

Investor's Corner
Tesla critic Bob Lutz vs. Elon Musk: A look back behind the bluster
In this corner, the father of the Chevrolet Volt, an auto industry veteran who has held senior positions at Chrysler, Ford and BMW, an unlikely advocate for EVs – a cigar-chomping ex-Marine who has called climate change “a crock.” Bob Lutz!
In the other corner, the mastermind of PayPal, SolarCity, and SpaceX, the archetypal Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who wants to electrify transportation and save Planet Earth – and if that doesn’t work, he’ll take us to Mars to start over. Elon Musk!
Back in the day, Bob Lutz was a champion of Tesla and Musk, citing the Roadster as a major inspiration for the Volt, and saying that he would “always owe them a debt of gratitude for having kind of broken the ice.” After Lutz left GM, he founded Via Motors, which set out to build plug-in hybrid vans and pickup trucks for commercial fleets, but has had a difficult time finding its market. The 85-year-old Lutz has written extensively about the auto industry. For whatever reason, he has evolved into a harsh critic of EVs, and especially Tesla. In 2016, he compared Musk to the leader of a religious cult. (Musk responded on Twitter, saying, “Dear cult members, I love you.”)
Dear cult members, I love you https://t.co/1OzRaSQzhT
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2016
Lutz launched his latest salvo against the California upstarts at a forum sponsored by a provider of insurance for collectible cars, suggesting that collectors buy a Model S now before Tesla goes belly-up. He had nothing but praise for the car itself: “A Model S, especially with the performance upgrades, is one of the fastest, best handling, best braking sedans that you could buy in the world today,” he said. “The acceleration times will beat any $350,000 European exotic.”
However, Lutz said Elon Musk “hasn’t figured out the revenues have to be greater than costs…when you are perennially running out of cash you are just not running a good automobile company. I don’t see anything on the horizon that’s going to fix that, so those of you who are interested in collector cars, may I suggest buying a Tesla Model S while they’re still available.”
Above: Bob Lutz starts to discuss Tesla and Elon Musk at the 1:06:19 mark in the video (Youtube: Hagerty via InsideEVs)
“Twenty-five years from now, [the Model S] will be remembered as the first really good-looking, fast electric car,” Lutz told the LA Times. “People will say ‘Too bad they went broke.’”
This time, Musk does not appear to have responded publicly to Lutz’s zinger, but naturally, a number of his disciples have come to his defense. Enrique Dans, writing in Forbes, notes his admiration for Lutz’s writings on the auto industry, but believes that “he has missed something enormously important. In fact, possibly the most important difference between the old and the new economy: fundamentally, timeframes.”
Lutz (along with legions of stock-market analysts) sees Tesla’s ongoing losses as a sign of the company’s inevitable failure. However, according to Dans, “Seeing the bottom line as the be-all and end-all of management is problematic…The principle that revenue must exceed costs is Management 101. The tricky bit is how you define the timeframe in which that has to happen.”
As anyone following the Tesla story knows by now, the company’s stock market valuation has no apparent connection to the number of vehicles it’s producing. Tesla’s market cap, currently around $59 billion, exceeds that of Ford, and rivals those of GM and Honda (which, interestingly, was once the subject of the same sort of criticism now leveled at Tesla). Stock-market pundits tend to see this lofty valuation as madness, proof of the irrationality of Elon Musk’s mindless minions. However, Enrique Dans finds the reason in fundamental differences in the companies’ missions, and the timeframes in which they expect to fulfill them.
If you parse the pedantic “mission statements” on the legacy automakers’ web sites, you’ll find that they basically amount to: “We want to sell cars.” Tesla’s mission statement is very different: “To accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible.”
Tesla doesn’t just want to sell cars, it wants to change the world. This massive difference of ambition is reflected in the longer timeframe that Tesla envisions.
“In the economy Bob Lutz and other traditional car industry players understand, the goal and the metrics were clear: the quarterly results,” Dans writes. “If they were below what the analysts expected, bad; if they were higher, good. End of story. But the rules have changed…For today’s companies, profits are not the goal, they’re the cherry on the cake. Because the idea is, in the long term, to move toward an infinitely more ambitious goal, one that entails a whole new level of change. Companies that have grasped this can spend many years, even decades, without making a profit, as long as they are able to create a narrative that shows they are on the right track toward the defined goal.”
