Investor's Corner
Elon Musk addresses Tesla Model 3 production delays in CBS interview
Elon Musk recently talked about the ongoing Model 3 production delays in an interview with CBS This Morning’s Gayle King. During his conversations with the news anchor, Musk addressed the Model 3’s delays and even touched on the issue of reservation holders who have canceled their orders for the car.
King noted that Musk knows he has fallen way behind the production goal for the Model 3. In an exchange, King asked Musk if customers should be worried about Tesla’s capability to deliver their orders.
“Should customers be worried about what’s happening with their Model 3, and when they will get their Model 3?” King asked.
“It’s best to look at those not in an exact numerical way, but on a calendar basis. It shouldn’t be a question of whether somebody’s gonna get their car. It’s just, ‘Yes, you’re definitely gonna get your car. It’s gonna to be 6-9 months later than expected,” Musk responded.
“Are you saying people don’t really need to be worried?” King asked.
“It’s a 6-9 month time shift, and three of those have already passed,” Musk said.
Musk also addressed King’s inquiry about cancellations of Model 3 orders. According to Musk, most of the customers who opted out of their reservations needed a car quickly. Unfortunately, it was a car that Tesla could not provide in a timeline that the customer required.
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- Elon Musk gives a rare look into the Model 3 production line. [Credit: CBS This Morning/YouTube]
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- Elon Musk gives a rare look into the Model 3 production line. [Credit: CBS This Morning/YouTube]
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- Elon Musk gives a rare look inside the Model 3 production line. [Credit: CBS This Morning/YouTube]
In one exchange, Musk described how the Model 3 ramp had been a difficult and painful process for the past several months. When prompted by King, Musk stated that recently, he has been sleeping on the factory floor, which the CEO says is not a fun place to sleep in. Musk said that he does not think it is right for the Tesla team to take on the challenge of building the Model 3 while he is relaxing somewhere.
“I don’t believe like people should be experiencing hardship while the CEO is like off on vacation.”
In post-interview statement on CBS This Morning, King noted that Musk ultimately admitted that manufacturing the Model 3 has been harder than he initially thought. Despite this, however, the CEO stated that he has several strategies in mind that he believes will make a difference and accelerate the production ramp of the mass market compact electric car.
Musk’s decision to go back to sleeping on the Fremont factory’s floor echoes much of Tesla’s challenges during the initial days of the Model X’s production. As we noted in a report from May 2016, Musk revealed in an earnings call that he literally had a sleeping bag at the end of the Model X production line.
“I’m personally spending an enormous amount of time on the production line. I have a sleeping bag and desk at the end of the production line which I use quite frequently. The whole team is focused on achieving a high [production] rate and quality,” Musk said then.
As the following years would ultimately prove, Tesla would eventually iron out its kinks with the Model X’s production. Today, the electric SUV is being produced at roughly the same rate as the company’s iconic sedan — the Model S. Thus, if there is anything that can be determined from Tesla’s challenges with the Model 3 and Musk’s way of addressing them, it seems like the carmaker is closing in on exiting its proverbial “production hell.”
Watch Elon Musk’s conversation with CBS This Morning‘s Gayle King in the video below.
Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Short, and was portrayed by Christian Bale.
Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation
For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.
Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.
While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.
Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.
In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.
Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.
It closed at $430.14 on Monday.
Investor's Corner
Mizuho keeps Tesla (TSLA) “Outperform” rating but lowers price target
As per the Mizuho analyst, upcoming changes to EV incentives in the U.S. and China could affect Tesla’s unit growth more than previously expected.
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh lowered Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) price target to $475 from $485, citing potential 2026 EV subsidy cuts in the U.S. and China that could pressure deliveries. The firm maintained its Outperform rating for the electric vehicle maker, however.
As per the Mizuho analyst, upcoming changes to EV incentives in the U.S. and China could affect Tesla’s unit growth more than previously expected. The U.S. accounted for roughly 37% of Tesla’s third-quarter 2025 sales, while China represented about 34%, making both markets highly sensitive to policy shifts. Potential 50% cuts to Chinese subsidies and reduced U.S. incentives affected the firm’s outlook.
With those pressures factored in, the firm now expects Tesla to deliver 1.75 million vehicles in 2026 and 2 million in 2027, slightly below consensus estimates of 1.82 million and 2.15 million, respectively. The analyst was cautiously optimistic, as near-term pressure from subsidies is there, but the company’s long-term tech roadmap remains very compelling.
Despite the revised target, Mizuho remained optimistic on Tesla’s long-term technology roadmap. The firm highlighted three major growth drivers into 2027: the broader adoption of Full Self-Driving V14, the expansion of Tesla’s Robotaxi service, and the commercialization of Optimus, the company’s humanoid robot.
“We are lowering TSLA Ests/PT to $475 with Potential BEV headwinds in 2026E. We believe into 2026E, US (~37% of TSLA 3Q25 sales) EV subsidy cuts and China (34% of TSLA 3Q25 sales) potential 50% EV subsidy cuts could be a headwind to EV deliveries.
“We are now estimating TSLA deliveries for 2026/27E at 1.75M/2.00M (slightly below cons. 1.82M/2.15M). We see some LT drivers with FSD v14 adoption for autonomous, robotaxi launches, and humanoid robots into 2027 driving strength,” the analyst noted.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) has landed an elusive “must own” status from Wall Street firm Melius, according to a new note released early this week.
Analyst Rob Wertheimer said Tesla will lead the charge in world-changing tech, given the company’s focus on self-driving, autonomy, and Robotaxi. In a note to investors, Wertheimer said “the world is about to change, dramatically,” because of the advent of self-driving cars.
He looks at the industry and sees many potential players, but the firm says there will only be one true winner:
“Our point is not that Tesla is at risk, it’s that everybody else is.”
The major argument is that autonomy is nearing a tipping point where years of chipping away at the software and data needed to develop a sound, safe, and effective form of autonomous driving technology turn into an avalanche of progress.
Wertheimer believes autonomy is a $7 trillion sector,” and in the coming years, investors will see “hundreds of billions in value shift to Tesla.”
A lot of the major growth has to do with the all-too-common “butts in seats” strategy, as Wertheimer believes that only a fraction of people in the United States have ridden in a self-driving car. In Tesla’s regard, only “tens of thousands” have tried Tesla’s latest Full Self-Driving (Supervised) version, which is v14.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 – Full Review, the Good and the Bad
When it reaches a widespread rollout and more people are able to experience Tesla Full Self-Driving v14, he believes “it will shock most people.”
Citing things like Tesla’s massive data pool from its vehicles, as well as its shift to end-to-end neural nets in 2021 and 2022, as well as the upcoming AI5 chip, which will be put into a handful of vehicles next year, but will reach a wider rollout in 2027, Melius believes many investors are not aware of the pace of advancement in self-driving.
Tesla’s lead in its self-driving efforts is expanding, Wertheimer says. The company is making strategic choices on everything from hardware to software, manufacturing, and overall vehicle design. He says Tesla has left legacy automakers struggling to keep pace as they still rely on outdated architectures and fragmented supplier systems.
Tesla shares are up over 6 percent at 10:40 a.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $416.
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