Tesla Really Needs Musk’s Robotaxis to Live Up to the Hype

Guys, you were so close. If it wasn’t for that last little bounce of Wall Street optimism on the last day of September, Tesla Inc.’s latest sales figure would have beaten estimates — just.

almost

The more pertinent bit of that chart is actually the yawning gap on the left, tracing the steady drop in expectations for Tesla’s core business. For all the talk this past week of Tesla’s sales in China maybe pushing the quarter’s total to 470,000 — reflected in that uptick in the consensus forecast — the obvious rejoinder is: Who cares? Even if Tesla had reported that number, which would also have been way below what was expected earlier this year, take a look at the chart below and ask yourself if it would have changed the fundamental picture here.

no change

It wouldn’t have, putting all the more focus on the much-hyped Oct. 10 event where Chief Executive Elon Musk is expected to unveil “robotaxi” prototypes.