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ZT: Morgan Stanley sends a blunt Tesla message to investors

(2026-08-16 01:11:48) 下一个

The spending is going up. The margins are going down. Free cash flow is negative. And a Wall Street analyst who covers one of the most closely watched stocks in the market just published a note saying the next quarter has to be different.
The note comes from Morgan Stanley. The company it covers is Tesla. Analyst Andrew Percoco has been on the Tesla account since longtime analyst Adam Jonas moved to the automotive side. His message on August 11 is direct. The long-term AI thesis is still intact. But the numbers need to start showing up, according to Investing.com.
What Morgan Stanley just told Tesla TSLA investors to watch
Percoco kept his Equal Weight rating and $415 price target on Tesla. The stock was trading around $330 at the time of publication. That puts the target roughly 26% above where the stock was sitting.The note says the second quarter earnings call did not change his long-term view. Tesla is positioned to lead in physical AI. That part of the thesis is not in question. What has changed is the urgency around proof. Weaker gross margins, higher research and development spending, and extended free cash flow burn have “sharpened our and investors' focus on measurable progress across Robotaxi and Optimus,” Percoco wrote.Percoco took over Tesla coverage from Adam Jonas, who was the face of Morgan Stanley's bull case on the stock for years. Jonas moved to the automotive side of the firm. Percoco's August 11 note is his clearest statement yet on what Tesla needs to show to move the stock higher.
FSD adoption reached a 55% attach rate on North American deliveries. Morgan Stanley had been modeling 25% to 30%. Investors noticed. It was the most constructive data point from the quarter. It also raises the stakes for Robotaxi. FSD is the foundation the autonomous strategy runs on.
Why Tesla Robotaxi needs to prove it can scale in 2026
Percoco wrote that he wants “clearer evidence that Robotaxi is scaling.” More cities is not what he is asking for. More rides per vehicle. Higher utilization. Safety standards that hold. And none of it dependent on heavy remote support or expensive hardware upgrades.Investors viewed the Robotaxi disclosures in Q2 as helpful but not enough. They want density in existing markets before they credit geographic expansion. Eight cities at low utilization is not the same business as eight cities running at high utilization. Percoco is watching the second number.
Percoco wants to see ride volume, not just city count. He wants revenue per vehicle. He wants to see what the operating costs look like relative to what customers pay. And he wants to see a network that does not depend on remote human operators or hardware swaps to function. Those numbers are not public yet.
Tesla has been expanding Robotaxi markets through 2026. Austin was the first city. Dallas, Houston, Miami and others followed. Morgan Stanley forecasts the fleet reaching 1,500 vehicles by year-end, ramping further to 30,000 by 2030. Fleet size matters less than fleet productivity at this stage of the business.What Tesla Optimus must show investors beyond production talk
On Optimus, Percoco said he is “still looking for evidence beyond commentary around SOP.” SOP means start of production. Tesla has talked extensively about when Optimus production begins. Percoco wants to see what comes after that announcement.
The commercial case for Optimus is not about whether Tesla can build a robot. It is about whether the robot works without constant human supervision. It is about what it costs to manufacture. It is about whether businesses will pay for it. None of those questions have been answered publicly.
Tesla has said Optimus is already working inside its own factories. But working inside a factory under close supervision is different from operating at scale across multiple industrial environments. Investors want to see the second version. Commercial orders and contracts from outside Tesla would be the clearest signal that the product is ready for the real world.
What Morgan Stanley is watching on Optimus:
A functioning production version demonstrated publicly rather than in controlled settings 
Evidence of operation inside Tesla's own facilities without constant human oversight 
Manufacturing cost estimates that suggest a viable commercial price point 
Customer orders or commercial contracts from outside Tesla 
A credible timeline for mass production tied to specific milestones .What Morgan Stanley's $415 Tesla target means for TSLA stock
Equal Weight is not a bearish call. Morgan Stanley sees real upside in Tesla's AI story. It just does not think the risk-reward is strong enough to push the stock as a primary buy right now. The $415 target implies roughly 26% upside from $330. That is not a small number.
The concern Percoco lays out is not about the technology. It is about the timeline between spending and results. Tesla is burning free cash flow while funding Robotaxi, Optimus, and charging infrastructure. That works if the spending visibly turns into a business. It stops working if spending keeps rising without proof of progress.
Gross margins are already under pressure. Research and development costs are up. The market will tolerate that if Robotaxi rides grow, Optimus units operate, and FSD subscriptions expand. The 55% FSD attach rate is a start. The next quarter needs more of those data points.
Morgan Stanley's note is not a warning that Tesla's AI strategy has failed. It is a checklist of what the company needs to show before the market will assign full credit for it. Investors still see meaningful upside if Tesla delivers. The question Percoco is asking is when.

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lionhill 回复 悄悄话 回复 '尊义' 的评论 :

谢谢,以后只计划在这分享
尊义 回复 悄悄话 希望狮山兄回归财富智汇。我从你那里学了很多。谢谢您爱分享的心。
lionhill 回复 悄悄话 回复 '雨女' 的评论 :

欢迎雨女光顾,SPCX确实是一个在合适的价格长持的标的, 它实际上是一个
AI公司而不是火箭公司
雨女 回复 悄悄话 其实发到这里反而可以集中阅读了。Peter Lynch 是我们的同城啊。他在Boston College 的art center 有很多捐赠。当然他也是校董。Peter 人很努力,也很聪明。对股市也很有大方向感。和狮山一样。投坛的一位网友说狮山对某个股票的趋势非常敏感而且下手迅速。我也和他一样很佩服。好像是讲Specx. 但我不了解这个股票。没碰。我老公倒是说等到100以下买一些。好像没给他机会。哈哈
lionhill 回复 悄悄话 回复 '今夜很中国' 的评论 :

多谢善意劝慰!正如您所言,身在万物中,心在万物上。论坛纷扰已过,我不准备回归了,以后会在博客继续记录与分享,祝好!
今夜很中国 回复 悄悄话 大智者必谦和,大善者必宽容,唯有小智者才咄咄逼人,斤斤计较。世态炎凉,无需迎合,人情冷暖,勿去在意。身在万物中,心在万物上,宠辱不惊,去留无意,以平常心对待无常事,盼狮山兄回归财富智汇,谢!
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