Tesla’s long road to ultimate triumph is not unprecedented – it’s a path that’s been trodden by other tech companies that set out to transform an industry. “For how many years did Amazon continue turning in negative quarterly results while its share price rose steadily?” asks Dans. “Did Jeff Bezos…supply his investors with drugs to maintain their confidence? Yes, he did, actually: a powerful substance called growth and clarity in the use of funds obtained. Amazon’s mission was never to sell stuff, but to change the world.”
Amazon is not the only example. In this age of instant communication, in which whole industries can be radically transformed, or even disappear, “reporting a profit each quarter has never been less important.”
“If Lutz is right, if the grand plans for a new economy that will change the world are bullshit, Tesla will go bust,” Dans concedes. “But if Tesla’s plans and strategy make sense, it may well spend a long time in the red, but it will end up as the auto industry’s benchmark.”
Change is taking place ever faster, and humans’ attention spans are growing ever shorter, so it may seem counter-intuitive that the timeline for corporate success should grow longer. However, even in the fast-paced internet era, changing the world, or even one industry, can’t be done in the space of one quarter. Tesla’s mission is a risky one, but so far investors are willing to accept that risk.
Bob Lutz and Elon Musk look at the world in two different ways, and they have very different visions of the future. Which one will prove prophetic? We shall see.
===
Note: Article originally published on evannex.com, by Charles Morris
Source: Forbes
Investor's Corner
LIVE BLOG: Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2025 earnings call updates
The following are live updates from Tesla’s Q2 2025 earnings call.

Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) earnings call comes on the heels of the company’s Q2 2025 update letter, which was released after the closing bell on July 23, 2025.
Tesla’s Q1 2025 Results:
Total Revenues: $22.5 billion
Total automotive revenues: $16.7 billion
Total GAAP gross margin: 17.2%
Gross Profit: $3.88 billion
EPS non-GAAP: $0.40 per share
The following are live updates from Tesla’s Q2 2025 earnings call. I will be updating this article in real time, so please keep refreshing the page to view the latest updates on this story.
16:22 CT – Good day to everyone, and welcome to another Tesla earnings call live blog. Tesla had a pretty big quarter, and while the company’s vehicle deliveries are still down year-over-year, the Robotaxi pilot has been launched in Austin.
Now to see if this earnings call starts on time. Interestingly enough, the EV maker has not posted a link to its Q2 2025 earnings call livestream on its official @Tesla X account yet.
16:26 CT – The earnings call’s livestream on YouTube, however, is up:
16:28 CT – I wonder which Elon we will get on today’s earnings call? Will be get super locked-in Elon, serious Elon, or lighthearted Elon? Whichever Elon we get, TSLA stock will probably show some reaction in after-hours trading.
16:30 CT – Travis Axelrod of Tesla’s Investor Relations team opens the call. He states that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other executives are present. And, here’s Elon’s opening remarks.
16:33 CT – Elon opens with the launch of Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin, which has gotten “bigger and longer” over the past few weeks. He stated that the service area for Robotaxi services in Austin will get even bigger and longer soon. He mentions the Robotaxi service’s expansion to the Bay Area, Arizona, and Florida in the coming months.
“I think we’ll have Robotaxi in half the population of the US by the end of the year?” Musk said, highlighting that this is subject to regulatory approval. He added that Tesla is expanding its Robotaxi service cautiously.
16:35 CT – Elon noted that the Model Y became the best-selling car in several countries in n Türkiye, Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria in June. This was despite the Model Y selling in these countries without its killer feature–FSD. Despite the regulatory challenges, Elon noted that Tesla will get these approvals, and he is hoping that some areas in Europe should experience FSD in the coming months. “It really is the single biggest demand driver,” Musk said.
16:37 CT – Elon also mentioned the launch of the Tesla Diner. “This is a very special diner,” Musk said, stating that the facility is a “shining beacon of hope.” He joked that it is rare that a diner makes the news, but the newly launched restaurant is quite something.
On the other hand, Elon noted that Tesla is making significant improvements to its FSD software, and that the company could probably 10X the parameter count from what users are currently experiencing.
16:43 CT – The CEO also highlghted the growth of Tesla Energy, which he noted was a “really big deal.” As for Optimus, Musk stated that the humanoid robot is in its current second generation. Its third generation will be “exquisite,” the CEO noted.
“Tesla is by far the best in the world in real-world AI,” Musk said. He threw some shade at Waymo as well, stating that while Google is good at AI, the tech giant is not as good in real-world AI applications. All those years producing and designing cars matter.
“Tesla has the highest intelligence density in AI so far,” Musk said. “Intelligence density will be a very big deal in the future.”
16:46 CT – Musk stated that Tesla will probably see prototypes of Optimus Version 3 this year, and scale production next year. Tesla will be ramping these initiatives as fast as possible, considering the company’s aspirations to produce millions of Optimus robots per year. Musk believes that a rate of 1 million Optimus robots per year is feasible within five years.
“We’re not always on time, but we get it done,” Musk said, referencing the company’s tendency to make the impossible feel late. He also reiterated the idea that Tesla can be the omst valuable company in the world if it executes very well.
16:50 CT – Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja mentioned the company’s milestone of delivering a car autonomously to a customer for the first time in Q2. He also mentioned the effects of the Trump administration’s regulatory changes for electric vehicles.
He mentioned that Tesla is seeing more test drives, and the company did start the production of more affordable cars in the first half of the year, with volume production planned for the second half of the year.
16:55 CT – Investor questions begin with an inquiry about Tesla Robotaxis. Tesla noted that it expects to 10X its current operation in the coming months. The Bay Area is next, and Tesla is looking to expeedite the service’s approval.
As for technical and regulatory hurdles for Unsupervised FSD, Elon Musk stated that he believes the feature should be available in a number of cities by the end of the year. Tesla, however, is being extremely paranoid about safety, so Unsupervised FSD’s rollout will be very, very cautious. Also, Tesla vehicles from Fremont could deliver themselves to customers autonomously by the end of the year.
16:58 CT – A question about Optimus was asked. Elon noted that Optimus V3 is the right design for the humanoid robot, since it has all the degrees of freedom necessary to ensure that it can do tasks very well. He also set expectations on Optimus’ ramp.
“If we are not making 100,000 OPtimus robots per month in 60 months, I will be shocked,” Musk said.
Another question was asked about Tesla’s affordable model. Tesla noted that production did start in the first half of 2025, and a ramp is expected in the remaining months of the year. As for Tesla investing in xAI, the CFO noted that this earnings call is not the right venue to discuss such matters.
17:07 CT – Elon Musk admitted that he is creating another Master Plan. He reiterated the idea that the future of Tesla is exciting, and the company has the potential to change the world.
An investor question about HW3 vehicle was asked. Tesla noted that it is focused on rolling out Unsupervised FSD to HW4 cars first, then go back to see what can be done with HW3 cars.
As for how the Trump administration’s regulations could affect Megapack sales, Tesla noted that it still believes solar and battery projects should still see growth. “We’re forecasting a very strong second half of the year,” the company noted. Tesla is expected to launch its third Megafactory in Houston next year.
17:11 CT – Analyst questions begin. The analyst asks if Tesla could share KPIs on Tesla’s Robotaxi rollout. Tesla noted that it only has a handful of vehicles for now, but the company has more than 7,000 driverless miles in Austin so far. Elon also emphasized that the Robotaxi service is designed for maximum comfort and safety, and that the Cybercab is designed to be optimal when it comes to cost. “Cost per mile for the Cybercab will be little,” Musk said.
“Tesla Roboatxi fleet will go from tiny to gigantic in probably a very short period of time,” Musk added.
17:15 CT – Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley asked if Elon is comfortable with having just 13% control of Tesla. Elon Musk admitted that this is a major concern for him, and he is hoping that the topic could be discsused in the upcoming annual shareholder meeting.
Elon joked that he wants to have enough control in Tesla that he cannot be ousted by activist investors, but not tool large that he cannot be removed, just in case he goes crazy. He reiterated the idea that he would be joined by several Optimus robots onstage at the upcoming annual shareholder meeting.
17:21 CT – Barclays asks Elon about the idea of putting non-Tesla vehicles being put in the Robotaxi network. Elon admitted that Tesla has really not thought about it much, though the company is extremetly focused on safety.
Goldman Sachs asked if Tesla could comment on FSD subscription trends. Tesla noted that since FSD V12 was launched in North America, there has been a notable improvement in consumer adoption. When asked if more price adjustments for FSD should be expected, Elon noted that Tesla is in a transition period in the United States. He admitted that Tesla could have a few rough quarters, but once autonomy is at scale, he would be surprised if Tesla’s economics are not compelling.
17:29 CT – Truist asked about Tesla’s more affordable models and any updates on what it would look like. Elon Musk joked that it would just look like the Model Y. He also noted that people desire Teslas, but the cars are still not affordable enough.
When asked about xAI and Tesla, Elon Musk explained that the two companies are very different. He noted that there are also some people that like to work in xAI but not Tesla, and vice versa. Would they like to work on superintelligence, or real-world AI? Both are compelling endeavors.
17:30 CT – And that wraps up Tesla’s second quarter 2025 earnings call! Thank you so much for following along as we covered this event. Until the next time!
Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2025 earnings results
Tesla posted total revenues of $22.496 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $0.40 per share.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has released its Q2 2025 earnings results in an update letter. The document was posted on the electric vehicle maker’s official Investor Relations website after markets closed today, July 23, 2025.
Tesla’s Q2 earnings come on the heels of a quarter where the company produced over 410,000 vehicles, delivered over 384,000 vehicles, and deployed 9.6 GWh of energy storage products. The second quarter also saw the launch of the Roboaxi service’s pilot program in Austin, a notable step forward for the company’s self-driving program.
Tesla’s Q2 2025 earnings in a nutshell
As could be seen in Tesla’s Q2 2025 update letter, the company posted GAAP EPS of $0.33 and non-GAAP EPS of $0.40 per share. Tesla also posted total revenues of $22.496 billion.
In comparison, Wall Street expected Tesla to post earnings per share of $0.39, down 25% from a year ago. Tesla’s revenue is forecasted to fall 13% to $22.19 billion, and analysts also expect the electric vehicle maker to post lower margins this quarter.
Tesla’s other Q2 metrics
For the second quarter, Tesla’s total revenue decreased 12% YoY to $22.5B. Operating income also decreased 42% YoY to $0.9B, resulting in a 4.1% operating margin. Tesla still has a strong war chest, as the company’s quarter-end cash, cash equivalents and investments was $36.8B.
Product Plans
Tesla noted in its Q2 2025 update letter that the company remains focused on “prudently growing our vehicle volumes in a capex efficient manner by using our existing vehicle production capacity before building new lines.” Still, Tesla noted that plans for new vehicles that will launch in 2025 remain on track, including initial production of a more affordable model in 1H25.
Tesla also reiterated that the Cybercab will be produced using the company’s upcoming “Unboxed” manufacturing process. Volume production of the Cybercab is expected to start sometime in 2026.
Below is Tesla’s Q2 2025 update letter:
TSLA-Q2-2025-Update by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
Investor's Corner
Tesla Q2 2025 earnings: What Wall Street expects
The company has faced mounting pressure this year, with TSLA stock down 19% year-to-date.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is set to release its second-quarter 2025 financial results after markets close on Wednesday, July 23. The company has faced mounting pressure this year, with TSLA stock down about 19% year-to-date.
What Wall Street expects
As noted in a TipRanks report, Wall Street has remained cautious about the electric vehicle maker due to concerns about the EV segment in general, competition, reduced margins, federal EV regulations, and CEO Elon Musk’s political activities.
Overall, Wall Street expects Tesla to post earnings per share of $0.39, down 25% from a year ago. Tesla’s revenue is forecasted to fall 13% to $22.19 billion, and analysts also expect the electric vehicle maker to post lower margins this quarter.
Analyst expectations
Tesla delivered approximately 384,120 vehicles in Q2, a 13.5% drop year-over-year, as per Main Street Data. The company also produced over 410,000 vehicles and deployed 9.6 GWh of energy storage products during the quarter.
Ahead of the earnings call, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard reiterated a Buy rating and a $335 per share price target. He also adjusted his Q2 revenue forecast to $21 billion, down from his previous estimate of $24.1 billion. Despite short-term softness, Sheppard maintained his 2025 and 2026 projections, citing confidence in Tesla’s high-margin Robotaxi business model.
Barclays analyst Dan Levy kept a Hold rating with a $275 price target. He stated that the company faces “increasingly weaker fundamentals,” but he also suggested that Tesla’s Robotaxi story could drive optimism. Levy expects modest gross margin improvement quarter-over-quarter and flagged the full-year EPS estimate drop from $3.20 to $1.84. Delays in launching the affordable Tesla model remain a downside risk, Levy noted.
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