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Here’s what Tesla owner-investors will be asking Elon Musk today

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During Tesla’s upcoming Q4 and Full Year 2018 earnings call this Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. ET), the electric car maker would be taking questions from retail investors that are aggregated from Say, a startup that creates and develops investor communication tools.

Over the past weeks, Tesla’s retail investors have submitted and voted on questions that they wish to be discussed in the company’s upcoming earnings call. After collecting the shareholder inquiries on its website, Say would be delivering them to Tesla’s investor relations department. In a statement to Bloomberg Law, a Tesla spokesperson has confirmed that the company would indeed be answering some questions from retail investors.

The Say campaign appears to be quite popular among shareholders. So far, over 250 inquiries have been posted by investors representing more than $50 million worth of TSLA shares. Among the most popular questions for the company involve Tesla’s customer service issues, Model 3’s annual targets, and a possible 2170 battery update for the Model S and X. The inquiries are vetted as well, since Say only allows verified Tesla shareholders to vote and submit questions. 

Here’s the Top 5 questions from Say’s Tesla Q4 earnings page. 

  • Owners, many of them with large followings online, are becoming very vocal about Tesla’s worsening customer service experience with delivery, service, and repair. This has a severe impact on sales and returning sales. What are you doing to change this growing negative reputation?
  • How are feeling about demand right now across the product line? Is 500k-700k units at ~$42k ASP still a realistic annual target for Model 3, even considering the impact of Model Y on demand? Do you continue to see S/X ~100k annually?
  • If and when will Tesla switch Model S & X to 2170 battery cells? What percent range improvement do you expect?
  • Can you please share an update on Full Self Driving and Tesla Network development? When will customers start to see FSD features? What’s a best case timeline for the Tesla Network to go live?
  • Where will the Tesla Semi & Model Y be produced? Can you share a timeline on the expected production ramp of these vehicles?

This would not be the first time for Tesla to take a question from a retail investor. Last May, Elon Musk courted Wall Street’s ire after he dismissed a couple of analysts, dubbing their inquiries as “boring” and “boneheaded.” Instead, Musk opted to take questions from retail investor Galileo Russell, a retail investor who hosts a YouTube channel called HyperChange TV. Rusell’s inquiries, which were also compiled from the Tesla community, were appreciated by Musk, who proceeded to give a notable amount of updates on the company’s upcoming projects. Ultimately, Galileo and Say would end up working together in the development of the question platform that would be used in Tesla’s earnings call later today.

In a statement to Teslarati, Galileo shared some questions that he hopes Tesla would address in its Q4 and Full Year 2018 earnings call.

“I’m so happy Tesla has chosen to take retail questions from SAY. The top questions surrounding Tesla’s worsening Net Promoter Scores & customer service pinpoint exactly what I want to know. What is Tesla doing to address its biggest weakness? Additionally, Rob’s question from Tesla Daily (currently #2) about Model 3 demand at maturity, will give us clarity on normalized demand for the car now that it has been available for more than a year.” 

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Ultimately, Tesla appears to be set on democratizing its process of communicating its earnings to shareholders, the media, as well as institutional investors. This is yet another step away from convention, considering that earnings calls usually feature inquiries from Wall Street analysts and the occasional member of the media. By supporting Say’s campaign, electric car maker is all but ensuring that its retail investors would be able to ask inquiries that are relevant and pertinent to the Tesla community as a whole.

if any, Tesla’s support for the retail investors’ questions would most definitely make today’s earnings call the last thing from “boring.”

Tesla is set to release its Q4 and Full Year 2018 financial results after markets close today. Following the release of its Q4 and full-year 2018 financial results, Tesla will be holding its earnings call, which will begin at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time).

The full list of questions submitted by TSLA retail investors in Say’s platform could be accessed here.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk

Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump’s feud shall pass, several bulls say.

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The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
President Donald J. Trump purchases a Tesla on the South Lawn, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Tesla analysts are breaking down the current feud between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, as the two continue to disagree on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its impact on the country’s national debt.

Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump Administration, left his post in May. Soon thereafter, he and President Trump entered a very public and verbal disagreement, where things turned sour. They reconciled to an extent, and things seemed to be in the past.

However, the second disagreement between the two started on Monday, as Musk continued to push back on the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Trump administration is attempting to sign into law. It would, by Musk’s estimation, increase spending and reverse the work DOGE did to trim the deficit.

President Trump has hinted that DOGE could be “the monster” that “eats Elon,” threatening to end the subsidies that SpaceX and Tesla receive. Musk has not been opposed to ending government subsidies for companies, including his own, as long as they are all abolished.

How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies

Despite this contentious back-and-forth between the two, analysts are sharing their opinions now, and a few of the more bullish Tesla observers are convinced that this feud will pass, Trump and Musk will resolve their differences as they have before, and things will return to normal.

ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood said this morning that the feud between Musk and Trump is another example of “this too shall pass:”

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Additionally, Wedbush’s Dan Ives, in a note to investors this morning, said that the situation “will settle:”

“We believe this situation will settle and at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China. The jabs between Musk and Trump will continue as the Budget rolls through Congress but Tesla investors want Musk to focus on driving Tesla and stop this political angle…which has turned into a life of its own in a roller coaster ride since the November elections.”

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Tesla shares are down about 5 percent at 3:10 p.m. on the East Coast.

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Elon Musk

Tesla investors will be shocked by Jim Cramer’s latest assessment

Jim Cramer is now speaking positively about Tesla, especially in terms of its Robotaxi performance and its perception as a company.

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Credit: CNBC Television/YouTube

Tesla investors will be shocked by analyst Jim Cramer’s latest assessment of the company.

When it comes to Tesla analysts, many of them are consistent. The bulls usually stay the bulls, and the bears usually stay the bears. The notable analysts on each side are Dan Ives and Adam Jonas for the bulls, and Gordon Johnson for the bears.

Jim Cramer is one analyst who does not necessarily fit this mold. Cramer, who hosts CNBC’s Mad Money, has switched his opinion on Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) many times.

He has been bullish, like he was when he said the stock was a “sleeping giant” two years ago, and he has been bearish, like he was when he said there was “nothing magnificent” about the company just a few months ago.

Now, he is back to being a bull.

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Cramer’s comments were related to two key points: how NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang describes Tesla after working closely with the Company through their transactions, and how it is not a car company, as well as the recent launch of the Robotaxi fleet.

Jensen Huang’s Tesla Narrative

Cramer says that the narrative on quarterly and annual deliveries is overblown, and those who continue to worry about Tesla’s performance on that metric are misled.

“It’s not a car company,” he said.

He went on to say that people like Huang speak highly of Tesla, and that should be enough to deter any true skepticism:

“I believe what Musk says cause Musk is working with Jensen and Jensen’s telling me what’s happening on the other side is pretty amazing.”

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Tesla self-driving development gets huge compliment from NVIDIA CEO

Robotaxi Launch

Many media outlets are being extremely negative regarding the early rollout of Tesla’s Robotaxi platform in Austin, Texas.

There have been a handful of small issues, but nothing significant. Cramer says that humans make mistakes in vehicles too, yet, when Tesla’s test phase of the Robotaxi does it, it’s front page news and needs to be magnified.

He said:

“Look, I mean, drivers make mistakes all the time. Why should we hold Tesla to a standard where there can be no mistakes?”

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It’s refreshing to hear Cramer speak logically about the Robotaxi fleet, as Tesla has taken every measure to ensure there are no mishaps. There are safety monitors in the passenger seat, and the area of travel is limited, confined to a small number of people.

Tesla is still improving and hopes to remove teleoperators and safety monitors slowly, as CEO Elon Musk said more freedom could be granted within one or two months.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla gets $475 price target from Benchmark amid initial Robotaxi rollout

Tesla’s limited rollout of its Robotaxi service in Austin is already catching the eye of Wall Street.

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Credit: Tesla

Venture capital firm Benchmark recently reiterated its “Buy” rating and raised its price target on Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) from $350 to $475 per share, citing the company’s initial Robotaxi service deployment as a sign of future growth potential.

Benchmark analyst Mickey Legg praised the Robotaxi service pilot’s “controlled and safety-first approach,” adding that it could help Tesla earn the trust of regulators and the general public.

Confidence in camera-based autonomy

Legg reiterated Benchmark’s belief in Tesla’s vision-only approach to autonomous driving. “We are a believer in Tesla’s camera-focused approach that is not only cost effective but also scalable,” he noted. 

The analyst contrasted Tesla’s simple setup with the more expensive hardware stacks used by competitors like Waymo, which use various sophisticated sensors that hike up costs, as noted in an Investing.com report. Compared to Tesla’s Model Y Robotaxis, Waymo’s self-driving cars are significantly more expensive.

He also pointed to upcoming Texas regulations set to take effect in September, suggesting they could help create a regulatory framework favorable to autonomous services in other cities.

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“New regulations for autonomous vehicles are set to go into place on Sept. 1 in TX that we believe will further help win trust and pave the way for expansion to additional cities,” the analyst wrote.

https://twitter.com/herbertong/status/1938287117441855616?s=10

Tesla as a robotics powerhouse

Beyond robotaxis, Legg sees Tesla evolving beyond its roots as an electric vehicle maker. He noted that Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, could be a long-term growth driver alongside new vehicle programs and other future initiatives.

“In our view, the company is undergoing an evolution from a trailblazing vehicle OEM to a high-tech automation and robotics company with unmatched domestic manufacturing scale,” he wrote.

Benchmark noted that Tesla stock had rebounded over 50% from its April lows, driven in part by easing tariff concerns and growing momentum around autonomy. With its initial Robotaxi rollout now underway, the firm has returned to its previous $475 per share target and reaffirmed TSLA as a Benchmark Top Pick for 2025.

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