Connect with us
Elon Musk Elon Musk

News

Tesla investors questioned Elon Musk’s commitment, but the message is clear — He’s Back

Credit: JC

Published

on

He’s back.

That’s the message Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas portrayed in a Monday morning note to investors as Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite gained tentative approval in China after the CEO met with high-ranking officials.

As investors continued to question what Elon Musk’s commitment to Tesla was, the message is clear that he is pushing the electric automaker forward once again with this massive development to the FSD suite.

“Whether Tesla’s CEO is sleeping on a floor or on a plane…the message is clear: he’s back,” Jonas writes in a note to investors.

Jonas notes that there were undoubtedly investor concerns about whether Musk was “all in” on Tesla after his purchase of X, the social media platform that was known as Twitter prior to his acquisition.

Advertisement

“Even the smallest gesture of commitment has elevated meaning here, combating concerns over Musk’s commitment to Tesla relative to the broader Musk ecosystem of companies,” Jonas writes.

Interestingly, Tesla’s Q1 Earnings Call even included some speculation from institutional investors regarding Musk’s commitment to Tesla.

Toni Sacconaghi asked Musk, “Maybe you can just talk about where your heart is at, in terms of your interests, and do you expect to lessen your involvement with Tesla at any point over the next three years?”

Musk responded, “Well, Tesla constitutes the majority of my work time, and I work pretty much every day of the week. It’s rare for me to take a Sunday afternoon off. I’m gonna make sure Tesla is very prosperous, and it is. I think it is prosperous, and it will be very much so in the future.”

Musk’s evident commitment to Tesla is not the only thing to hone in on here, either. In China, Tesla has fought an uphill battle, and Morgan Stanley sees this is step as a huge victory for the company for a number of reasons.

Advertisement

We reported earlier on Wedbush stating that the addition of Chinese vehicles will increase data consumption for Tesla. However, Jonas makes another interesting point:

“We would assume that Elon Musk’s U.S. national security clearance is higher than that of the typical American CEO due to his control of SpaceX and the range of missions it conducts with NASA, Space Force, and the broader DoD. Achieving a potential detente with the PRC on such areas as autonomous driving/FSD is surprising and deserves greater research and understanding. For now, Musk winning blessing from the PRC for FSD rollout in the country seems to address embedded fears of Tesla’s China profit.”

One thing is for sure, Tesla has not felt a major development of this scale in some time. Although the Cybertruck launch was significant, it did not have a major impact on the stock, and that’s what investors are looking for.

Tesla shares are up over 17 percent at 12:20 p.m. on the East Coast.

Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.

Advertisement

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla creates clever solution to simplify and improve its Service

Raj Jegannathan, a Vice President of IT/AI-Infra, Apps, Infosec, and Vehicle Service Operations, revealed that Tesla has started a small pilot program at a few service locations to combat this issue.

Published

on

tesla service
Credit: Tesla

Tesla has created a clever solution to simplify and improve its Service. Tesla performs most of the services that are needed on its vehicles at its company-owned Service Centers.

However, service has been a weak point of the company, as some regions have fewer Service Centers than others. This can cause long wait times for Tesla owners in some parts of the country.

There are also instances where customers do not agree with what Tesla is saying about their vehicle. In fact, one instance that revealed this new change Tesla is making to its Service was precisely that.

One owner posted on X that his vehicle’s battery seal had failed after a recall was issued. Tesla insurance and Tesla Service both did not assist, and it took CEO Elon Musk stepping in to get the issue resolved:

Another owner suggested there should be a more streamlined communications process between the customer and the Service Center, a solution that has been missing.

Raj Jegannathan, a Vice President of IT/AI-Infra, Apps, Infosec, and Vehicle Service Operations, revealed that Tesla has started a small pilot program at a few service locations to combat this issue.

Elon Musk wants Tesla Service to fix two-thirds of cars in the same day

Jegannathan said that Tesla has started to share local and regional leader contact information so customers have the ability to reach out when they have complaints or disagree with warranty claims, changes in estimates, or initial diagnostics.

Advertisement

It is available in a handful of locations already, and Jegannathan said that once abuse guardrails are built, this will expand to all locations:

This would be a major improvement in the Service portion of Tesla’s business. There are common disagreements between Service and customers, specifically when Service’s suggestions don’t align with the customer’s beliefs.

When it comes to things like a warranty claim, these issues are not really up for interpretation. Instead, the repairs should be made. If there is a misunderstanding on Service’s side, a simple message from the customer could have resolved the issue. That’s basically what happened here.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla gets its best analysis from Morgan Stanley as ‘it’s all about to change’

He maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating and the $410 price target Morgan Stanley had on the stock.

Published

on

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has gotten perhaps its best analysis from Morgan Stanley in quite some time, as the Wall Street firm claims that “it’s all about to change.”

That phrase could be used for both the company’s status and the world in general.

Analyst Adam Jonas said in a new note on Thursday to investors that Tesla could be one of the major winners in terms of the global transition from what it is now to what it will be.

He describes the global shift that will occur over the next few years:

“Have you interacted with a robot today? Have you even seen a robot today? No? Well, take a mental picture because it’s all about to change. When we meet someone who has never been in a Waymo or a Tesla Cybercab (which is most people), we frequently see a wince and a response such as ‘I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable getting in a car without a driver.’ We imagine going back in time to 1903 and asking people if they’d feel comfortable in an airplane.’”

Advertisement

The same technological revolutions that have occurred over the past 150 years will continue to occur again and again. We are on the verge of another, Jonas believes, as companies like Tesla are working on artificial intelligence tech, which includes changing the way we look at things like transportation and labor.

Jonas includes an interesting tidbit in his note about how humanoid robots could change wages, and how it could work into the advantage of Tesla, especially as it is developing its own Optimus robot:

“We estimate 1 humanoid robot at $5/hour can do the work of 2 humans at $25/hour, generating an NPV of approximately $200k/humanoid. 1 robot shaped car can potentially drive down cost/mile of a ride share vehicle to <$0.20 mile (1/10th human-driven ride-share).”

Jonas sees Tesla as a key player in how AI will impact things like manufacturing and various automotive industries, and he believes there is long-term potential for AI, robomobility, and even autonomous eVTOL platforms.

Tesla stock: Morgan Stanley says eVTOL is calling Elon Musk for new chapter

Advertisement

He maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating and the $410 price target Morgan Stanley had on the stock.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla expands Robotaxi program in Austin to new riders

Tesla has been expanding both the rider group and the geofence in Austin slowly, making sure to prioritize safety and avoid any major events with the early rollout.

Published

on

Credit: @TerrapinTerpene/X

Tesla is expanding its Robotaxi program in Austin, Texas, as several people have received invitations to participate and take rides.

Tesla first launched the Robotaxi platform on June 22. It invited a handful of people to participate in the first-ever public rides. We were lucky enough to get an invitation, and our permissions have been expanded in the Bay Area pilot program as well.

The group was small and consisted of big names in the Tesla community. It expanded and is continuing to offer these exclusive invitations to notable members of the Tesla community.

There have been fewer than five subsequent invitations after the first group’s were sent in late June:

Tesla has been expanding both the rider group and the geofence in Austin slowly, making sure to prioritize safety and avoid any major events with the early rollout.

Advertisement

Tesla’s new Robotaxi geofence shape is an FU by Elon Musk to the competition

“We are being very cautious. We do not want to take any chances, so we are going to go cautiously. But the service areas and the number of vehicles in operation will increase at a hyper-exponential rate,” CEO Elon Musk said during the Q2 Earnings Call.

Eventually, the Robotaxi platform will not require an invite, and it will operate without geofences. Musk believes Tesla can get there within three or six months, and plans to have at least half of the U.S. population with access to a Robotaxi by the end of the year:

Advertisement

“I think we will probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year. That’s at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals. I think we will technically be able to do it. Assuming we have regulatory approvals, it’s probably addressing half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year.”

Tesla plans to have regulatory approval in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida sooner than in other states.

Continue Reading

Trending