Needham sees ‘uncertain’ near-medium term event path for Tesla

Needham keeps a Hold rating on Tesla following the company’s Robotaxi event last night. The event and vehicles showcased were a continuation of Tesla’s communicated focus on autonomy as the ultimate driver of long term company value, but it is also facing an “uncertain” near-medium term event path – particularly ahead of Q3 results – given the lack of introduction of an addressable-market-expanding and more traditional lower priced EV offering, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Needham adds that it sees a higher likelihood of downside risk to consensus numbers on both units and margins, further stretching valuation for a company whose gross profit dollars in the near and medium term are levered to vehicle deliveries.