Investor's Corner
Tesla investors want to know about these five things during the Q2 2023 Earnings Call
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is set to hold its Earnings Call for the second quarter of 2023 tomorrow, and investors are hopeful to learn details about Full Self-Driving licensing, Cybertruck pricing and configurations, Supercharger expansion, and 4680 cell development.
According to the investor platform Say, Tesla shareholders are eager to ask CEO Elon Musk and other executives of the electric automaker about various things that will affect the company’s performance on Wall Street and the overall outlook of the company for the rest of 2023 and beyond.
Here are the five top questions that retail investors are hoping to gain more information on during tomorrow’s call:
- Has any automaker approached Tesla to license FSD?
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- Musk recently said that “Tesla aspires to be as helpful as possible to other car companies,” and indicated that he would be open to licensing Autopilot or Full Self-Driving to rival automakers. With Ford, GM, and others already developing their own programs, Tesla would likely license Autopilot or FSD to a startup company. However, there is always the potential that one company adopting it would catalyze many others to make the same choice, just as it did with Ford’s choice to adopt NACS.
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- Have you considered allowing FSD transferability as a level to allow existing customers to upgrade to a new Tesla instead of being locked into existing cars due to the price of FSD?
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- Tesla has not allowed the transferability of FSD to a new vehicle, and we don’t anticipate this to happen anytime soon. Musk has said FSD’s current price is a bargain compared to what it will be worth when the suite is complete. There is too much money to be made by Tesla from people who want FSD on multiple vehicles, and trading in your car will likely require you to buy the suite again.
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- When will you give more information about out Cybertruck orders? Estimated delivery schedules, pricing, and specifications?
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- We expect Tesla to reveal information about the Cybertruck during this Earnings Call, as the first production units have already rolled off of lines based on images shared by the company last weekend. It is truly unlikely Tesla doesn’t tell customers what they should expect to pay before the delivery event.
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- As you open the Supercharger Network in North America to other EVs, do you plan to accelerate anticipatory investments in Supercharger expansion to avoid congestion and how will you deal with long lead times to upgrade electric T&D services to these areas for multi-megawatt loads?
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- Tesla has a major task on its hands with the Supercharger Network being open to various car companies. Battling congestion will be interesting, especially as these companies are going to be sharing the same 12,000 locations. However, the company is opening a new site every 11 hours, which has improved from every 12 hours, on average, in June, and every 13 hours in May.
NEWS: @Tesla is currently opening an average of one new Supercharger site globally every ~11 hours.
This compares to one opening every ~12 hrs last month, and one every ~13 hrs the month prior to that. @TeslaCharging pic.twitter.com/7GmcPlGQaH
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 13, 2023
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- What is the status of the 4680 cell? How far are you from the specs you laid out on Battery Day? When do you expect to achieve what you laid out on Battery Day?
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- Tesla has built 10 million cells in Texas, countless others in Fremont, and the 4680 project is obviously coming along at a reasonable pace. As far as how far the company is from reaching what it laid out in 2020 at Battery Day, there is no need to speculate. It is a matter of getting raw materials and ramping manufacturing to a point that Tesla is not confined on the cells.
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Tesla will report its Earnings tomorrow at market close with the release of its Shareholder Deck. A call with Musk and other executives will follow.
Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.
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.
Investor's Corner
Tesla wins $508 price target from Stifel as Robotaxi rollout gains speed
The firm cited meaningful progress in Tesla’s robotaxi roadmap, ongoing Full Self-Driving enhancements, and the company’s long-term growth initiatives.
Tesla received another round of bullish analyst updates this week, led by Stifel, raising its price target to $508 from $483 while reaffirming a “Buy” rating. The firm cited meaningful progress in Tesla’s robotaxi roadmap, ongoing Full Self-Driving enhancements, and the company’s long-term growth initiatives.
Robotaxi rollout, FSD updates, and new affordable cars
Stifel expects Tesla’s robotaxi fleet to expand into 8–10 major metropolitan areas by the end of 2025, including Austin, where early deployments without safety drivers are targeted before year-end. Additional markets under evaluation include Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, as noted in an Investing.com report. The firm also highlighted strong early performance for FSD Version 14, with upcoming releases adding new “reasoning capabilities” designed to improve complex decision-making using full 360-degree vision.
Tesla has also taken steps to offset the loss of U.S. EV tax credits by launching the Model Y Standard and Model 3 Standard at $39,990 and $36,990, Stifel noted. Both vehicles deliver more than 300 miles of range and are positioned to sustain demand despite shifting incentives. Stifel raised its EBITDA forecasts to $14.9 billion for 2025 and $19.5 billion for 2026, assigning partial valuation weightings to Tesla’s FSD, robotaxi, and Optimus initiatives.
