Investor's Corner

Tesla ‘extremely unlikely’ to reveal efficient path to Robotaxi commercialization: analyst

Tesla Robotaxi Render (Credit: Tine Rusc)

Tesla is “extremely unlikely” to reveal an efficient path to Robotaxi commercialization at its upcoming unveiling event, which is set for this Thursday, Guggenheim Securities Director of Automotive Equity Research Ronald Jewsikow said today.

Tesla is set to unveil its Robotaxi on Thursday, a brand-new vehicle that will operate as a self-driving ride-hailing platform in the coming years.

There is also speculation the automaker will unveil its $25,000 affordable EV, wireless charging, and even a Robovan, as some analysts have extremely high expectations for the event, which is taking place at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles.

Other Wall Street firms are less bullish and more bearish on the event, especially considering the lofty expectations many investors may have. Jewsikow is one of them, as he sees Tesla being unable to reveal a path to commercialization of the Robotaxi fleet within 24 months, he said to Yahoo Finance:

“Ultimately, there are a lot of boxes that have to be checked, and we think that a real credible path to robotaxi commercialization in the next 12 to 24 months is extremely unlikely to come out of this event.”

He agrees that the hype is high, which might be setting Tesla up for unrealistic expectations:

“I think there’s been a lot of hype into this event. We’ve seen the stock move up; investor expectations are quite high in terms of the promises that are going to be made at this event and the products that are going to be shown.”

Some bulls even agree that full-scale commercialization of the Robotaxi might take a few years to be fulfilled.

Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley, who has been overwhelmingly bullish on Tesla for some time, said:

“Potential initial commercial introduction could be late 2025 or 2026. It is our expectation that Tesla will offer a ‘dual’ approach with respect to autonomous ridesharing: (1) the fully autonomous app-based cybercab and (2) a ‘supervised’ autonomous/FSD rideshare service.”

Tesla Robotaxi commercial introduction ‘could be late 2025 or 2026’: Morgan Stanley

It is evident that many investors are expecting big things from Tesla this Thursday. The company has always put on big events with plenty of hype and showmanship, and that alone has helped the company put on the impression of a successful product unveiling, investor day, or other event.

However, this is where Tesla has focused a lot over the past few years, especially as Full Self-Driving continues to improve and refine.

It will be interesting to see what Tesla unveils and how the market responds.

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.

Tesla ‘extremely unlikely’ to reveal efficient path to Robotaxi commercialization: analyst
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