Dan Ives Backs Tesla: The Most Direct Physical AI Play

IT Home, October 10: According to Yahoo Finance and Benzinga, whether Tesla's valuation can withstand its next test may no longer hinge on how many cars it can sell, but on how much revenue the cars already sold can still generate. Yorkville Ives analyst Dan Ives believes autonomous driving and robotics could transform Tesla's future, but for the $500 (about 3,353 yuan) price target to be sufficiently supported, Tesla still needs to prove these businesses can generate recurring revenue. In his latest research note, Ives maintained an Outperform rating and a $500 price target on Tesla, arguing the company is transforming from an automaker into a "physical AI" platform encompassing cars, autonomous driving, humanoid robots and energy storage. If investors still mainly evaluate Tesla by automaker standards, they may underestimate the potential for software and services to generate revenue beyond car sales in the future. Ives believes Tesla is one of the most direct public-market plays on physical AI. The robotaxi business will be an important step for Tesla from car manufacturing to autonomous driving services. In its latest quarterly report, Tesla disclosed that cumulative paid operating miles for its robotaxi service were about 4.02 million kilometers. The company is also expanding the service area and preparing to deploy the Cybercab, designed specifically for driverless operations. The Cybercab removes traditional driving controls such as the steering wheel, potentially lowering operating costs, but how fast Tesla can expand its fleet is still constrained by production capacity, including the 4680 battery pack supply issue mentioned by Ives in his note. Beyond autonomous driving, Ives is also bullish on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot and energy storage businesses, believing they can open larger markets and provide more support for the $500 price target. But before it is clear how much profit they will contribute, Tesla still needs to keep investing capital. This information comes from the original source and was compiled by AI.