Tesla Looks Like It’s On The Right Track Again, ‘A Lot Happening’

Good sales and delivery figures have lifted the mood around Tesla among investors. And with a spectacular event on Monday and a big boost for Robotaxi, the green lights are back on for the tech company, says Nico Enberg of De Aandeelhouder at BNR Beursweek. ‘There’s a lot going on.’

On August 8, the tech company will hold a massive event where CEO Elon Musk will announce that a “brand new book” is in the works — everything points to Tesla’s Robotaxi providing the expected additional support. “Musk is very good at announcing things in a way that makes people really believe something is going to happen; he’s also working on an Optimus robot, and energy storage for people is going very well, with volumes doubling. And that truck is coming.”

The fact that Tesla’s current numbers are weaker than they were a year ago doesn’t mean much, according to Enberg. Analysts expected a major drama for the company due to the massive influx of Chinese cars. Tesla even had to cut prices, so margins were a concern. Still, the damage wasn’t too bad, Enberg says. “Most analysts had it around 410,000, but that was actually a little higher.”

Baidu also has a presence in the robotaxi market.

These taxis operate on fixed routes, from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, and that’s already going well, Enberg says. Chinese search engine giant Baidu is also making good progress on developing these electric vehicles that don’t have steering or pedals. By calculations, Baidu’s stock could increase 50-fold if about 15 percent of rides in China were made by such a robotaxi and the Chinese manufacturer was the sole provider. That’s reason enough for Musk and company to start down that road, too.

This robotaxi must be working for Musk already, although Enberg remains quite skeptical – especially in European city centres. “In the US, cities are more straightforward, you can go straight from one street to another. But here in the centre of Amsterdam no car can drive without a driver.” Overall, Inberg’s reserves are too big to invest in Tesla shares again. “It’s great to watch, Musk is a great businessman, but Tesla is a fan, and it might not be very realistic.”