TD Cowen also places an optimistic price target
TD Cowen reiterated its Buy rating with a $509 price target after a research tour of Giga Texas, citing production scale and operational execution as key strengths. The firm posted its optimistic price target following a recent Mobility Bus tour in Austin. The tour included a visit to Giga Texas, which offered fresh insights into the company’s operations and prospects.
Additional analyst movements include Truist Securities maintaining its Hold rating following shareholder approval of Elon Musk’s compensation plan, viewing the vote as reducing leadership uncertainty.
@teslarati Tesla Full Self-Driving yields for pedestrians while human drivers do not…the future is here! #tesla #teslafsd #fullselfdriving ♬ 2 Little 2 Late – Levi & Mario
Investor's Corner
Tesla receives major institutional boost with Nomura’s rising stake
The move makes Tesla Nomura’s 10th-largest holding at about 1% of its entire portfolio.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has gained fresh institutional support, with Nomura Asset Management expanding its position in the automaker.
Nomura boosted its Tesla holdings by 4.2%, adding 47,674 shares and bringing its total position to more than 1.17 million shares valued at roughly $373.6 million. The move makes Tesla Nomura’s 10th-largest holding at about 1% of its entire portfolio.
Institutional investors and TSLA
Nomura’s filing was released alongside several other fund updates. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings by 11.8%, as noted in a MarketBeat report, and Revolve Wealth Partners lifted its TSLA position by 21.2%. Bison Wealth increased its Tesla stake by 52.2%, AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in shares of Tesla by 11.8%, and FAS Wealth Partners increased its TSLA holdings by 22.1%. About 66% of all outstanding Tesla shares are now owned by institutional investors.
The buying comes shortly after Tesla reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $0.50 per share compared with the $0.48 consensus. Revenue reached $28.10 billion, topping Wall Street’s $24.98 billion estimate. Despite the earnings beat, Tesla continues to trade at a steep premium relative to peers, with a market cap hovering around $1.34 trillion and a price-to-earnings ratio near 270.
Recent insider sales
Some Tesla insiders have sold stock as of late. CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares in early September for just over $918,000, reducing his personal stake by about 21%. Director James R. Murdoch executed a far larger sale, offloading 120,000 shares for roughly $42 million and trimming his holdings by nearly 15%. Over the past three months, Tesla insiders have collectively sold 202,606 shares valued at approximately $75.6 million, as per SEC disclosures.
Tesla is currently entering its next phase of growth, and if it is successful, it could very well become the world’s most valuable company as a result. The company has several high-profile projects expected to be rolled out in the coming years, including Optimus, the humanoid robot, and the Cybercab, an autonomous two-seater with the potential to change the face of roads across the globe.
@teslarati Tesla Full Self-Driving yields for pedestrians while human drivers do not…the future is here! #tesla #teslafsd #fullselfdriving ♬ 2 Little 2 Late – Levi & Mario
Investor's Corner
Ron Baron states Tesla and SpaceX are lifetime investments
Baron, one of Tesla’s longest-standing bulls, reiterated that his personal stake in the company remains fully intact even as volatility pressures the broader market.
Billionaire investor Ron Baron says he isn’t touching a single share of his personal Tesla holdings despite the recent selloff in the tech sector. Baron, one of Tesla’s longest-standing bulls, reiterated that his personal stake in the company remains fully intact even as volatility pressures the broader market.
Baron doubles down on Tesla
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Baron stated that he is largely unfazed by the market downturn, describing his approach during the selloff as simply “looking” for opportunities. He emphasized that Tesla remains the centerpiece of his long-term strategy, recalling that although Baron Funds once sold 30% of its Tesla position due to client pressure, he personally refused to trim any of his personal holdings.
“We sold 30% for clients. I did not sell personally a single share,” he said. Baron’s exposure highlighted this stance, stating that roughly 40% of his personal net worth is invested in Tesla alone. The legendary investor stated that he has already made about $8 billion from Tesla from an investment of $400 million when he started, and believes that figure could rise fivefold over the next decade as the company scales its technology, manufacturing, and autonomy roadmap.
A lifelong investment
Baron’s commitment extends beyond Tesla. He stated that he also holds about 25% of his personal wealth in SpaceX and another 35% in Baron mutual funds, creating a highly concentrated portfolio built around Elon Musk–led companies. During the interview, Baron revisited a decades-old promise he made to his fund’s board when he sought approval to invest in publicly traded companies.
“I told the board, ‘If you let me invest a certain amount of money, then I will promise that I won’t sell any of my stock. I will be the last person out of the stock,’” he said. “I will not sell a single share of my shares until my clients sold 100% of their shares. … And I don’t expect to sell in my lifetime Tesla or SpaceX.”
Watch Ron Baron’s CNBC interview below.
@teslarati :rotating_light: This is why you need to use off-peak rates at Tesla Superchargers! #tesla #evcharging #fyp ♬ Blue Moon – Muspace Lofi
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
