Investors said the Thursday night presentation was short on details
of ConsumerAffairs
Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduced his companys electric vehicle (EV) robotaxi, the Cybercab Thursday night to an audience of investors. Despite the anticipation or maybe because of it many went away unimpressed.
The verdict appeared in early futures trading Friday morning when Tesla shares sank by 6%. That amounts to about a $40 billion decline in Teslas stock value.
Investors we spoke to at the event thought the event was light of real numbers and timelines, Tom Narayan, an analyst at Royal Bank of Canada, told the Wall Street Journal. These typically come at Tesla events. This one seemed focused on branding and marketing Teslas vision.
Musk set up the event as a glimpse of the future, focusing Tesla on autonomous driving. The sleek Cybercab seats two people and has no steering wheel, pedals or other controls. Musk said the vehicle would enter production in 2026 and sell at a starting price of around $30,000.
To do that, the Journal suggests Musk faces two main technical challenges. Hell have to reduce the cost of producing EVs and make them reliable enough to get a green light from federal and state safety regulators.
Making an entrance
Musk arrived at the event in a Cybercab prototype, making an entrance that didnt lack for flash and dazzle, as the video below shows.
Tesla continues to work on full autonomous driving. Currently, its driver-automation software requires a human backup driver. During the presentation, Musk said an unsupervised version of an autonomous car would appear on California and Texas roads in 2025.
As exciting as the robotaxi concept is, investors who are expecting it to alter Tesla's financials in the short term will be disappointed, iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer predicted before the presentation.
Brauer says Musk is aware that his companys future isnt based on electric vehicle sales and profit, especially with the ever-growing, profit-slashing threat of China's EV cost structure. In other words, Musk needs a game-changer.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-10-11 13:20:42
