Investor's Corner

Tesla to focus on “narrow AI” and neural maps in next-gen Autopilot

Published

9 years ago

August 4, 2016

Tesla reported Q2 financials yesterday which lacked new actionable information for Tesla traders, but provided some unexpected details on one topic, autonomous driving.

Neel N. Mehta of Morgan Stanley was first to ask for a “an update on Tesla’s proprietary mapping initiatives.”

Elon initially responded that “I think we would prefer to be confidential in that regard,” but Elon being Elon further explained that “what we’ve said thus far is that there’s need to have much higher definition maps than currently exists anywhere in the world in order to have full autonomy. And we’re in the process of building those and I think making good progress.”

Later on in the call, James J. Albertine of Consumer Edge Research asked to “understand in more detail I think how you [Elon] plan to get to fully autonomous.” Elon finally relented and said “Well, again, major product announcements are not – I shouldn’t do those on an earnings call, obviously. And all I’d say is that full autonomy is going to come a hell of a lot faster than anyone thinks it will. And I think what we’ve got under development is going to blow people’s minds. It blows my mind, so.”

Elon was not done. Colin Rusch of Oppenheimer went back on the subject and asked “how you guys are going to approach that functionality going forward with the driver assist in the autonomous driving push going forward?” Elon answered that “I think we’ll have a more significant announcement on that later. So it’s not really – earnings call is not the right time for that except that it will be a Tesla solution, internal solution.”

The analysts were not done with the topic. Brad Erickson of Pacific Crest Securities pounded on asking “Just had a quick follow up, I guess, on something that’s been asked a couple of times; take another run at it. I guess given that you’re obviously no longer working with this key supplier [Mobileye] around full autonomy. What are the major hurdles that you see for Tesla here to overcome to get to full autonomy? Is it just a case of software development, lots more miles driven and basically getting the right people in place? Any color on sort of some of the key challenges you’re facing and where you’re particularly focused for delivering full autonomy at some point?”

“It’s exciting, it blows me away, the progress we’re making.” – Elon Musk

Elon finally gave some more details: “Well, full autonomy is really a software limitation. I mean the hardware is just to create full autonomy, so it’s really about developing advanced, narrow AI for the car to operate on. I want to emphasize narrow AI, it’s like not going to take over the world, but it needs to be really good at driving a car. So increasingly sophisticated neural maps that can operate in reasonably sized computers in the car. That’s our focus. I’m very optimistic about this. It’s exciting, it blows me away, the progress we’re making. So I think if I’m this close to it and it’s blowing me away, it’s really going to blow other people away when they see it for the first time.”

According to Wikipedia, “narrow AI,” also known as “weak AI”, “defines non-sentient computer intelligence or AI that is focused on one narrow task. Weak AI is defined in contrast to either “strong AI” (a machine with consciousness, sentience and mind) or “artificial general intelligence” (a machine with the ability to apply intelligence to any problem, rather than just one specific problem).” Wikipedia cites Apple’s Siri as an example of a “narrow AI”.

Combining all of Elon’s responses, we can expect a major [significant] announcement regarding an internal Tesla solution to autonomous driving, which will involve a combination of “narrow AI” software implementing sophisticated neural maps, and much higher definition maps but likely no major new hardware. So much for being “confidential.”

This is great news to current Tesla owners because it is a “software” solution: current Model S, Model X and eventual Model 3 owners may be capable of full autonomous driving.

If Elon thinks that all of this “is going to blow other people away”, it probably will.

Photo credit: Garth Woodworth

Elon Musk

Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors

“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

Published

3 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Joey Klender

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.

One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

Dorsheimer said in the note:

“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”

Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.

He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.

Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.

In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:

“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”

Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

Prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.

Published

7 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Simon Alvarez

Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose on Monday after CEO Elon Musk disclosed a rare insider purchase of company stock worth about $1 billion.

A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that Musk acquired 2.57 million shares last Friday at various prices. The move represents Musk’s largest TSLA purchase ever by value, as per Verity data.

Elon Musk’s TSLA purchase

The disclosure sent Tesla shares up more than 8% in premarket trading Monday, as investors read the purchase as a notable vote of confidence, as stated in a CNBC report. Tesla stock had closed slightly lower Friday but remains more than 25% higher over the past three months. It should be noted that prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.

Market watchers say the purchase could help shore up investor sentiment amid a volatile year for TSLA stock. Shares have faced pressure from a variety of factors, from year-over-year sales challenges due to the new Model Y changeover, political controversies tied to Musk, and reduced U.S. incentives for EVs under the Trump administration. Nevertheless, analysts such as Wedbush’s Dan Ives stated that Musk’s purchase was a “huge sign of confidence for Tesla bulls and shows Musk is doubling down on his Tesla A.I. bet.”

🚨 BREAKING: Elon Musk bought over 2.56M $TSLA shares in a Form 4 filing, worth over $1B. 🚀 https://t.co/n6yan1NUhf pic.twitter.com/65liXMokUj— Herbert Ong (@herbertong) September 15, 2025

Tesla and Elon Musk

Musk already owns about 13% of Tesla, and his latest purchase comes as the company prepares for a key shareholder vote in November. Investors will decide whether to approve a compensation package for Musk that could ultimately be worth as much as $975 billion if ambitious market value milestones are achieved. The package has a long-term target of pushing Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion, compared with about $1.3 trillion at Friday’s close.

Wall Street’s current consensus price target still implies a roughly 20% decline from current levels, though some Tesla bulls remain optimistic that the company could shift its focus toward autonomy, AI, and robotics. Musk has also asked shareholders to approve an investment into his latest venture, xAI.

Investor's Corner

Tesla bear turns bullish for two reasons as stock continues boost

“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting,” Nathan said, citing numerous signs of strength, such as holding its 200-day moving average and holding against its resistance level.

Published

3 days ago

September 12, 2025

Joey Klender

Credit: Tesla Manufacturing

A Tesla bear is changing his tune, turning bullish for two reasons as the company’s stock has continued to get a boost over the past month.

Dan Nathan, a notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, said he is changing his tune, at least in the short term, on the company’s stock because of “technicals and sentiment,” believing the company is on track for a strong Q3, but also an investment story that will slowly veer away from its automotive business.

He also said he believes a rally for the stock could continue as it heads into the end of the quarter, especially as the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit is coming to an end at the end of the month.

With that being said, he believes the consensus for Q3 deliveries is “probably low,” as he believes Wall Street is likely underestimating what Tesla will bring to the table on October 1 or 2 when it reports numbers for the quarter.

Tesla bear Dan Nathan has flipped his script on Tesla $TSLA shares, citing “technicals and sentiment”

pic.twitter.com/QNNNsjljZL

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 12, 2025

Tesla shares are already up over five percent today, with gains exceeding nine percent over the past five trading days, and more than fourteen percent in the past month.

While some analysts are looking at the performance of other Mag 7 stocks, movement on rates from the Federal Reserve, and other broader market factors as reasoning for Tesla’s strong performance, it appears some movement could be related to the company’s recent developments instead.

Over the past week, Tesla has made some strides in its Robotaxi program, including a new license to test the platform in the State of Nevada, which we reported on.

Tesla lands regulatory green light for Robotaxi testing in new state

Additionally, the company is riding the tails of the end of the EV tax credit, as inventory, both new and used, is running extremely low, generally speaking. Many markets do not have any vehicles to purchase as of right now, making delivery by September 30 extremely difficult.

However, there has been some adjustments to the guidelines by the IRS, which can be read here: