2,000

Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood has been buying Tesla Inc TSLA shares on recent weakness as she expects the tech stock to move towards $2,000 per share in the coming years as three key technologies come together.

What To Know: Ark Invest has been buying up Tesla stock in recent weeks as the broader EV industry battles demand headwinds. The firm most recently bought a total of 234,998 shares of Tesla across three of its exchange-traded funds on Tuesday as the stock sold off on weak delivery numbers for the first quarter.

Tesla said the decline in deliveries was partially due to the early phase of the production ramp of the updated Model 3, as well as factory shutdowns. Wood also believes much of the slowdown can be attributed to the economy.

“The consumer is under pressure,” Wood said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“Even though these statistics are coming out saying everything’s just fine, you listen to these company reports one by one, most of them do not sound like these economic statistics are suggesting.”

Tesla, in particular, has been cutting prices to help consumers with affordability in the short term, but EVs in general are going to become much more affordable in the coming years, the Ark Invest CEO said.

“What we believe is going to happen over the next five years, and you know that’s our investment time horizon, we think the cost of an electric vehicle, the average electric vehicle, is going to be cut in half, and Tesla’s new block manufacturing techniques and technology along with AI are a big part of this,” Wood said.

Tesla is currently the second-largest holding, behind Coinbase, in the ARK Innovation ETF ARKK with a 9.16% weighting. Ark was selling shares of Tesla when the stock was trading between $350 and $400 per share.

Now is “not the time to run for the hills” with the stock in a 60% drawdown, especially if you believe Tesla is going to own the autonomous driving space, she said.

In Wood’s opinion, Tesla’s robotaxi dominance is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. She highlighted the company’s latest Full Self-Driving release and noted that it’s a huge improvement. Wood explained that the new release is more precise and feels more like a human is driving the vehicle.

Check This Out: Hedge Fund Manager Buys Tesla Stock After ‘ChatGPT Moment’ With Latest Full Self-Driving Release: ‘Feels Like A Human Driving’

Tesla is the convergence of three key technologies: robotics, energy storage and artificial intelligence, Wood said.

“This is the biggest AI project in the world,” she said. “We’re in a bit of a trading range and we will be until more and more analysts and investors understand how provocative the convergence of these three technologies is going to be.”

Wood predicted that between 75% and 85% of all new vehicle sales will be electric in five years and Tesla shares will be trading at $2,000.

TSLA Price Action: Tesla shares are down approximately 32% since the start of the year. The stock was up 0.68% at $167.77 Wednesday afternoon, per Benzinga Pro.

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