With the adoption of electric vehicles underway, and with more and more veteran automakers dipping their toes in electric cars, EVs like the Tesla Model 3 are bound to see some competition. This would be notable in coming years, with vehicles like Volvo’s Polestar 2 expected to enter the market as early as 2020. Despite this influx of EVs, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) bull and Loup Ventures Managing Partner Gene Munster argues that the Model 3 will likely remain unchallenged.
Currently, there are 17 EVs available in the US market. This is a notable increase from 2018, when there were only 11 that were available for purchase. By next year, there will likely be 24 all-electric cars that buyers could choose from. Munster argues that the majority of these vehicles could be divided into two categories: those that are priced above $70,000 and those that have a rated range below 130 miles. All of these, including the highly-anticipated Rivian R1S (which starts at the ~$70,000 range) or the Mini EV (which has a range of 135 miles), are not mainstream vehicles due to their cost or limited range.
For an EV to be truly mainstream, Munster noted that the vehicle must be priced below $40,000 and have a range above 225 miles per charge. Only five electric cars in the US today meet this criterion: The Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, the Chevy Bolt EV and the Volt, the Hyundai Kona Electric, and the Kia e-Niro. Munster noted that among these options, the Tesla Model 3 is the “clear winner in terms of value,” and this is something that would likely continue to the coming year. Even with the upcoming competition in 2020, the Model 3 will likely be “unchallenged in its EV value proposition,” the analyst wrote.
Tesla’s year-to-date EV market share stands at a dominating 75%. According to Munster, he expects this to decline to about 20-25% over the next ten years. Provided that the US auto sales stabilize at around 18 million per year, and provided that electric car adoption becomes widespread, Tesla’s sales in the country could end up yielding around 3.6-4.5 million vehicles per year. This is notable growth, considering that Tesla is expected to deliver just over 200,000 vehicles in the US this year, as part of its estimated 360,000 global deliveries in 2019.
A key factor in this expected continued dominance is Tesla’s increasingly apparent 7-year headstart in the electric vehicle market. Munster argues that this headstart allows Tesla to enjoy a lead against its competitors in terms of batteries that are more efficient compared to other EV manufacturers, a vertically integrated Supercharger Network that’s easier to use compared to third-party charging stations, and dedicated full self-driving capabilities that are specifically tuned for the company’s vehicle lineup. These factors complete the Tesla ownership ecosystem, and all of these are present in the electric car maker’s entry-level offering, the Model 3 Standard Range Plus.
The narrative of Tesla’s upcoming competition has proven prevalent over the past years, with critics of the company dubbing electric cars such as the Jaguar I-PACE, the Audi e-tron, and the Chevy Bolt EV as potential “Tesla Killers.” As vehicles like the Model 3 continue to prove that Tesla is a moving target, and as companies like Jaguar and Audi exhibit teething problems with the I-PACE and e-tron, the gap between Tesla and its rival automakers continues to become more pronounced.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
Elon Musk
Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’
“Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session,” Cramer said.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) got its latest synopsis from Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer, who finally realized something that many fans of the company have known all along: it’s not a car company. Instead, it’s a robotics company.
In a recent note that was released after Tesla reported Earnings in late January, Cramer seemed to recognize that the underwhelming financials and overall performance of the automotive division were not representative of the current state of affairs.
Instead, we’re seeing a company transition itself away from its early identity, essentially evolving like a caterpillar into a butterfly.
The narrative of the Earnings Call was simple: We’re not a car company, at least not from a birds-eye view. We’re an AI and Robotics company, and we are transitioning to this quicker than most people realize.
Tesla stock gets another analysis from Jim Cramer, and investors will like it
Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call featured plenty of analysis from CEO Elon Musk and others, and some of the more minor details of the call were even indicative of a company that is moving toward AI instead of its cars. For example, the Model S and Model X will be no more after Q2, as Musk said that they serve relatively no purpose for the future.
Instead, Tesla is shifting its focus to the vehicles catered for autonomy and its Robotaxi and self-driving efforts.
Cramer recognizes this:
“…we got results from Tesla, which actually beat numbers, but nobody cares about the numbers here, as electric vehicles are the past. And according to CEO Elon Musk, the future of this company comes down to Cybercabs and humanoid robots. Stock fell more than 3% the next day. That may be because their capital expenditures budget was higher than expected, or maybe people wanted more details from the new businesses. At this point, I think Musk acolytes might be more excited about SpaceX, which is planning to come public later this year.”
