One of these days, stock markets and meme momentum traders might not give Tesla (TSLA) the benefit of the doubt. CEO Elon Musk once again forecast that a product will be ready.
Musk said last Saturday (Jan. 24) that the AI5 chip that powers self-driving cars is nearly ready. The AI6 chip is in the early phases, while AI7, AI8, AI9 (etc.) will have nine-month design cycles. That comment is a risky one to make, since pre-announcing new products following one that is not yet released might encourage customers to wait.
Customers are not going to buy products with an AI5 chip when another will be made available nine months later.
Last week, TSLA stock gained around $20/share to close at $449.06. Markets are not discouraged about the company’s prospects in the electric vehicle market. Sales in the U.S. have been falling every quarter, ever since the U.S. wound down EV tax credits. Tesla’s sales in smaller markets like Germany are faring worse. Fortunately, its dependence on countries that have low sales volumes will not hurt its revenue by much.
In the EV space, Rivian (RIVN) peaked at over $22 to close at $15.95. Lucid Motors (LCID) is in a permanent downtrend. Shares closed at around $11, just 16.4% above its yearly low and 69.2% below its 52-week high.
