After a two-month postponement and some doubt about if it would actually happen and what it would entail, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) held its ‘We, Robot’ – commonly known as ‘Robotaxi’ – event.
The October 10 event showcased the promised ‘Robotaxi,’ but also a larger ‘Robovan,’ and the increasingly interesting ‘Optimus’ Robot. Though the coverage was generally favorable and the product lineup – provided nothing was faked – impressive, the Friday pre-market demonstrated a lack of investor confidence.
In fact, after declining 0.95% to $238.77 in Thursday trading, TSLA stock entered the October 11 pre-market with a 5.06% drop to $226.70.
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Tesla shares also remain 3.88% in the red in the year-to-date (YTD) chart – even without accounting for the extended session – despite the hype in the leadup to ‘We, Robot.’
Given the high-tech nature of the event, Finbold consulted another technological marvel – OpenAI’s flagship ChatGPT-4o – about its opinion of and forecast for TSLA shares now that the ‘Robotaxi’ and the ‘Robovan’ have been unveiled.
ChatGPT assesses Tesla’s ‘We, Robot’ event
Having analyzed the event and the products Tesla showcased, ChatGPT was quick to provide a rather positive assessment. Indeed, the artificial intelligence (AI) model identified a set of benefits the EV maker is now likely to boast.
Per the AI, Tesla is now set to benefit from an expanded market reach, deeper robotics and technological integration, and the associated boost in investor confidence. ChatGPT also estimates the event will have done much to demonstrate the extent of autonomous driving advancement.
On the other hand, the AI platform also acknowledged that the event is likely to trigger as much skepticism as it will optimism and that TSLA stock remains subject to broader economic considerations.
ChatGPT sets Tesla stock price target in wake of ‘We, Robot’
Nonetheless, it judged that a bullish scenario – driven by investor enthusiasm and bolstered by technological progress – is the more likely scenario and that it will help push Tesla shares between 29.8% and 38.2% higher to a range between $310 and $330.
ChatGPT left the option of a bearish scenario open.
The AI concluded that it would likely play out so that TSLA stock first experiences a rally as the initial reaction but that subsequent potential issues or sheer skepticism trigger a pullback to between $250 and $270.
It is noteworthy that, considering Tesla’s latest closing price of $238.77, the more pessimistic scenario also predicts a 4.7% to 13.1% increase in the EV maker’s share price.
When asked how it would comment on the immediate pre-market drop, the AI mostly dismissed it as a common example of volatility in the wake of major events and assessed it is probably more of a ‘buy the dip’ opportunity for long-term investors than a cause for concern.
Why is Tesla stock falling in the pre-market?
While the negative reaction might appear odd given the generally positive coverage of the ‘We, Robot’ event, it is worth remembering that the expectations were running high in its lead up.
Indeed, some experts have, earlier in October, weighed in that both the bulls and bears will be satisfied as it unfolds as it is, on the one hand, likely to be an impressive showcase and, on the other, unlikely to fully meet the hopes of the biggest optimists.
Additionally, the event itself, while truly a futuristic marvel at face value, offers significant room for skepticism. Tesla has a history of making promises it has yet to fulfill and even allegedly faking its technological achievements.
The showcase portion of ‘We, Robot’ could have certainly been scripted as a lack of traditional vehicle controls in the ‘Robotaxi’ and the ‘Robovan’ do not exclude the movements being pre-programmed, or the car being remotely controlled.
Similarly, though the ‘Optimus’ robot is impressive – and was particularly impressive in the interactive portion of the event – it nonetheless left the chance much of its behavior was pre-programmed or even remotely directed for a mostly controlled environment.
Such concerns become particularly pointed once the fact that some of the robot’s most impressive acts – like helping with domestic work in a way usually reserved for sci-fi shows – were featured in a pre-recorded commercial-like video is factored in.
Ultimately, the true impact of the event might come into play only in 2025 when it becomes clear if Tesla’s plan to have truly autonomous taxis in the streets – and at a price point below $30,000, as Musk stated – and ‘Optimus’ robots in serial production will come to fruition.
