5 things investors can expect from Tesla's robotaxi event

Tesla's (TSLA) highly anticipated robotaxi event is on Thursday, and Barron's associate editor Al Root joins Asking for a Trend to break down what investors can expect from CEO Elon Musk.

Root points to five things investors are expecting from the robotaxi event. First, there will be a physical unveiling of the robotaxi. Second, investors want to hear about safety data. Next, Tesla will likely touch on its business model, discussing everything from licensing to the size of its robotaxi fleet. The fourth point investors will be looking for is a launch date.

Finally, Tesla could announce something extra. Root explains, "A lot of people think we'll see the lower price so-called Model 2 that's due in early 2025, maybe that will make an appearance. And maybe an update about the robot called Optimist."

Root also compares Tesla and Waymo's self-driving vehicles. While Waymo has built driverless vehicles and took a modest approach to its rollout, Root notes that Tesla is instead focused on improving its driver-assistance software to turn vehicles into self-driving cars. "Now, Tesla argues, 'We've got millions of cars giving us data. We have billions of miles driven with full self-drive on.' Yet, they've never done a single official autonomous cab ride. Waymo has," Root tells Yahoo Finance.

He continues, "So it's sort of like, you tell me, which approach do you like better? One feels a little safer. One feels a little more Musk-ian. And that's the way Tesla has gone."

Watch the video above to find out what stocks could benefit from Tesla's robotaxi event.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Asking for a Trend.

This post was written by Melanie Riehl

Video Transcript

Tesla's Robo Taxi Day is coming up on Thursday.

Our next guest says this could be a make or break moment for Ceo Elon Musk.

Here to talk about his article is al root associate editor at Barons.

Al.

It's always great to have you on the show.

So Robo Taxi Day, it's here, Al it's finally here.

What is your, your kind of expectations al of what Elon Musk is gonna say?

Do, do you think it's actually, you know, baseline expectation, what he has to say at this event?

Yeah.

Uh Hi Josh, good to see you again.

Um You know, I think, I think five things, right?

I've been saying sort of five things unveil a physical Robo Taxi, right?

We want to see the car.

Uh talk about safety data, right?

There's a lot of talk about Tesla's approach versus Way Os and uh you know, FSD their, their, their driver assistance product that gets sold today to consumers and if that's good enough to turn these into robotaxis, so we'll need a deep dive into safety data.

Uh We need to hear about the business model where they want to license it, how big they want their fleet of robotaxis to be, uh we'll need to hear some timing, right.

You know, I just put it this way, you know, uh Tesla expects to launch AAA driverless car in Austin, Texas by, you know, the fourth quarter of 2025.

I think that's sort of the base expectation and then maybe something, a little extra, a lot of people think we'll see, uh, you know, the lower price so called model two that's due in early 2025 maybe that'll make an appearance and, and maybe an update about the robot uh called optimist.

Uh But that's, that's sort of the, the, the list of items you can t to see if they're doing a good job or a bad job, but make no mistake.

It is sort of a big deal for the company and it's about furthering this A I narrative and showing that, you know, Tesla deserves to be in the mag seven, you know, not compared to, you know, Ford and General Motors, you mentioned Tesla versus Waymo there, which is interesting.

Now, how does um Musk's approach this technology?

How does it sort of compare and contrast to Waymo?

Well, this might be one of the great debates that I've covered at my time at Barons, right?

So Robo taxis are here, right?

You go to Phoenix L A San Francisco Waymo does more than 100 1000 self driving cab rides a week.

Now, uh you know, these are commercial vehicles, purpose built, you know, 100 to $200,000 lots of hardware, lots of sensors, of course, lots of software and they, and they did, you know, put them on the roads until they were fully ready to be self driving.

Right.

And that's their approach, you know, sensors, uh uh modest uh uh uh uh um move across the country.

Tesla.

On the other hand, is trying to make its driver assistance software.

It calls the highest level software, full self drive.

You pay $99 a month.

Uh I've used it, I pay $99 a month uh occasionally and they're trying to basically incrementally improve that into turning Teslas into self driving cars.

Now, Tesla argues, we've got millions of cars giving us data.

We have billions of miles driven with full self drive on yet.

They've never done a single official autonomous cab ride, Waymo has.

So it's sort of like you tell me which approach do you like better?

Uh One feels a little safer, one feels a little more Muskan and that's the way Tesla has gone.

You also in your very good column, al you talk about how with this event, um the possibility that you also beyond, you know, Musk and Tesla, does it raise awareness of kind of robo taxi tech more broadly?

And does it create this kind of halo effect for other names?

Talk about that.

Yeah, I think it does I mean, it's, it's difficult to say what's in various stocks and, and what it could do for the industry.

I think the first time we wrote like a, a self driving, you know, cover Story of Barons, I think it was 2021.

Right.

And, you know, oh, you know, all of these stocks active and, and maybe mobilize back in the day that was part of intel could benefit.

Um, and, you know, it feels like three years later, not a lot's happened, but then you do sort of get the way more experience and now Tesla's hosting effectively, what is, you know, its third artificial intelligence day this time, it's sort of, you know, demonstrating the applications, self driving cars from its A I dominance.

Uh so that things, things are changing and things are here.

Um I, I think that the, the the two or three stocks aside from Tesla that benefit the most, one is one is apple, right?

Becau uh what is apple?

What is alphabet?

I wish it still was Google.

Uh You know, you think about uh uh way Mo's valuation, youtube's valuation inside of, of alphabet.

And you know, you're gonna get all of these notes about what the opportunity is.

Um R BC notably calls Tesla's Robo taxi opportunity six $100 billion worth of market value and, and basically its target price, the way it does it, Adam Jonas, we know $310 price target 70 80% of that price target is non automotive businesses.

So these are hundreds of billions of dollars and it's not going to take a lot for someone to look at alphabet and say, huh, 6 $700 billion.

What, what is way more, you know, reflected in the stock right now?

Oh, probably not so much now.

Alphabet has its own issues, right.

Antitrust concerns and things like that.

But alphabet and then the other two are Uber and Lyft.

Really?

They're the, they're the users of this technology.

Whether Tesla becomes a competitor, whether they, whether they use Tesla's uh the mansion of Robotaxis across the country will benefit the network players.

And I'd like to point out that Uber is worth more than four General Motors and stance is combined, right?

The users of the technology tend to be worth more than the hardware producers.

Uh which is one reason Tesla wants to do this.

Um So those are sort of the stocks I would look at uh to move around on Robo Taxi Day.

Uh So it's, it's more than just Tesla.