Investor's Corner
Tesla is a wake-up call for rivals and their ‘awful’ software, says longtime finance host
As Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) battled a fresh wave of criticism following the release of its Q1 2019 vehicle production and delivery report, the company saw a supporter from a rather unlikely place. During a segment on Fox Business Network‘s Mornings with Maria, one of the show’s panels boldly defended Tesla, calling for more support for the company due to its industry-changing innovations.
Tesla and Elon Musk’s court appearance with the SEC was the primary topic in the segment, and the show brought on ARK Invest analyst Tasha Keeney to get her insights on the electric car maker. ARK is among the most bullish supporters of Tesla, with the firm setting a $4,000 price target for the company’s stock provided that it enters the autonomous ride-sharing market. Speaking to the show’s hosts, the ARK analyst reiterated her firm’s stance on the company as a potential leader in the self-driving market.
Dagen McDowell, a longtime finance journalist and one of the panels in Mornings with Maria, pointed out that Tesla’s edge is evident even at its current state where it does not have a consumer-ready full self-driving suite. McDowell argued that among the prominent automakers today, Tesla is the leader when it comes to vehicle software, an emerging industry that could be worth up to $1.2 trillion by 2030.
“You don’t even need to look ahead to autonomous vehicles. I had this discussion with someone I’m close to over the weekend who works in Silicon Valley. Every other automaker, even luxury automakers in Germany, Japanese, and American, they are awful at software. There is no other car and no other car company that compares to a Tesla. We all, as drivers and consumers, ought to be rooting for this company. You don’t have to own stock in it, but you ought to root for them because hopefully, all these automakers will realize, ‘Oh, our software stinks,’” McDowell said.
There is no doubt that Tesla is still learning several key aspects of the vehicle manufacturing process. The company is only turning 16 years old this year, and over that time, it has transformed itself from a niche carmaker that made a very quick and expensive car for the rich to a company that is on the brink of disrupting the mass market auto industry. At its core, Tesla is still a young company, and its lack of expertise in areas such as fine manufacturing processes is understandable, especially considering the number of vehicles it is producing today.
What Tesla has mastery of is vehicle software. Since the days of the first-generation Model S, the company has proven to be far ahead of competitors. Keeney named Tesla’s free over-the-air updates as a prime example of this, since the company’s more experienced rivals are largely still unable to implement the same system on their own vehicles. McDowell proved bolder, flat-out stating that traditional automakers simply don’t know how to make tomorrow’s vehicles. “It’s because they’re dug in and they don’t know how to run a car company in the new century. That’s literally what these companies look like. I’m surprised that Apple and Google haven’t done more to try and manufacture a car or produce software for one,” she said.
Tesla might be ending the week as volatile and polarizing as ever, but the company seems to be heading towards some calmer waters ahead. With the first quarter done, Tesla can now focus more on producing and delivering its vehicles in the second quarter. The over 10,000 vehicles in transit at the end of Q1 could actually work in Tesla’s favor in Q2, as the company will be starting the quarter with over 10,000 electric car sales.
Apart from this, Elon Musk and the SEC’s court hearing proved to be far less dramatic than what the company’s critics have wished. Prior to Musk’s appearance in court, speculations among Tesla skeptics pointed to the possibility that he would be stripped off the CEO’s title, and possibly even fired from the company. Over the course of the hearing, Judge Alison Nathan proved incredibly objective, asking the SEC to clarify if Musk would need to get approval for tweets that reiterated information that had already been disclosed. She also asserted that government lawyers must take all steps necessary to reach a resolution before invoking contempt.
At the end of the hearing, the judge urged Elon Musk and the SEC’s legal team to “take a deep breath, put your reasonableness pants on, and work this out.” Musk did not speak during the hearing, though he did state that he was “very impressed with Judge Nathan’s analysis” as he was leaving the courthouse.
As of writing, Tesla stock is trading +2.01% at $273.15.
Watch the recent Tesla segment in Fox Business Network‘s Mornings with Maria in the video below.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
Investor's Corner
Tesla and SpaceX’s biggest bull just placed a massive $1B bet on the stock
Renowned investor Ron Baron, founder and CEO of Baron Capital, has once again demonstrated his unwavering faith in Elon Musk’s ventures.
