Analysts criticise lack of detail about the ‘robotaxi’ showcased by CEO Elon Musk

Tesla shares fell nearly 9% on Friday, wiping about $60bn (£45bn) from the company’s value, after the long-awaited unveiling of its so-called robotaxi failed to excite investors.

Shares in the electric carmaker tumbled to $217 at market close following an event in Hollywood, where the chief executive, Elon Musk, revealed a much-hyped driverless vehicle. The stock price is down roughly 12% year-to-date.

However, analysts said the event was short on detail and also expressed disappointment over a lack of specifics about other Tesla projects. Musk has a history of making grand projections about upcoming products and failing to follow through in the timeframe he has set, or at all.

  • Gammelfisch@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Awe shucks. Tesla should boot out Dork MAGAT and bring back Eberhard and Tarpenning. When Leon leaves, then I will consider a Tesla.

  • affiliate@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    one of my old computer science professors said self driving cars “have been 5 years away for the past 20 years”. still rings true to this day

    • dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      I agree with your professor. It’s one of these things that people have a hard time understanding. A lot of folks can easily imagine the end-state, but have no clue what has to be solved to arrive there. A lot of folks think that projects in electronics, software engineering, computing, etc. are just a linear march from beginning to end; failure is a human or resource problem. In reality, there are problems out there that get exponentially harder to pull off with linear inputs, which is much harder to imagine let alone a great way to scare off investors.

      In this case, the framing of the problem is all wrong. We’re not trying to solve “a car that drives itself” (e.g. autopilot). Instead we are “simulating human sensory organs and cognition in order to pilot a vehicle without catastrophe or injury.” The latter is much harder to solve, but IMO, is a much more realistic portrayal of the job.

      • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Oh nobody’s predicting net positive fusion anytime soon. There’s huge materials hurdles in both magnetic confinement and inertial confinement while also regenerating tritium. Neutron radiation just does not play nice.

  • VantaBrandon@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Tesla is no longer a serious company, Elon’s brand has gone from tarnished to trashed. TSLA might be holding on for dear life but ELON is a penny stock now

    • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      Even at face value, that’s still a massive red flag coming Musk. He gave us a concept of the cybertruck that actually looked pretty badass; then delivered a vehicle straight out the Playstation 1. Any concept he pitches can be assumed to be complete bullshit.

      • normanwall@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Lol this thing with a heavy battery would flip over at the mere sight of a bump, and everyone would die inside

        • filcuk@lemmy.zip
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          5 days ago

          The center of mass is lower due to the battery, so I’d say the opposite is true.

          • normanwall@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            I was going to make a smart ass comment about how bad the Cyber truck is at off-road stuff but it turns out it’s actually hard to tip over even with the chassis above the centreline of the wheels

      • friendlymessage@feddit.orgB
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        5 days ago

        That thing looks AI generated. Better than what we got but still ridiculous. I mean, it’s huge but still somehow doesn’t really seem to have much space for passengers or cargo at the same time

        Also, why is the cabin aerodynamic while the hood is not? The whole thing is nonsensical

    • TheBrideWoreCrimson@sopuli.xyz
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      5 days ago

      It might not be a particularly new insight, but I find it worth repeating anyway: Musk truly is the new Ford. Runs his own company in the ground and has a hard-on for fascists.

      • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        With a bit of Edison thrown in for good measure. He’s constantly claiming to have invented things or founded companies that he had nothing to do with.

  • Chestnut@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    For clarity, this means the stock is back to the price it was in September. I know car-man-bad but I get tired of these sensationalized articles that are only shared because they confirm that someone we like is bad actually

  • sleepmode@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    A two seater with lambo doors that look like they’ll immediately get sheared off by a passing truck that can’t see them. A laughable delivery timeline. And the “concept” bus looks like a Dustbuster that’ll get stuck in a pothole or on top of a speed bump with its current ground clearance. It’s almost like he’s deliberately trying to tank the stock making all this impractical shit.

  • nutsack@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Elon musk extended family will own the entire Mars facility production and open hell portal?

  • samokosik@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Tesla and Elon are one of the reasons why I don’t but individual stocks but I rather get indices… It’s just the lack of consistency and the fact a single person can make you lose money…

    • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      Tesla is a so called “meme stock” detached from how a company is actually performing. I’d say avoid it if you’re looking for “steady” buy and hold investing instead of (high tax) daytrader style gambling.

    • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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      5 days ago

      Investing is where you buy into market trackers and have no more than a couple of percent in any given company.

      What you’re talking about is gambling.

        • machineLearner@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          depends on how much faith you have in elons ability to bullshit the masses. I wouldn’t do it, but some have gotten money off that gambit.

        • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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          5 days ago

          Possibly. If Trump wins what are the odds on him letting Elon’s crappy self driving cars be road legal as a thank you for all the election interference? But then what are the odds on Trump doing what he always does and abandoning everyone at the first sign of trouble. What if Trump loses?

          It’s a lot of ifs. Don’t bet more than you can afford to lose is the only advice I can give.

        • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          The stock price/earnings ratio is still quite high. So based on fundamentals it’s still not a good buy. Instead, you’re gambling that in the future you’ll hear more unexpected good news from Tesla than unexpected bad news.

          Personally, I wouldn’t take that bet.

    • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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      5 days ago

      Do you actually believe anything he said is true? Follow-up question, are you literate and do you have access to the internet?