Tesla investors have a lot to keep track of for the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
As Wall Street analysts eye near-term headwinds for Elon Musk’s company, investors appear to be curious about Tesla’s longer-term bets, such as robotaxis and the humanoid Optimus robots.
The top-rated question from an anonymous retail investor on Say, a communications platform for shareholders and companies, asks what the rate of expansion will be for Tesla’s autonomous ride-hailing business. At publication, the question received more than 5,500 upvotes, representing about 2.8 million TSLA shares.
Here are the top questions Tesla investors want to be addressed as of Tuesday evening.
Robotaxi
Tesla has been testing a “pilot launch” of its robotaxi service in Austin for about a month. Last week, the company expanded its service area map. California and Phoenix appear to be up next for a potential robotaxi rollout.
Musk previously said the service’s ramp-up should be quick, estimating about 1,000 robotaxis in Austin within the next few months
“Can you give us some insight how robotaxis have been performing so far and what rate you expect to expand in terms of vehicles, geofence, cities, and supervisors?” an anonymous retail investor asked on Say.
Affordable models
Musk says Tesla is more than just a car maker, but investors still want to know: Where’s the affordable Tesla?
“Can you provide an update on the development and production timeline for Tesla’s more affordable models? How will these models balance cost reduction with profitability, and what impact do you expect on demand in the current economic climate?” another retail investor asked.
As Tesla experiences a sales slump, analysts previously told BI that delivering a cheaper model becomes increasingly crucial for the company.
Full Self-Driving (Unsupervised)
Tesla owners are currently limited to Full Self-Driving (Supervised), an advanced driver-assistance system that requires constant supervision of a driver.
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Business Insider previously tested the technology against Waymo’s robotaxis. (Tesla lost after it ran a red light.)
At the end of June, the company announced its first autonomously delivered Model Y, driving further anticipation for an unsupervised version of FSD.
“What are the key technical and regulatory hurdles still remaining for unsupervised FSD to be available for personal use? Timeline?” a retail investor asked.
Musk on Sunday said on X that FSD users will see a “step change improvement as we integrate upgrades for the Austin robotaxi build into the general production release.”
Optimus
Optimus, a humanoid robot, is one of Tesla’s focuses that Musk says makes his company not just an EV play but an AI and robotics venture.
Musk is so bullish on Optimus — and people’s desires to have a personal robot — that the CEO said back in February that Optimus will be a ten-trillion-dollar revenue generator. He has also said that personal robots will unlock massive GDP growth and a “universal high-income situation.”
That’s the long-term outlook. Investors want to know how Optimus will contribute to Tesla in the next couple of years.
“What specific factory tasks is Optimus currently performing, and what is the expected timeline for scaling production to enable external sales? How does Tesla envision Optimus contributing to revenue in the next 2-3 years?” a retail investor asked.
FSD (again)
In a clear sign of high anticipation around improved self-driving capabilities, investors upvoted another question around FSD (Unsupervised) in personal cars.
“When do you anticipate customer vehicles to receive unsupervised FSD?” another retail investor asked.
A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.