Just after SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO, Baron announced he purchased an additional $1 billion in SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) shares. This move pushes Baron Capital’s total holdings in the company to a staggering $25 billion in market value, underscoring one of the most successful private-to-public investment stories in recent history.
Baron’s relationship with SpaceX dates back to 2017, when his firm began investing approximately $1.75–2 billion through secondary markets and employee tender offers at valuations around $20–22 billion.
By the time of the IPO, which valued SpaceX at over $2 trillion with shares closing near $161, those early stakes had generated more than $13 billion in unrealized gains. Post-IPO, Baron’s position ballooned further, reflecting the company’s meteoric rise driven by reusable rocketry, Starlink’s global satellite internet constellation, Starshield defense applications, and ambitious plans for orbital infrastructure.
In a recent interview, Baron articulated his bullish outlook with characteristic enthusiasm.
Ron Baron said today that he bought $1 billion of @SpaceX IPO shares last Friday, and said that all of Baron Capital’s $SPCX holdings are now worth $25 billion.
“I think we’re going to make hundreds of billions of dollars; If you read the prospectus, you realize what they… pic.twitter.com/U8F471KtJS
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 15, 2026
“I think we’re going to make hundreds of billions of dollars,” he stated, emphasizing that SpaceX’s achievements in rocketry and satellite technology are “not possible for anyone else to accomplish.” He envisions the company as a cornerstone of humanity’s multi-planetary future, potentially reaching valuations of $10–30 trillion within 10–15 years.
Baron has repeatedly affirmed he has no plans to sell, viewing SpaceX as a “lifetime investment” alongside Tesla.
Tesla bull Ron Baron reveals $100M SpaceX investment, sees 3-5x return on TSLA
This conviction stems from SpaceX’s unparalleled execution. The company has revolutionized access to space with Falcon 9 reusability, deployed thousands of Starlink satellites, and is advancing Starship for Mars missions and point-to-point Earth transport.
Baron highlights emerging opportunities like space-based AI data centers and direct-to-cell satellite connectivity, positioning SpaceX at the forefront of a new space economy projected to generate trillions in value.
Critics may question the lofty projections amid high valuations and execution risks, but Baron’s track record speaks volumes. His Tesla holdings, initiated in the mid-2010s, have also delivered outsized returns. As one of the largest institutional holders of SpaceX pre-IPO, Baron Capital’s funds, such as Baron Partners, benefited immensely from valuation markups.
Baron’s $1 billion IPO purchase signals deep confidence in SpaceX’s post-IPO trajectory. In an era of short-term market noise, his strategy exemplifies patient capital: backing visionary leadership and transformative technology.
For investors watching the space sector, it serves as a powerful endorsement that the final frontier may indeed yield the next great wealth-creation engine. As Baron puts it, SpaceX isn’t just building rockets—it’s trying to “save humanity” by expanding our horizons beyond Earth.
Elon Musk
SpaceX (SPCX) IPO is live today at $135: Here’s exactly what you need to know
SpaceX priced its historic IPO at $135 per share today, raising a record $75 billion.
SpaceX officially priced its initial public offering at $135 per share, offering 555,555,555 shares of Class A common stock and raising $75 billion in what is the largest IPO in stock market history. Shares are set to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Friday, June 12, under the ticker symbol SPCX. The previous record holder was Saudi Aramco’s 2019 offering at $29 billion, followed by Alibaba’s $22 billion offering in 2014.
At $135 per share and roughly 555.6 million shares, the implied valuation sits near $1.75 trillion, which would make SpaceX roughly the seventh largest company in the United States, just above Tesla’s current market cap. Regular investors can request shares at the IPO price through Robinhood, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, SoFi, and E*TRADE, though the deal is heavily oversubscribed and most retail allocations will be partial or unfilled. Once trading opens June 12, anyone with a brokerage account can buy SPCX on the open market.
