Genz2
4 hours ago
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna214388
Excerpt:
Should oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz be affected, we could easily see $100 oil” or an increase in U.S. gas prices by 75 cents per gallon, Andy Lipow, president of the consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, said in a note to clients Sunday.
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EV (Tesla) or ICE? Many great reasons to buy, finance or lease a Tesla!!!!
zen222
13 hours ago
Musk pins hopes on robotaxis as Tesla sales tank
Elon Musk’s long-touted vision of a widespread Tesla "robotaxi" fleet appears to be taking a tentative step towards reality, with a small-scale test run of self-driving cabs set to begin in Austin, Texas, this Sunday.
This limited deployment comes after years of ambitious, yet unfulfilled, pledges from the billionaire entrepreneur. In 2019, Musk promised driverless Tesla robotaxis would be on the road "next year," a commitment he reiterated in 2020 for the following year.
Despite these repeated missed deadlines, the promises continued, with Musk stating as recently as January last year, "Next year for sure, we’ll have over a million robotaxis."
The current Austin trial, involving a "small squad" of vehicles, stands in stark contrast to the millions he once envisioned. While this marks a tangible move, reaching a fleet of a million robotaxis is projected to take "a year or more." However, the service could see expansion later this year, contingent on the success of the initial Austin demonstration.
The stakes couldn't be higher, nor the challenges.
While Musk was making those “next year” promises, rival Waymo was busy deploying driverless taxis in Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin and other cities by using a different technology that allowed it to get to market faster. It just completed its 10 millionth paid ride.
Boycotts related to Musk's politics have tanked Tesla's sales. Rival electric vehicle makers with newly competitive models have stolen market share. And investors are on edge after a $150 billion stock wipeout when Musk picked a social media fight with a U.S. president overseeing federal car regulators who could make the robotaxi rollout much more difficult. The stock has recovered somewhat after Musk said he regretted some of his remarks.
Musk says the Austin test will begin modestly enough, with just 10 or 12 vehicles picking up passengers in a limited area. But then it will quickly ramp up and spread to other cities, eventually reaching hundreds of thousands if not a million vehicles next year.
Some Musk watchers on Wall Street are skeptical.
“How quickly can he expand the fleet?” asks Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA. “We're talking maybe a dozen vehicles initially. It's very small."
Morningstar's Seth Goldstein says Musk is being classic Musk: Promising too much, too quickly.
“When anyone in Austin can download the app and use a robotaxi, that will be a success, but I don't think that will happen until 2028," he says. “Testing is going to take a while.”
Musk's tendency to push up the stock high with a bit of hyperbole is well known among investors.
In 2018, he told Tesla stockholders he had “funding secured” to buy all their shares at a massive premium and take the company private. But he not only lacked a written commitment from financiers, according to federal stock regulators who fined him, he hadn't discussed the loan amount or other details with them.
More recently, Musk told CNBC in May that Tesla was experiencing a “major rebound” in demand. A week later an auto trade group in Europe announced sales had plunged by half.
Musk has come under fire for allegedly exaggerating the ability of the system used for its cars to drive themselves, starting with the name. Full Self-Driving is a misnomer. The system still requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road because they may need to intervene and take control at any moment.
Federal highway safety regulators opened an investigation into FSD last year after several accidents, and the Department of Justice has conducted its own probe, though the status of that is not known. Tesla has also faced lawsuits over the feature, some resulting in settlements, other dismissed. In one case, a judge ruled against the plaintiffs but only because they hadn't proved Musk “knowingly” made false statements.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/elon-musk-pins-his-hopes-on-a-fleet-of-robotaxis-as-tesla-sales-tank/ar-AA1HbGSG
zen222
20 hours ago
Musk's empire showing signs of "rapid unscheduled disassembly"
Salon predicts Elon "Pedo Guy" Musk's house of cards is about to tumble.
