Tesla (TSLA) investors have been increasingly anxious about CEO Elon Musk's focus on the EV maker while juggling his various other projects and companies, including X, SpaceX, and the Boring Company. Yahoo Finance Live examines potential distractions for Musk and whether these priorities could weigh down Tesla's stock and its EV production goals heading into 2024.
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For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.
Video Transcript
BRAD SMITH: Year 2023 has been a rocky year for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk.
Is billionaire distracted running several companies at the same time immersing himself in controversy in dealing with regulators?
Early on in the year, he had laid out his goals for the EV company.
Listen to this.
- Our goal is to do 20 million electric vehicles a year.
ELON MUSK: Yeah.
Fewer vehicles will be needed, at least, passenger vehicles with autonomy.
So there's some debate as to what that number is.
But it's some number less than the number of vehicles needed today.
There's roughly two billion cars and trucks in operation in the world today.
- So what we show here is actually, I think, only 1.4 million or so.
So we're-- 1.4 billion, I mean or so.
So a smaller fleet.
And the numbers are here in this presentation are around 85 million vehicles a year produced.
BRAD SMITH: So 20 million vehicles a year is the goal for Tesla.
But going into 2024, it seems like there is even more on the horizon for Musk to focus on.
For one, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter a.k.a.
now X, that is one thing.
You've also got SpaceX and a potential IPO.
Don't hold your breath on that one.
Elon Musk doesn't like public companies.
He's been very vocal about that.
But we will see if investors have a different say.
And, of course, there's two mystery products, where they've got 300 million and 700 million of those marked off for their global electric fleet coming forward.
BRIAN SOZZI: And Brad, I'm still rereading the note that Adam Jonas, longtime Tesla bull, put out from Morgan Stanley on yesterday, really bringing up a good point.
You have the stock-- you have Tesla shares really on a hot streak here, despite no new product potentially hitting the market next year.
Of course, they're going to make more Cybertrucks.
Maybe, they teased that new product you mentioned.
Maybe, they continue to improve the interiors in their cars, which to me, are just not where they need to meet.
But no new product from Tesla, can they make their-- can they make their numbers in terms of sales and profits in a year, where they're not coming out with something?
I don't know.