Benzinga

España
Italia
대한민국
日本
Français
Benzinga Edge
Benzinga Research
Benzinga Pro

  • Get Benzinga Pro
  • Data & APIs
  • Events
  • Premarket
  • Advertise
Contribute
España
Italia
대한민국
日本
Français

Benzinga

  • Premium Services
  • Financial News
    Latest
    Earnings
    Guidance
    Dividends
    M&A
    Buybacks
    Interviews
    Management
    Offerings
    IPOs
    Insider Trades
    Biotech/FDA
    Politics
    Healthcare
    Small-Cap
  • Markets
    Pre-Market
    After Hours
    Movers
    ETFs
    Options
    Cryptocurrency
    Commodities
    Bonds
    Futures
    Mining
    Real Estate
    Volatility
  • Ratings
    Analyst Color
    Downgrades
    Upgrades
    Initiations
    Price Target
  • Investing Ideas
    Trade Ideas
    Long Ideas
    Short Ideas
    Technicals
    Analyst Ratings
    Analyst Color
    Latest Rumors
    Whisper Index
    Stock of the Day
    Best Stocks & ETFs
    Best Penny Stocks
    Best S&P 500 ETFs
    Best Swing Trade Stocks
    Best Blue Chip Stocks
    Best High-Volume Penny Stocks
    Best Small Cap ETFs
    Best Stocks to Day Trade
    Best REITs
  • Money
    Investing
    Cryptocurrency
    Mortgage
    Insurance
    Yield
    Personal Finance
    Forex
    Startup Investing
    Real Estate Investing
    Prop Trading
    Credit Cards
    Stock Brokers
Research
My Stocks
Tools
Free Benzinga Pro Trial
Calendars
Analyst Ratings Calendar
Conference Call Calendar
Dividend Calendar
Earnings Calendar
Economic Calendar
FDA Calendar
Guidance Calendar
IPO Calendar
M&A Calendar
Unusual Options Activity Calendar
SPAC Calendar
Stock Split Calendar
Trade Ideas
Free Stock Reports
Insider Trades
Trade Idea Feed
Analyst Ratings
Unusual Options Activity
Heatmaps
Free Newsletter
Government Trades
Perfect Stock Portfolio
Easy Income Portfolio
Short Interest
Most Shorted
Largest Increase
Largest Decrease
Calculators
Margin Calculator
Forex Profit Calculator
100x Options Profit Calculator
Screeners
Stock Screener
Top Momentum Stocks
Top Quality Stocks
Top Value Stocks
Top Growth Stocks
Compare Best Stocks
Best Momentum Stocks
Best Quality Stocks
Best Value Stocks
Best Growth Stocks
Connect With Us
facebookinstagramlinkedintwitteryoutubeblueskymastodon
About Benzinga
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
Market Resources
  • Advanced Stock Screener Tools
  • Options Trading Chain Analysis
  • Comprehensive Earnings Calendar
  • Dividend Investor Calendar and Alerts
  • Economic Calendar and Market Events
  • IPO Calendar and New Listings
  • Market Outlook and Analysis
  • Wall Street Analyst Ratings and Targets
Trading Tools & Education
  • Benzinga Pro Trading Platform
  • Options Trading Strategies and News
  • Stock Market Trading Ideas and Analysis
  • Technical Analysis Charts and Indicators
  • Fundamental Analysis and Valuation
  • Day Trading Guides and Strategies
  • Live Investor Events
  • Pre-market Stock Analysis and News
  • Cryptocurrency Market Analysis and News
Ring the Bell

A newsletter built for market enthusiasts by market enthusiasts. Top stories, top movers, and trade ideas delivered to your inbox every weekday before and after the market closes.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Data/Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Service Status
  • Sitemap
© 2026 Benzinga | All Rights Reserved
October 11, 2024 12:26 PM 6 min read

Tesla Robotaxi Day Event 'More Fanfare Than Substance': 8 Analysts On Cybercab, Optimus, Autonomous Vehicle Vision

by Chris Katje Benzinga Staff Writer
Follow

ArticleFeaturedTickersList12345!!!

Analysts say Tesla Inc‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock could continue to slide after the lack of clear business plans for Robotaxis and no updates on the lower-cost production vehicle, following the highly anticipated Robotaxi Day on Thursday.

The Tesla Analysts:

  • Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives maintained an Outperform rating with a $300 price target.
  • Bank of America analyst John Murphy reiterated a Buy rating with a $255 price target.
  • Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard maintained a Neutral rating with a $245 price target.
  • Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter maintained an Overweight rating with a $310 price target.
  • RBC Capital analyst Tom Narayan maintained an Outperform rating with a $236 price target.
  • Truist analyst William Stein reiterated a Hold rating with a $236 price target.
  • Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rush maintained a Perform rating and has no price target.
  • Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney maintained a Neutral rating with a $230 price target.

Are you buying when the CEOs of the Magnificent 7 are selling?

Stay in the know with our Insider Trades page — see when leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Jensen Huang are offloading their own shares.

Wedbush on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was a "glimpse of the future" for Tesla and the next generation of consumer transportation, Ives said in a note Friday morning.

"Musk laid out the vision and we saw the vehicles up close and ultimately believe last night will mark the inflection point from Tesla as an EV maker to a broader AI/Robotics/Disruptive Tech mobility player," Ives said.

