Musk says robots, robotaxis will be most of Tesla’s value

Elon Musk said on Sunday that Tesla's humanoid robot and its driverless taxi, not its cars, will drive almost all of the company's future worth. "Optimus and Cybercab will be the vast majority of Tesla's value," Musk wrote in a post on X. He added that the newly revealed Roadster is staying in the plan anyway: "But Roadster is super cool, so we're doing it anyway."benzinga.com

The post came three days after Tesla's showy Roadster unveiling and three days before its third-quarter earnings report. It shows how Musk wants investors to see Tesla: mainly as a robotics and artificial intelligence company.

A narrow list of big bets

In the same post, Musk said "the only things that will scale to incredible size (K2 and beyond) economically are super intelligence, robots, solar power and mass to space," and that "if you have the first two, the rest will follow". Benzinga reported that the remarks put robotics and AI at the center of Tesla's long-term story rather than vehicles. The Roadster was not on Musk's list of businesses he expects to grow to an enormous economic scale.benzinga.com+1

Tesla has started limited public Cybercab service, and Austin is one of the markets where the vehicles are running, according to Benzinga.benzinga.com

The Roadster's flashy return

On Thursday, October 15, Tesla showed its long-delayed second-generation Roadster at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, Reuters reported. The car, built with SpaceX thrusters, drove upside down on a ramp, jumped over vehicles and landed using compressed-air jets. Tesla said it can go from zero to 60 mph in under a second, according to CNBC.cnbc.com+1

Musk said production will start in 2028, but Tesla did not give a price. The reservation page lists three versions. Performance and Thrust require deposits of $50,000 and $250,000, while the flight-capable Rocket version is invite-only. Tesla first began taking Roadster deposits in 2017 and has missed every delivery target it set since then, CNBC noted.ca.finance.yahoo.com+2

Earnings up next

Tesla will report third-quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, October 21. Analysts expect earnings of $0.43 per share on revenue of $27.90 billion, according to Benzinga. The outlet said investors will be looking for updates on robotaxis and Optimus, as well as automotive gross margins. Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter, which beat estimates.benzinga.com

That sets up the main tension for investors. Musk is asking them to value Tesla on robots and autonomous taxis, while most of its revenue still comes from selling cars.