Tesla is ridiculously overvalued for a carmaker, especially one with severe brand problems and an inability to sell cars. The hype has been around Elon, and as Elon has done more than enough to disprove his mythical genius, there isn't a lot left propping the stock up. Sadly, his friendship with a man famous for throwing people under the bus has resulted in the anticipated result. While Musk is wearing shades, the future is not so bright.
While the smoke clears on the launchpad, another crisis is burning: xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence venture, is reportedly on track to lose $13 billion in 2025. According to multiple reports, it's burning through $1 billion every month, and bringing in barely a half-billion total. Musk moved GPUs from Tesla to prop it up and is now pitching a $9 billion raise to investors. But that's not innovation - it's triage.
And now, the political theater collapses too. After years of courting Donald Trump and MAGA-adjacent culture warriors, Musk has been frozen out by Trump himself, who reportedly isn't taking Musk's calls. No more backstage passes. No more power dinners. Just a guy with exploding rockets, a hemorrhaging AI startup, and a dying social media platform full of trolls yelling into the void.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/musk-s-empire-showing-signs-of-rapid-unscheduled-disassembly/ar-AA1H7rCC
zen222
2 days ago
2 Reasons to Sell Tesla Stock in June 2025
Fri, June 20, 2025 at 11:29 AM AKDT
Much of the stock's recent rise can be tied to the firm's latest ambitions around autonomous driving, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). Additionally, with new lower-priced models reportedly on the horizon, investors have a plethora of potential catalysts to look to as reasons to buy and hold Tesla stock, even at a valuation that many investors may be starting to question.
In fact, a number of top experts have begun to do exactly just that. Let's dive into two recent downgrades for Tesla stock and why analysts may be souring on the firm's pathway forward.
Analysts Downgrade Tesla Stock
Analysts from Baird and Argus Research each recently downgraded TSLA stock, citing a number of concerns that they believe investors should be pricing in. Baird put a $320 price target on Tesla, which suggests that the stock (trading above that price target currently) could be a stagnant holding at best over the course of the next year.
Baird analysts Ben Kallo and Davis Sunderland noted that Tesla investors' enthusiasm over what's expected to be a high-profile robotaxi launch, as well as a future including a lower-priced EV model, may be exaggerated. Specifically, these analysts project that only around 6,000 robotaxis are likely to hit the roads by the end of next year. That's a far cry from CEO Elon Musk's previous claims.
Echoing this sentiment, Argus Research analyst Bill Selesky also downgraded Tesla stock to a “Hold” rating, suggesting that non-fundamental factors have been unsustainably taking TSLA stock higher. With the macro environment being what it is, and added risk around Tesla stock tied to Musk's relationship with President Donald Trump, there are plenty of reasons aside from the removal of EV tax credits why TSLA may be on shaky footing.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2-reasons-sell-tesla-stock-192932452.html
Genz2
3 days ago
Per Google:
How common are EV fires compared to ICE fires? EV fires occur far less frequently than ICE fires. According to recent data, EVs experience about 25 fires per 100,000 vehicles, compared to 1,500 fires per 100,000 ICE vehicles annually.Jan 13, 2025
zen222
4 days ago
LOL! Elon Musk's Starship Blows Up--Again. What This Means for Tesla Investors Now
SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded during a static fire test late Wednesday at the company's Starbase site in Texas, in what the company called a major anomaly. The blast lit up the night sky, shaking windows and rattling dishes across the area, according to local reports. The rocket was undergoing a routine pre-launch engine firing when it failed no injuries were reported. Starship 10 had no confirmed launch date, and with this latest incident its fourth major setback in six months the program's near-term trajectory could be in flux.
For Elon Musk, the timing raises fresh challenges. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), his most visible company, is contending with weakening EV demand, while the Starship program central to NASA's ~$4 billion lunar contract has now seen multiple setbacks. January's explosion was tied to a propellant leak, March's to a Raptor engine failure, and May's flight disintegrated midair. With this latest prototype destroyed before even lifting off, SpaceX will likely delay its next test as it completes another technical review.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musks-starship-blows-again-164153726.html