“Finally, the future will look like the future” : this is how Elon Musk greeted, at the end of November 2023, in Austin (Texas), the launch of the Cybertruck, a steel monster released from Tesla factories and sold for 80,000 dollars (73,000 euros). Released years late, it is very difficult to produce due to its unpainted stainless steel body. It received a mixed reception, while videos of the futuristic vehicle struggling in the snow circulated on social media. In reality, the future of the firm undoubtedly lies elsewhere, as the magnate recalled on Monday January 15, who intends “make Tesla a leader in artificial intelligence [IA] and robotics ».
For years, it has been said that its cars, developed in Silicon Valley and not in Detroit, the cradle of the automobile, are “iPhones on wheels”. Elon Musk intends to lead his group beyond the electric car, even if the path to get there is very chaotic. The company has promising assets, such as its charging stations and batteries, that can make the automaker a leader in electricity storage. Its boldest new ambition lies in driverless driving and AI. “You don’t seem to understand that Tesla is not one start-up, but a dozen start-ups”also launched Mr. Musk on January 15.
It is this young growth spirit which justifies the valuation of the company. The stock may have lost half of its value since its peak in fall 2021, but it has nevertheless gained 80% in one year. Above all, the manufacturer is worth 700 billion dollars, or seventy years of profits, compared to 260 billion dollars for Toyota and 11 billion dollars for Renault.
Many obstacles
To an analyst who believed that the company was overvalued, having nothing that Toyota did not have, Elon Musk replied: “He has the wrong frame of reference. Tesla is a robotics and artificial intelligence company. » In fact, the billionaire, who was one of the co-founders of OpenAI, the creator of the conversational robot ChatGPT, financed by Microsoft, is launching into AI, despite his initial reluctance. “I think we have to be very careful in [la] matter (…) With [elle]we summon the demon »declared this science fiction buff in 2014.
The obstacles are numerous. In December 2023, the American regulator forced Tesla to recall two million vehicles to be certain that its Autopilot, capable of braking and turning the steering wheel, did not diminish the driver’s attention. But the investments are massive, facilitated by the fact that the group does not advertise its vehicles, unlike its competitors. In the summer, Mr. Musk revealed that the manufacturer planned to spend more than $1 billion by the end of 2024 on a supercomputer called Dojo and intended to promote the development of driverless car technology.
You have 50% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.