Investor's Corner
Tesla Model 3 production in Gigafactory 3 could ‘make a gazillion bucks:’ teardown expert
Earlier today, Tesla’s Gigafactory in China, which is expected to produce the affordable versions of the Model 3 and the Model Y, held its groundbreaking event. During the ceremony, Elon Musk was optimistic, stating that Tesla would likely start producing the electric sedan in the facility sometime before the end of the year.
If automotive veteran and teardown expert Sandy Munro’s insights are any indication, building the Model 3 in China is definitely the correct strategy for the electric car maker. In a recent appearance in YouTube’s Autoline Network channel, Munro remarked that if Tesla optimizes the Model 3’s production in China, the electric vehicle will generate a lot of profit for the company.
“When (Elon Musk) takes (the Model 3) to China, (Tesla’s) gonna make a gazillion bucks. I guarantee it,” Munro remarked.
Munro has not always been impressed with the Model 3 and its potential. Quite the contrary. When he started his teardown of an early production Model 3, Munro was aghast, comparing the build quality of the vehicle to a Kia from the 1990s and remarking that he “can’t imagine how (Tesla) released this (car).” After going through the vehicle’s panel gaps and what he believes are design flaws on the Model 3’s body, Munro summarized his observations by stating that “this thing is a miserable job.”
A few months later, Munro was singing a different tune. In a later segment on the auto-themed YouTube channel, the teardown expert noted that he had to “eat a lot of crow” when his team finished their analysis of the Model 3. Munro noted that while the vehicle’s bodywork left much to be desired, everything from the suspension of the Model 3 to its battery pack was a feat of engineering. The electric car’s batteries were top-notch, the ride was great, and the electronics were comparable to military-grade tech.
Most of all, Munro noted that the Model 3 will be profitable for Tesla, especially due to the company’s vertical integration and possible efficiencies in the vehicle’s construction. Before Munro could discuss his findings further, though, Autoline Network host John McElroy mentioned in a following episode of the program that Munro was being threatened with a lawsuit by an entity connected to his Model 3 teardown and analysis. Since then, Munro’s insights were shuttered — or so it seemed.
The automotive teardown expert finally made his return on Autoline Network in a recent episode. Returning to the show, Munro had a set of new updates and insights about his team’s Model 3 teardown. While Munro maintains that the Model 3’s body was over-engineered, he did note that “the good part is everything else.” The auto veteran pointed out that the Model 3 had the best electronics his team has ever seen, it had the lowest number of hoses, 40% less harnesses, and the electric motors are smaller, lighter, and more powerful than the competition.
“They’ve got magic. The electric motor is smaller and lighter than everybody else, but outperforms everybody,” Munro said.
With regards to Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 push and the production of the Model 3 on the site, Munro proved optimistic. The auto veteran even noted that Tesla’s Model 3 lines in China would likely be a lot more optimized than those in the United States.
“Elon made a few mistakes on that body. You think he’s gonna do it again? I don’t. You think the production lines are gonna be as bad as in California? I don’t. I think the factory in China is going to be wicked compared to what they’ve got in the States, and I think he’s going to be able to clobber everyone in China,” he said.
With Tesla accelerating the timeline for Gigafactory 3’s construction, the company can only hope that the Model 3 — its most disruptive vehicle in its lineup — could do its magic in the largest auto market in the world.
Watch Sandy Munro’s recent appearance at Autoline Network in the video below.
Investor's Corner
Tesla gets tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm on self-driving prowess
“Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving, supported by a camera-only approach that is technically harder but much cheaper than the multi-sensor systems widely used in the industry. This strategy should allow Tesla to scale more profitably compared to Robotaxi competitors, helped by a growing data engine from its existing fleet,” BoA wrote.
Tesla received a tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm Bank of America on Wednesday, as it reinitiated coverage on Tesla shares with a bullish stance that comes with a ‘Buy’ rating and a $460 price target.
In a new note that marks a sharp reversal from its neutral position earlier in 2025, the bank declared Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology the “leading consumer autonomy solution.”
Analysts highlighted Tesla’s camera-only architecture, known as Tesla Vision, as a strategic masterstroke. While technically more challenging than the multi-sensor setups favored by rivals, the vision-based approach is dramatically cheaper to produce and maintain.
This cost edge, combined with Tesla’s rapidly expanding real-world data engine, positions the company to scale robotaxis far more profitably than competitors, BofA argues in the new note:
“Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving, supported by a camera-only approach that is technically harder but much cheaper than the multi-sensor systems widely used in the industry. This strategy should allow Tesla to scale more profitably compared to Robotaxi competitors, helped by a growing data engine from its existing fleet.”
The bank now attributes roughly 52% of Tesla’s total valuation to its Robotaxi ambitions. It also flagged meaningful upside from the Optimus humanoid robot program and the fast-growing energy storage business, suggesting the auto segment’s recent headwinds, including expired incentives, are being eclipsed by these higher-margin opportunities.
