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Tesla's much hyped Robotaxi event has failed to impress Wall Street, with analysts across the board sharing a lack of optimism for the event that saw the firm finally debut a Robotaxi and other vehicles. The event was focused on Tesla's plans for an autonomous taxi service and the firm's plans for its humanoid robot, Optimus. However, the new launches have left analysts at UBS and Wells Fargo unimpressed, as they joined a chorus of others to share that the event needed more specifics, and the products did not appear to threaten other companies.
UBS, Wells Fargo Reiterate Sell & Underweight Ratings On Tesla Following We, Robot Robotaxi Event
Wells Fargo, already bearish on Tesla before the event, maintained an Underweight rating on Tesla's shares and kept its price target of $120. Tesla's stock is down 6% in premarket trading today, and it closed at $238 yesterday ahead of the We, Robot event. In its note, the bank shares that the event lacked "substance" and was mostly "razzle-dazzle." While noting that Musk did share that Tesla plans to start unsupervised testing of its service in 2025 and expects to achieve operating costs ranging between 30 cents to 40 cents, there were few details on how Tesla plans to achieve these goals.
Regulatory approval is another factor on the bank's mind. Wells Fargo shares that Tesla failed to provide a regulatory timeline for its products and instead chose to rely on the vision only aspects. Tesla's vision only approach has been quite controversial in the autonomy industry since Musk's decision to remove LiDAR from Tesla's autonomous vehicles.
UBS echoed a similar sentiment as it maintained a Sell rating and a $197 share price target for Tesla's stock. The firm was counting on Tesla to share details of a Model 2, which is the widely anticipated lower priced Tesla that Musk aims to target the majority of car owners with. Analysts also commented that Tesla's Full Self Driving rides struggled during the event, adding that details for Robotaxi's deployment were absent as well.
One of Tesla's biggest proponents, Morgan Stanley, reiterated an Overweight rating and a $310 price target for the firm. However, the bank was also "overall disappointed with the substance and detail of the presentation." Some details that Morgan Stanley would have liked to see included "a thoughtful conveyance of a go-to-market strategy for supervised and unsupervised ridesharing service including economic inputs and TAM analysis" along with specific details on how the newest FSD iterations had improved system performance.
While Goldman Sachs was impressed by Tesla's "very strong progress with the Optimus humanoid robot" and the overall aesthetics of the Cybercab, like others, it also commented on a lack of details for FSD and the business plan for Robotaxi. The bank reiterated a Neutral rating and a $320 share price target for Tesla.
Truist shaped its coverage on Tesla's need to introduce a new vehicle to convince investors that unit growth can re-accelerate in 2025. Tesla has struggled in the tight interest rate environment, leaving other car makers struggling to ship inventory.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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