

Investor's Corner
Wall St. sends Tesla (TSLA) stock soaring 10% amid renewed confidence in profitability
Tesla shares (NASDAQ:TSLA) are rallying after the electric car maker beat Wall Street’s revenue estimates by posting $4 billion in revenue, consisting of $3.36 billion from its automotive business and $374 million from its energy and battery storage division. Topped off by a successful earnings call that seemingly restored investors’ positive sentiments towards the company, Tesla appears to have finally hit a turning point in its struggle to achieve profitability.
Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call saw a more restrained Elon Musk. During the Q&A session, Musk stated that Tesla would start showing profits each quarter going forward, while maintaining that the company would not need an equity capital raise. Musk and Tesla’s executives also noted that high-profile projects, such as Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, would not have as much CapEx as its other facilities like Gigafactory 1 in Nevada. According to CTO JB Straubel, the lessons that Tesla learned in its US facilities over the years will be applied to all of the company’s future projects.
“We found a surprising amount of ways to improve efficiency and speed and density as well in Gigafactory 1. And all those lessons will absolutely be shared with Gigafactory 3. The teams are already, of course, beginning to collaborate and start to do this more efficiently with less cutbacks than last time,” Straubel said.
The company’s encouraging numbers and positive earnings call aside, one thing that truly stood out was Musk’s apology to Wall Street analysts Toni Sacconaghi from Bernstein and Joseph Spak of RBC Capital Markets, who were cut off during the first-quarter earnings call. Musk noted that while he was incredibly tired then, there was “no excuse” for his behavior.
Coupled with the company’s better-than-expected financials, Musk’s apologetic, humble behavior in the earnings call appears to have rejuvenated investors’ sentiment about the company. During after-hours trading on Wednesday, Tesla stock surged 8.5%, adding about $4.75 billion the company’s market cap. On Thursday’s pre-market, Tesla stock was up 8%, maintaining its momentum. In a note to clients on Wednesday, Keybanc analyst Brad Erickson dubbed Musk’s apology as “maybe the most valuable apology of all time.”
“Elon Musk apologized multiple times for his inappropriate behavior on last quarter’s call. TSLA’s forward commentary was mostly better than feared and the CEO worked to restore some faith and credibility with investors that he can be a plus to the investment narrative, not a minus,” Erickson wrote.
While Tesla’s earnings of -$3.06 per share were slightly worse than analyst estimates of -$2.92 per share, Piper Jaffray analyst Alexander Potter stated in a note to clients on Wednesday that Q2 2018 could be a turning point for the company. Potter also raised his price target for TSLA to $389 from $369, representing 29% upside to Wednesday’s close.
“This could be the start of something big. A few years from now, investors may conclude that 2Q18 was the quarter in which Tesla cemented its position as a truly formidable player in the global automotive market,” the analyst said.
Even Goldman Sachs, which has a Sell rating on Tesla stock, admitted that the second quarter was “solid” for the electric car maker, considering that automotive gross margins, cash burn, and ending cash balance were better than expected.
“This was a positive quarter. Automotive gross margins, cash burn, and ending cash balance were better than expected. In addition, the company may have turned the corner on its historical operational misexecution. We see the second quarter as a positive step for Tesla as a manufacturing organization, but a step that requires continued forward momentum in cost control, operating efficiency, and ultimately positive cash flow.”
Tesla stock opened strong on Thursday, up 9.22% and trading at $328.44 per share.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s new $29B Tesla stock award gets strange synopsis from governance firm
Did CGI not realize that Tesla Shareholders supported Musk being paid not once, but twice?

Elon Musk was recently awarded around $29 billion in Tesla stock as the company’s Board of Directors is attempting to get its CEO paid after his original pay package was denied twice by the Delaware Chancery Court.
But a new and strange synopsis from the Corporate Governance Institute (CGI) says the award is potentially a strength move to “endorse the will of a powerful CEO.” The problem is, in the same sentence, the firm said the new award brings up a “question of whether the board exists to steward a company in the interests of all stakeholders.”
The problem with their new analysis of Musk’s pay package is that shareholders voted twice on Musk’s original pay package of $56 billion. They voted to give Musk that sum on two separate occasions.
Musk’s original $56 billion pay package was approved by shareholders twice; once in 2018 and once again last year. Last year’s vote was in response to Delaware Chancery Court Kathaleen McCormick’s decision to revoke the “unfathomable sum” from Musk.
Shareholders still showed support for Musk getting paid. Tesla said in its new award to the CEO that this is a way to give him compensation for the first time in seven years.
CGI said in its note (via TipRanks):
“When a board builds its strategy around a single individual, it creates a concentration risk, not just operationally, but culturally and ethically. If that individual becomes a source of volatility, the company becomes fragile by design.”
What’s strange with this type of narrative is the fact that Tesla’s valuation has skyrocketed with Musk at the helm. Go back to 2020, and the stock is up over 200 percent. Since Musk’s $56 billion pay package was introduced in 2018, shares are up well over 1,000 percent.
Tesla engineer explains why Elon Musk deserves new pay package
Musk’s 2018 pay package was also not awarded to him without performance-based incentives. He was required to reach certain growth goals, all of which were accomplished through the launch of new vehicles and the advancements of its driver-assistance suites, like Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
It is tough to agree with CGI’s perception of Musk’s new pay plan, especially as it is much less than what shareholders voted on twice. Musk deserves to be paid for his contributions to Tesla.
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.

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.’”
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
He maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating and the $410 price target Morgan Stanley had on the stock.
Elon Musk
Tesla stock gets crazy prediction from CEO Elon Musk
Musk says this is what it would take to be a millionaire from a Tesla investment right now.

Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) got a crazy prediction from CEO Elon Musk recently, as the future of the company seems to be moving more toward AI, autonomy, and robotics, and away from automotive, which is what it has traditionally been recognized as.
Over the past few years, as Tesla has prioritized its Full Self-Driving suite, its rollout of a dedicated Robotaxi program, and the development of the Optimus bot, the company has gained a new reputation from analysts.
It was always looked at as a stock with tremendous potential by many Wall Street firms, some more than others.
The most bullish analysts, like Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, believe the company will eventually reach a multi-trillion-dollar valuation and a share price of over $2,000. Her $2,600 price target does not include any contributions of Optimus. Instead, it leans on Full Self-Driving and Robotaxi.
Based on where the company is now, there are a lot of potential catalysts. The Robotaxi expansion, as well as affordable vehicles, its prowess in AI and Robotics, and its powerful energy division are all arguments for investment.
One X user said that a $150,000 investment in Tesla right now would likely make you a millionaire. Musk said he thinks that sentiment is “probably correct.”
I think this is probably correct
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 5, 2025
He’s echoed this belief in recent earnings calls, including the one for Q2, which happened in July:
“I do think if Tesla continues to execute well with vehicle autonomy and humanoid robot autonomy, it will be the most valuable company in the world. A lot of execution between here and there. It doesn’t just happen. Provided we execute very well, I think Tesla has a shot at being the most valuable company in the world. Obviously, I am extremely optimistic about the future of the company.”
Tesla is trading at $316.50 at the time of writing, and has a market cap of just under $1 trillion.
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