Tesla’s own data underscores exactly why Wall Street is waking up to FSD’s potential. According to Tesla’s official safety reporting page, the FSD Supervised fleet has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles driven.
Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
That total ballooned from just 6 million miles in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and a staggering 4.25 billion in 2025 alone. In the first 50 days of 2026, owners added another 1 billion miles — averaging more than 20 million miles per day.
This avalanche of real-world, camera-captured footage, much of it on complex city streets, gives Tesla an unmatched training dataset. Every mile feeds its neural networks, accelerating improvement cycles that lidar-dependent rivals simply cannot match at scale.
Tesla owners themselves will tell you the suite gets better with every release, bringing new features and improvements to its self-driving project.
The $460 target implies roughly 15 percent upside from recent trading levels around $400. While regulatory and safety hurdles remain, BofA’s endorsement signals growing institutional conviction that Tesla’s data advantage is not hype; it’s a tangible moat already delivering billions of miles of proof.
Elon Musk
SpaceX IPO could push Elon Musk’s net worth past $1 trillion: Polymarket
The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.
Recent projections have outlined how a potential $1.75 trillion SpaceX IPO could generate historic returns for early investors. The projections suggest the offering would not only become the largest IPO in history but could also result in unprecedented windfalls for some of the company’s key investors.
The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.
As noted in a Polymarket Money analysis, Elon Musk invested $100 million into SpaceX in 2002 and currently owns approximately 42% of the company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation following SpaceX’s potential $1.75 trillion IPO, that stake would be worth roughly $735 billion.
Such a figure would dramatically expand Musk’s net worth. When combined with his holdings in Tesla Inc. and other ventures, a public debut at that level could position him as the world’s first trillionaire, depending on market conditions at the time of listing.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index currently lists Elon Musk with a net worth of $666 billion, though a notable portion of this is tied to his TSLA stock. Tesla currently holds a market cap of $1.51 trillion, and Elon Musk’s currently holds about 13% to 15% of the company’s outstanding common stock.
Founders Fund, co-founded by Peter Thiel, invested $20 million in SpaceX in 2008. Polymarket Money estimates the firm owns between 1.5% and 3% of the private space company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation, that range would translate to approximately $26.25 billion to $52.5 billion in value.
That return would represent one of the most significant venture capital outcomes in modern Silicon Valley history, with a growth of 131,150% to 262,400%.
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, invested $900 million into SpaceX in 2015 and is estimated to hold between 6% and 7% of the private space firm. At the projected IPO valuation, that stake could be worth between $105 billion and $122.5 billion. That’s a growth of 11,566% to 14,455%.
Other major backers highlighted in the post include Fidelity Investments, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, Bank of America, and Andreessen Horowitz, each potentially sitting on multibillion-dollar gains.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet,” Musk said.
Elon Musk recently hinted that he believes Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily if they continue to hold onto their shares, and he reiterated that in a new interview that the company released on its social accounts this week.
Musk is one of the most successful CEOs in the modern era and has mammothed competitors on the Forbes Net Worth List over the past year as his holdings in his various companies have continued to swell.
Tesla investors, especially those who have been holding shares for several years, have also felt substantial gains in their portfolios. Over the past five years, the stock is up over 78 percent. Since February 2019, nearly seven years ago to the day, the stock is up over 1,800 percent.
Musk said in the interview:
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.”
Elon Musk in new interview: “Hold on to your $TSLA stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.” pic.twitter.com/cucirBuhq0
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 26, 2026
It’s no secret Musk has been extremely bullish on his own companies, but Tesla in particular, because it is publicly traded.
However, the company has so many amazing projects that have an opportunity to revolutionize their respective industries. There is certainly a path to major growth on Wall Street for Tesla through its various future projects, including Optimus, Cybercab, Semi, and Unsupervised FSD.
- Optimus (Tesla’s humanoid robot): Musk has discussed its potential for tasks like childcare, walking dogs, or assisting elderly parents, positioning it as a massive long-term driver of company value.
- Cybercab (Tesla’s robotaxi/autonomous ride-hailing vehicle): a fully autonomous vehicle geared specifically for Tesla’s ride-sharing ambitions.
- Semi (Tesla’s electric truck, with mentions of expansion, like in Europe): brings Tesla into the commercial logistics sector.
- Unsupervised FSD (Full Self-Driving software achieving full autonomy without human supervision): turns every Tesla owner’s vehicle into a fully-autonomous vehicle upon release
These projects specifically are some of the highest-growth pillars Tesla has ever attempted to develop, especially in Musk’s eyes, as he has said Optimus will be the best-selling product of all-time.
Many analysts agree, but the bullish ones, like Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, are perhaps the one who believes Tesla has incredible potential on Wall Street, predicting a $2,600 price target for 2030, but this is not even including Optimus.
She told Bloomberg last March that she believes that the project will present a potential additive if Tesla can scale faster than anticipated.
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