Investor's Corner
Lost in Translation, Tesla’s Model 3 Marketing Begins
The irony is that this big, non-detailed marketing message has been the sweet spot for the legacy auto OEMs and gas cars, but now is being employed by a young car maker against their rivals.
During Elon Musk’s recent “end range anxiety” press conference, discussion turned to what he thought was the minimum amount of range for an electric car. “200 miles is the minimum threshold for an electric car. We need 200+ miles in real-world, not 200 miles in ‘AC-off, driving on a flat road,” Musk said on March 19th.
Discussion on the web has some fans and enthusiasts wondering whether Musk’s statement was purely discussion, Model 3 marketing or bragging about the company’s current cars. To me, it’s all about be beginning of the Model 3’s marketing campaign and this “little” reference reinforces to the public and media that Tesla Motors has already produced a 200+ mile car in 2012, not 2017.
In effect, Musk is saying “it’s great that Nissan and Chevy are talking about a 200-mile car in 2017.”
Musk is PT Barnum without the big con (…a little con slips out every now and then). The brilliance of Mr. Musk is that his company produced a game-changing vehicle in the right segment while leveraging a new drivetrain technology. First mover latitude to “speculate” on the technology’s future without a ton of pushback. When he talks the alchemy starts: a new car frontier mixes with Tesla Motors mission, image and whatever you want to call it.
Sure, there’s the battery swap hype of some years ago and the follow-through took sometime, but he has been busy.
Related Story >> A Peak into Tesla’s Battery Swap Station at Harris Ranch
But back to the 200+ mile statement, Musk is right on the mark as I drive a MS 60 in the Chicagoland area. The MS 60 has 208 rated miles and during the winter, it will make you think a bit more about your travels, compared to a MS 85 and its 245+ real miles. When it dips below zero, I top out at 194 miles on a full charge. However, I don’t have any issues with my short commute to my house office and the occasional city trips for business, plus we’re a two-car family.
This 200-mile statement is all about marketing and positioning for the Model 3, while being completely honest and accurate.
Musk said, “Anything below 200 miles isn’t passing grade, most people are looking for 20 percent more than that.” Musk is playing the long game and dropping the seed with early-wave EV buyers that Tesla will be moving toward that number. However, the legacy automakers may hit 200 rated miles..and from recent Nissan reports they won’t even hit 200 miles with their 2017 car.
Musk’s statement did not get much notice, but this story line will pick up momentum. Musk and Tesla will add this to the arsenal for the next two years and say: Who do trust when you buy your first EV car in 2017 or 2018?
The irony is that this big, non-detailed marketing message has been the sweet spot for the legacy auto OEMs, but now is being employed by a young EV carmaker against its rivals.
For the electric drivetrain products, legacy carmakers are adjusting and trying to “educate” car consumers. BMW and Nissan are doing good work in this area, with ride-and-drives and email marketing but GM is out to lunch, marketing-wise…and that’s too bad.
Great cars and excellent marketing is a pretty good combination to have.
*Disclosure: Author is long and owns shares in Tesla Motors.
Investor's Corner
SpaceX IPO is coming, CEO Elon Musk confirms
However, it appears Musk is ready for SpaceX to go public, as Ars Technica Senior Space Editor Eric Berger wrote an op-ed that indicated he thought SpaceX would go public soon. Musk replied, basically confirming it.
Elon Musk confirmed through a post on X that a SpaceX initial public offering (IPO) is on the way after hinting at it several times earlier this year.
It also comes one day after Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was aiming for a valuation of $1.5 trillion, adding that it wanted to raise $30 billion.
Musk has been transparent for most of the year that he wanted to try to figure out a way to get Tesla shareholders to invest in SpaceX, giving them access to the stock.
He has also recognized the issues of having a public stock, like litigation exposure, quarterly reporting pressures, and other inconveniences.
However, it appears Musk is ready for SpaceX to go public, as Ars Technica Senior Space Editor Eric Berger wrote an op-ed that indicated he thought SpaceX would go public soon.
Musk replied, basically confirming it:
As usual, Eric is accurate
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2025
Berger believes the IPO would help support the need for $30 billion or more in capital needed to fund AI integration projects, such as space-based data centers and lunar satellite factories. Musk confirmed recently that SpaceX “will be doing” data centers in orbit.
AI appears to be a “key part” of SpaceX getting to Musk, Berger also wrote. When writing about whether or not Optimus is a viable project and product for the company, he says that none of that matters. Musk thinks it is, and that’s all that matters.
It seems like Musk has certainly mulled something this big for a very long time, and the idea of taking SpaceX public is not just likely; it is necessary for the company to get to Mars.
The details of when SpaceX will finally hit that public status are not known. Many of the reports that came out over the past few days indicate it would happen in 2026, so sooner rather than later.
But there are a lot of things on Musk’s plate early next year, especially with Cybercab production, the potential launch of Unsupervised Full Self-Driving, and the Roadster unveiling, all planned for Q1.
Investor's Corner
Tesla Full Self-Driving statistic impresses Wall Street firm: ‘Very close to unsupervised’
The data shows there was a significant jump in miles traveled between interventions as Tesla transitioned drivers to v14.1 back in October. The FSD Community Tracker saw a jump from 441 miles to over 9,200 miles, the most significant improvement in four years.
Tesla Full Self-Driving performance and statistics continue to impress everyone, from retail investors to Wall Street firms. However, one analyst believes Tesla’s driving suite is “very close” to achieving unsupervised self-driving.
On Tuesday, Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter said that Tesla’s recent launch of Full Self-Driving version 14 increased the number of miles traveled between interventions by a drastic margin, based on data compiled by a Full Self-Driving Community Tracker.
🚨 Piper Sandler reiterated its Overweight rating and $500 PT on Tesla $TSLA stock
Analyst Alexander Potter said FSD is near full autonomy and latest versions showed the largest improvement in disengagements, from 440 miles to 9,200 miles between critical interventions pic.twitter.com/u4WCLfZcA9
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 9, 2025
The data shows there was a significant jump in miles traveled between interventions as Tesla transitioned drivers to v14.1 back in October. The FSD Community Tracker saw a jump from 441 miles to over 9,200 miles, the most significant improvement in four years.
Interestingly, there was a slight dip in the miles traveled between interventions with the release of v14.2. Piper Sandler said investor interest in FSD has increased.
Full Self-Driving has displayed several improvements with v14, including the introduction of Arrival Options that allow specific parking situations to be chosen by the driver prior to arriving at the destination. Owners can choose from Street Parking, Parking Garages, Parking Lots, Chargers, and Driveways.
Additionally, the overall improvements in performance from v13 have been evident through smoother operation, fewer mistakes during routine operation, and a more refined decision-making process.
Early versions of v14 exhibited stuttering and brake stabbing, but Tesla did a great job of confronting the issue and eliminating it altogether with the release of v14.2.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk also recently stated that the current v14.2 FSD suite is also less restrictive with drivers looking at their phones, which has caused some controversy within the community.
Although we tested it and found there were fewer nudges by the driver monitoring system to push eyes back to the road, we still would not recommend it due to laws and regulations.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2.1 texting and driving: we tested it
With that being said, FSD is improving significantly with each larger rollout, and Musk believes the final piece of the puzzle will be unveiled with FSD v14.3, which could come later this year or early in 2026.
Piper Sandler reaffirmed its $500 price target on Tesla shares, as well as its ‘Overweight’ rating.
Tesla received a price target boost from Morgan Stanley, according to a new note on Monday morning, but there is some considerable caution also being communicated over the next year or so.
Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco took over Tesla coverage for the firm from longtime bull Adam Jonas, who appears to be focusing on embodied AI stocks and no longer automotive.
Percoco took over and immediately adjusted the price target for Tesla from $410 to $425, and changed its rating on shares from ‘Overweight’ to ‘Equal Weight.’
Percoco said he believes Tesla is the leading company in terms of electric vehicles, manufacturing, renewable energy, and real-world AI, so it deserves a premium valuation. However, he admits the high expectations for the company could provide for a “choppy trading environment” for the next year.
He wrote:
“However, high expectations on the latter have brought the stock closer to fair valuation. While it is well understood that Tesla is more than an auto manufacturer, we expect a choppy trading environment for the TSLA shares over the next 12 months, as we see downside to estimates, while the catalysts for its non-auto businesses appear priced at current levels.”
Percoco also added that if market cap hurdles are achieved, Morgan Stanley would reduce its price target by 7 percent.
Perhaps the biggest change with Percoco taking over the analysis for Jonas is how he will determine the value of each individual project. For example, he believes Optimus is worth about $60 per share of equity value.
He went on to describe the potential value of Full Self-Driving, highlighting its importance to the Tesla valuation:
“Full Self Driving (FSD) is the crown jewel of Tesla’s auto business; we believe that its leading-edge personal autonomous driving offering is a real game changer, and will remain a significant competitive advantage over its EV and non-EV peers. As Tesla continues to improve its platform with increased levels of autonomy (i.e., hands-off, eyes-off), it will revolutionize the personal driving experience. It remains to be seen if others will be able to keep pace.”
Additionally, Percoco outlined both bear and bull cases for the stock. He believes $860 per share, “which could be in play in the next 12 months if Tesla manages through the EV-downturn,” while also scaling Robotaxi, executing on unsupervised FSD, and scaling Optimus, is in play for the bull case.
Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might
Meanwhile, the bear case is placed at $145 per share, and “assumes greater competition and margin pressure across all business lines, embedding zero value for humanoids, slowing the growth curve for Tesla’s robotaxi fleet to reflect regulatory challenges in scaling a vision-only perception stack, and lowering market share and margin profile for the autos and energy businesses.”
Currently, Tesla shares are trading at around $441.
Tesla starts Robotaxi testing without any vehicle occupants
Tesla refines Full Self-Driving, latest update impresses where it last came up short
