Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock had a rough week last week, dropping nearly 15%. Shares fell again today with its robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas, coming soon. While the company hasn’t confirmed the specific June date for the launch, reports say it could be Thursday, June 12.
One Wall Street analyst thinks investors are going to be disappointed by the much-hyped event. That helped push Tesla stock lower by as much as 4.5% early Monday. Shares had recovered from that drop and even turned slightly positive at 12:33 p.m. ET.
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Image source: Tesla.
Tesla’s self-driving technology needs to impress
Baird analyst Ben Karrow downgraded Tesla shares from a buy to a hold rating for reasons that include high expectations for the upcoming robotaxi launch as well as the very public feud CEO Elon Musk had with President Trump last week.
Regarding the robotaxi introduction, Musk has said much of his company’s value should be based on Tesla’s self-driving technology. Investors anticipating that event have helped push Tesla stock higher by more than 12% in the past month, even including last week’s decline.
The Baird analyst thinks lofty expectations for the event are already built into Tesla’s share price. He also cited uncertainty and potential blowback from the public spat between Musk and President Trump, reports Barron’s. Tesla needs government support in the form of favorable autonomous driving regulations, among other matters, beyond any electric vehicle (EV) credits that have been used to help spur demand for its products.
Tesla’s robotics head leaves company
More news came from the EV leader this weekend, too. Milan Kovac, Tesla’s executive in charge of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robotics segment, said on Friday that he is moving on from the company. He started at Tesla in 2016 and reported directly to Musk. Kovac expressed confidence in Tesla’s future, and Musk thanked him for his “outstanding contributions.”
That just adds more uncertainty for investors, though, as Optimus is another key future catalyst for Tesla. For now, all eyes will be on the robotaxi news coming soon.
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Howard Smith has positions in Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
