It might sound ludicrous, but electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) just discovered a whole new use for its Optimus robot line: crime prevention. No, we are not talking about giving robots guns and sending them out to make arrests, though that may be possible down the line. In this case, Elon Musk envisions a future in which Optimus robots follow criminals around and prevent them from committing crimes. The solution, almost as simple as it is outlandish, did not resonate with investors, and shares dropped nearly 2.5% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
Meet Your ETF AI Analyst
- Discover how TipRanks' ETF AI Analyst can help you make smarter investment decisions
- Explore ETFs TipRanks' users love and see what insights the ETF AI Analyst reveals about the ones you follow.
Apparently, Musk believes that criminals should get a free robot, which will constantly follow the criminal around and stop them from committing further crime. Naturally, this raises questions about how the robot will do such a thing. First, it suggests the robot would be practicing constant surveillance of the criminal in question, which raises serious ethical concerns in and of itself. Second, it assumes the robot has some kind of authority to act here, though to what degree is unclear.
Meanwhile, there are signs that the Optimus robot is still having serious technical issues in its development. So even before the legal and ethical issues can be addressed, the technical issues need to be handled. There is no shortage of room for Optimus robots to deliver value…but perhaps not quite as much as Tesla envisions.
The First Semi User
Meanwhile, Tesla’s Semi project—the electric hauler truck—is gaining ground, with a range of new buyers interested and even setting up pilot programs. But Tesla recently revealed who the first customer would be for the Semi, and it is none other than Tesla itself.
Tesla has apparently not been able to completely divorce itself from gas-powered semi trucks to haul equipment and the like. Thus, buying in on its own product line will allow itself to more fully separate itself from gas-powered hardware. Tesla has already been using Semi electrics to some extent, but once production goes live, it will be a major customer in its own right, reports note.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 14 Buys, 10 Holds, and 10 Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 35.54% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $382.54 per share implies 12.16% downside risk.