The analyst said Cybercab and Optimus "could be a major financial contributor to Tesla," with an estimate of up to 20% of overall profits and a margin boost by the end of the 2020s.  

With Tesla stock trading down Friday, Ives said he understands the "knee jerk reaction" after the company spent less time on its strategic vision of autonomous vehicles, but thinks it's overdone to call the event a failure.

"We strongly disagree with the notion that last night was a disappointment as we would argue the opposite, seeing Cybercab with our own eyes and the massive improvements in Optimus."

Ives said he would be a buyer on Friday's weakness, leaving Robotaxi Day "more bullish on the Tesla story."

Bank of America on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was a "good event" and might have provided the proper timing to raise low-cost capital for the company, Murphy said.

"TSLA Robotaxi event lived up to the hype, in our view," the analyst added.

Murphy said Tesla's goal of 2026 production for the Cybercab could prove optimistic.

With investments in robotaxis, robotics and artificial intelligence, Tesla needs "significant capital," Murphy added.

"We would not be surprised if TSLA raised capital, which it has historically been able to do at an extremely low cost compared to its peers."

Cantor Fitzgerald on Tesla: While Tesla shared an initial goal of Cybercab production in 2026, Sheppard was disappointed not to get commentary on the exact timing of the rollout, expectations for fleet size, and battery range of the vehicle.

The analyst said state-by-state regulations for autonomous vehicles could impact the rollout of the Cybercab.

"We continue to expect the Robotaxi rollout to happen gradually in stages, and in select markets," Sheppard said.

After the Robotaxi Day, the analyst shifts attention to Tesla's full self-driving (FSD) technology as a point of emphasis with the expectation that the rollout of the 12.5 software to be well received and help boost margins. The company's potential to license the technology to other companies and the launch of FSD in China in the first quarter are also future catalysts, the analyst added.

Piper Sandler on Tesla: Robotaxi Day may have underwhelmed investors, while being well received by "true believers," Potter said in a new investor note.

"[The] Robotaxi Event was amazing, but probably not enough to sustain recent momentum. On balance, we think most trading-oriented firms will be underwhelmed by the robotaxi unveiling," Potter said.

The analyst said that Tesla stock selling off over the next several weeks won't be a surprise.

Potter added that positives from the event include the Cybercab’s selling price, unsupervised FSD launching in California and Texas next year, the unexpected reveal of the Robovan, Optimus interactions with event guests, and the Cybercab design.

Disappointments from the event may be the timing of the Cybercab production, a lack of pricing details for the robotaxi business model and no update on Model 2, the analyst said.


RBC Capital on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was heavy on branding and marketing and light on details, Narayan said in a new investor note.

"Investors we spoke to at the event thought the event was light of real numbers and timelines," he added.

The analyst said he expects Tesla shares to sell off after the event.

The key positive takeaway from the analyst was Musk mentioning that robotaxis can be bought by fleet operators.

"We are still bullish on Tesla's long-term prospects and on robotaxis in general."

Truist on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was "more fanfare than substance," Stein said in a new investor note.

"This event was somewhat disappointing," he added.

The analyst said the event was disappointing because it did not showcase a new vehicle to help with unit growth in 2025 or a new version of FSD.

While the Cybercab and Optimus being highlighted at the event were impressive and expected, the analyst said they're likely not enough to move the stock.

Oppenheimer on Tesla: Thursday night's event acted as a product release party and had limited details on a business model, Rusch said in a new investor note.

The analyst said there were no updates on a low-cost vehicle production plan, and demonstrations of the robotaxi didn't show its ability to handle challenging conditions.

"We continue to see a window of opportunity for the company and believe the platform has significant capability, but found the event underwhelming as it did not address our underlying concerns on inefficiencies in learning cycles due to single sensor focus and potential performance limitations," Rusch said.

Goldman Sachs on Tesla: Optimus and Cybercab stole the show at the Robotaxi Day event and will become a "growing part" of the discussion of Tesla, Delaney said in a new investor note.

Like others, the analyst saw a lack of key details on the business plan and other expected items presented as potentially weighing on shares.

"We believe the lack of data shared on Full Self Driving performance, relatively limited due to robotaxi business plan, and absence of a lower-cost consumer vehicle unveil may be disappointing for some market participants and lead the stock to pull back after the recent run," Delaney said.

TSLA Price Action: Tesla stock is down 7.6% to $220.53 on Friday, versus a 52-week trading range of $138.80 to $271.00. Tesla stock is down over 10% year-to-date in 2024.

Read Next:

  • Elon Musk May Unveil Tesla’s Robotaxi, But Consumers Respond With ‘Ehhh,’ New Study Reveals Skepticism, Need For Trust-Building

Photo courtesy of Tesla.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.


Posted In:
Analyst ColorPrice TargetReiterationAnalyst RatingsTechTrading IdeasAlexander Potterautonomous vehiclesBank of AmericaCantor FitzgeraldColin RuschCybercabDan IvesDaniel IvesDiscover Projectelectric vehiclesElon MuskExpert IdeasGoldman SachsJohn MurphyMark DelaneymobilityOppenheimerPiper SandlerRBC CapitalrobotaxisStories That MatterWedbushWilliam Stein
TSLA Logo
TSLATesla Inc
$414.000.70%
Overview
TSLA Logo
TSLATesla Inc
$414.000.70%
Overview
Comments
Loading...