SpaceX’s amended S-1 is sparking a major Tesla merger conversation
The valuation is anchored primarily by Starlink. Starlink crossed 10 million subscribers as of February 2026 and is adding 750,000 to 1.5 million new users per month, with the connectivity segment already posting a $1.19 billion profit last quarter. The offering also bundles in xAI following SpaceX’s all-stock merger earlier this year, adding Grok and the Colossus supercomputer to the investment thesis. As Teslarati reported, Starlink ended 2025 with $10 billion in revenue, a figure analysts project could reach $24 billion by end of 2026.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has been vocal in his support. “I think the time is right,” Ives said, adding that the offering expands the Elon Musk ecosystem rather than competing with Tesla. An average 12-month price target of $165 per share represents roughly 22% upside from the IPO price. Not everyone agrees – Motley Fool noted xAI is spending $1 billion per month playing catch-up to OpenAI and Anthropic.
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with a single stated purpose. “Elon founded SpaceX with a goal to change humanity, to make us a multi-planet species,” CFO Bret Johnsen said in the company’s retail roadshow video this week. Musk himself has been more direct: “We are building the systems and technologies necessary to provide global connectivity on Earth and beyond, to understand the true nature of the universe, and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars.”
Investor's Corner
Tesla unfolded its first European “folding Supercharger”
Tesla’s folding Supercharger just arrived in Europe and it changes how fast charging expands.
Tesla’s Folding Unit Supercharger has officially landed in Europe, with the company teasing a new installation in its effort for a broader rollout targeting major motorway rest stops across the European continent in Q3 2026. The arrival marks a notable shift in how Tesla is thinking about network expansion, moving from hardware performance alone to engineering the logistics chain itself.
While Tesla did not reveal the exact location for the new folding Supercharger in Europe, the photo shared on X heavily suggests that this maybe somewhere in Norway. Historically, whenever Tesla rolls out an entirely new infrastructure architecture in Europe, whether it was the original Supercharger stalls years ago or these brand-new modular V4 “Folding Units”, Norway is almost always the designated launch pad because of its unmatched EV adoption rate and supportive infrastructure
The Folding Unit, introduced in March 2026, is a factory pre-assembled V4 charging station built on an industrial hinge system mounted to a heavy-duty concrete base. The entire assembly arrives on site ready to unfold and connect. Tesla confirmed the units feature telescopic light poles specifically designed for easy transportation and fast on-site deployment, a detail that signals how carefully the logistics chain has been engineered alongside the hardware itself. The design allows 33% more stalls per delivery truck, cuts installation time roughly in half, and reduces overall deployment costs by more than 20% compared to traditional installations.
Tesla’s newest “Folding V4 Superchargers” are key to its most aggressive expansion yet
Tesla also noted telescopic light poles which provide benefits over traditional Supercharger installations that require fixed-height poles that are awkward to ship, slow to position on site, and often require separate crews and equipment to erect before charging hardware can even be staged. By engineering poles that compress for transit and extend on arrival, Tesla has removed one of the quieter bottlenecks in the physical deployment process. Every hour saved on a light pole installation is an hour redirected toward getting stalls energized. At scale, across dozens of new sites per quarter, those hours add up to a meaningful acceleration in how quickly a location goes from approved permit to serving its first customer.
Each Folding Unit pairs a single V4 power cabinet with eight charging posts. The V4 cabinet delivers up to 500 kW per stall for passenger vehicles and up to 1.2 MW for the Tesla Semi, supporting twice the stalls per cabinet at three times the power density of its predecessor. Longer cables make every new station immediately usable by non-Tesla vehicles, a priority as Tesla continues opening its network to Ford, GM, Rivian, Hyundai, Stellantis, and others.
As Teslarati reported when the Folding Unit was first unveiled, Tesla’s Gigafactory New York produced its final V3 Supercharger cabinet in March 2026 after more than seven years and 15,000 units, completing a full pivot to V4 production. The European arrival of the folding design is the next chapter in that transition.
Faster and cheaper deployment means Tesla can justify building in markets and corridors that were previously too expensive to serve, filling the coverage gaps that have slowed EV adoption outside major urban centers.
First Folding Unit Superchargers in Europe 🇪🇺 https://t.co/KNfYWJukkL pic.twitter.com/YR1udIpH1i
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) June 10, 2026