Elon Musk is anxious

Tesla, which has been removed from the "Big Seven" by investment banks, is facing increasingly tough times. Not only is its sales in the Chinese market under pressure and its stock price declining, but morale is also beginning to dissipate. After announcing a 10% large-scale layoff recently, several key executives at Tesla have announced their resignations.

Now, Elon Musk's only lifeline is the official announcement of the robotaix set to debut on August 8th. However, at present, few institutions seem to have confidence in Tesla.

Sharp Drop in Sales, Large Layoffs, Multiple Executives Resign

With intensifying competition in the electric vehicle market and an aging product line, Tesla's revenue in the first quarter of 2024 dropped by over 9% compared to the same period last year, ending years of rapid growth. In the important Chinese market, Tesla has faced fierce competition from local rivals such as BYD offering low-priced models. To stimulate sales, Tesla had to significantly reduce prices by thousands of dollars.

To turn the situation around, Tesla CEO Elon Musk decided to take decisive action. Last week, Musk became furious when visiting a data center expansion project in Texas that was delayed due to weather and other reasons, and subsequently fired the project manager, Amir Mirshahi.

This Monday, Musk also announced the largest layoff plan in Tesla's history, which will cut over 10% of positions, affecting more than 14,000 people. According to media reports citing insiders, Tesla executives were also asked to list 20% of the layoff names, indicating that future layoffs may go even deeper.

At the same time, some Tesla executives have also announced their resignations, including Drew Baglino, a senior vice president who has worked at Tesla for 18 years. Baglino is in charge of Tesla's powertrain and energy engineering department, responsible for projects such as Tesla's 4680 battery, and is one of the four highest-ranking executives at Tesla, often co-hosting earnings calls with Musk. Another executive responsible for policy and business development, Rohan Patel, also announced his departure on Monday.

Investors are losing confidence in Tesla's prospects, with Tesla's stock price falling by nearly 37% this year and plummeting 9% in the past five days.

Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives stated in a recent research report:

After a series of bad news in the past few months, Wall Street urgently needs answers at Tesla's Q1 earnings conference call next Tuesday, as all of this is simply a nightmare for Tesla investors.

Can Robotaxi Save Tesla? Investment Banks Are Not Optimistic

Facing immense pressure, Musk reportedly suspended the highly anticipated $25,000 affordable car plan and is fully focusing on advancing the fully autonomous taxi project. It was announced that the world's first truly autonomous Robotaxi will be launched on August 8th, although details are unknown, but it is rumored that this model will be completely driverless, even without a steering wheel Before it is truly launched on the market, it still needs to face heavy regulatory obstacles.

According to the well-known Tesla independent analyst Troy Teslike, the Robotaxi to be released on August 8th may be the rumored affordable small car Model 2 without a steering wheel. He predicts that Tesla will first release the Robotaxi, "and then figure out how to get it on the road."

In addition, on April 13th, Tesla announced an adjustment to the monthly subscription price of the overseas version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, reducing the monthly subscription fee from $199 to $99. This move is also seen as preparation for the launch of the Robotaxi.

However, Wall Street investment banks are not very optimistic about Musk's Robotaxi project.

Morgan Stanley believes that the road to large-scale commercialization of fully autonomous driving Robotaxi will be both long and unstable. Although over time, Tesla's business model is expected to shift towards a light-asset, software-based recurring revenue model, for Robotaxi to become a core business, it still faces significant resistance.

Goldman Sachs recently stated that although they are optimistic about Tesla's long-term growth potential and market position, the recent fundamentals are weak, leading to a downgrade in Tesla's target price.

Looking around at the present, Tesla's future is indeed full of variables. Despite experiencing multiple lows, this current predicament may be the most difficult one Musk and Tesla have faced. Layoffs, product adjustments, technological breakthroughs... Whether Musk can turn the tide remains to be seen with time