He continued, highlighting the company’s true transition away from vehicles to its Cybercab, Optimus, and AI ambitions:
“I know it’s hard to believe how quickly this market can change its attitude. Last night, I heard a disastrous car company speak. Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session. I didn’t like it as a car company. Boy, I love it as a Cybercab and humanoid robot juggernaut. Call me a buyer and give me five robots while I’m at it.”
Cramer’s narrative seems to fit that of the most bullish Tesla investors. Anyone who is labeled a “permabull” has been echoing a similar sentiment over the past several years: Tesla is not a car company any longer.
Instead, the true focus is on the future and the potential that AI and Robotics bring to the company. It is truly difficult to put Tesla shares in the same group as companies like Ford, General Motors, and others.
Tesla shares are down less than half a percent at the time of publishing, trading at $423.69.
There are a lot of Tesla bulls out there who have astronomical expectations for the company, especially as its arm of reach has gone well past automotive and energy and entered artificial intelligence and robotics.
However, some of the most bullish Tesla investors believe the company could become worth $100 trillion, and CEO Elon Musk does not believe that number is completely out of the question, even if it sounds almost ridiculous.
To put that number into perspective, the top ten most valuable companies in the world — NVIDIA, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, TSMC, Meta, Saudi Aramco, Broadcom, and Tesla — are worth roughly $26 trillion.
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Cathie Wood of ARK Invest believes the number is reasonable considering Tesla’s long-reaching industry ambitions:
“…in the world of AI, what do you have to have to win? You have to have proprietary data, and think about all the proprietary data he has, different kinds of proprietary data. Tesla, the language of the road; Neuralink, multiomics data; nobody else has that data. X, nobody else has that data either. I could see $100 trillion. I think it’s going to happen because of convergence. I think Tesla is the leading candidate [for $100 trillion] for the reason I just said.”
Musk said late last year that all of his companies seem to be “heading toward convergence,” and it’s started to come to fruition. Tesla invested in xAI, as revealed in its Q4 Earnings Shareholder Deck, and SpaceX recently acquired xAI, marking the first step in the potential for a massive umbrella of companies under Musk’s watch.
SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise
Now that it is happening, it seems Musk is even more enthusiastic about a massive valuation that would swell to nearly four-times the value of the top ten most valuable companies in the world currently, as he said on X, the idea of a $100 trillion valuation is “not impossible.”
It’s not impossible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2026
Tesla is not just a car company. With its many projects, including the launch of Robotaxi, the progress of the Optimus robot, and its AI ambitions, it has the potential to continue gaining value at an accelerating rate.
Musk’s comments show his confidence in Tesla’s numerous projects, especially as some begin to mature and some head toward their initial stages.
Elon Musk
Tesla director pay lawsuit sees lawyer fees slashed by $100 million
The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.
The Delaware Supreme Court has cut more than $100 million from a legal fee award tied to a shareholder lawsuit challenging compensation paid to Tesla directors between 2017 and 2020.
The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.
Delaware Supreme Court trims legal fees
As noted in a Bloomberg Law report, the case targeted pay granted to Tesla directors, including CEO Elon Musk, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Kimbal Musk, and Rupert Murdoch. The Delaware Chancery Court had awarded $176 million to the plaintiffs. Tesla’s board must also return stock options and forego years worth of pay.
As per Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. in an opinion for the Delaware Supreme Court’s full five-member panel, however, the decision of the Delaware Chancery Court to award $176 million to a pension fund’s law firm “erred by including in its financial benefit analysis the intrinsic value” of options being returned by Tesla’s board.
The justices then reduced the fee award from $176 million to $70.9 million. “As we measure it, $71 million reflects a reasonable fee for counsel’s efforts and does not result in a windfall,” Chief Justice Seitz wrote.
Other settlement terms still intact
The Supreme Court upheld the settlement itself, which requires Tesla’s board to return stock and options valued at up to $735 million and to forgo three years of additional compensation worth about $184 million.
Tesla argued during oral arguments that a fee award closer to $70 million would be appropriate. Interestingly enough, back in October, Justice Karen L. Valihura noted that the $176 award was $60 million more than the Delaware judiciary’s budget from the previous year. This was quite interesting as the case was “settled midstream.”
The lawsuit was brought by a pension fund on behalf of Tesla shareholders and focused exclusively on director pay during the 2017–2020 period. The case is separate from other high-profile compensation disputes involving Elon Musk.
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