Jonah Lupton
CEO & CIO of FirstWave Capital, Long-Biased Growth
Tesla is too expensive right now; it would only start to look interesting under $250, with a small position, and more so under $200. It is hard to be too bullish while Elon Musk spends at least half his time on SpaceX, xAI, Starlink and other ventures. Combining everything into one $2 trillion company would be very interesting, since a SpaceX IPO alone should be nowhere near $2 trillion. The robotaxi and robotics themes are still worth watching over 5+ years. x.com
Tesla's 200x earnings multiple asks too much of weak current results and speculative future products. Third-quarter revenue fell 0.4% year over year and EBIT missed estimates by 25%, despite gross-margin and cash-flow beats. Robotaxis, humanoids and other future plans may have appeal, but impressive parts of the business do not make the stock worth its current price. x.com x.com x.com
Tesla's $1.4T valuation prices in absolute perfection and leaves too little headroom to outperform the market over the next few years. Robotaxis, FSD, Optimus, AI and energy storage are exciting, but the share price pays now for what may be achievable in a decade. Tesla makes half Ford's free cash flow, and Uber earns more than double its net income at about a tenth of the value. Car sales peaked in 2022-23 as Chinese automakers ended growth, so it is unclear where the cash comes from. x.com … Show more
Scaling Tesla's robotaxi fleet to 5,000 could yield a $584 million annual revenue run rate by year-end. The model assumes 24/7 operation, 40 daily rides per vehicle averaging five miles, 70% utilization, and current fares of $3 plus $1 per mile. A 5,000-vehicle fleet by year-end is now the expectation; introducing Cybercabs in other states could keep growth going at its current pace. x.com x.com x.com
Tesla's $1.5T Elon premium looks unjustified while Musk seems to favor SpaceX for the AI compute buildout. Tesla shareholders missed almost the entire AI boom; owning xAI and building that infrastructure might have doubled Tesla's stock. Q3 adjusted EPS was $0.48, down 4% year over year; if Tesla were a non-Musk company, four such quarters at 10x earnings would mean $19.20 a share versus $386. Long-term company prospects remain attractive, but the stock is still not worth buying back. x.com … Show more
Tesla's valuation is too stretched to justify buying now. Slava cites a 189x forward P/E, falling Q3 deliveries, a 1.4% operating margin and negative free cash flow; other investments look preferable. x.com
Tesla's Robotaxi and Optimus can carry substantial value before major profits because future cash flows, growth and the chance of success matter more than current P/E. In an illustrative model, a one-year delay cuts opportunity value about 11% if payments stay unchanged; faster sustained growth can more than offset it, while reliable deployment can raise the assessed chance of success. These figures are not Tesla forecasts; investment costs and execution risk still matter. x.com
Tesla's robotaxis sound cool but there is no money in them, which explains the stock's decline. Jim Chanos (@RealJimChanos) called Tesla's disclosure of only 380,000 unsupervised Robotaxi miles over the past year a stunning admission. x.com
Tesla's latest reveal has no financial viability for shareholders yet because anything like it may not reach roads before 2035. Like Optimus in 2021, it is cool but not viable yet. SpaceX shareholders should get Tesla at a bargain after Tesla takes a serious beating: Musk owns 49% of SpaceX and already controls its vote, so a depressed acquisition price would give them a better deal while consolidating his control. The merger looks like a matter of when, not if; its price is the question. x.com … Show more
Tesla's low-cost, high-margin Cybercabs make its Robotaxi opportunity bigger than investors appreciate. ARK estimates each costs about $30K to make and generates $93K a year at roughly 68% gross margin; Tesla is not bullish enough in investors' eyes. Texas registrations show 1,080 Teslas, including 573 Cybercabs, versus 1,207 Waymos; these are registrations, not active rides. Cybercabs already outnumber Model Ys less than two months after launch. x.com x.com x.com
Tesla isn't a buy yet because the stock, at over 300x trailing earnings, already prices in Robotaxi success that Cybercab hasn't proven at scale. Cybercab began rides in Austin, but about 45 of roughly 420 Tesla autonomous vehicles in Texas only show the cars can run. Order volumes, intervention and accident rates and per-car profit are undisclosed, NHTSA is still reviewing safety, and Q2 operating margin was 1.4% with -$1.1B free cash flow. Approval, fleet growth and unit economics are key. … Show more
