Lipstick on a pig
Musk’s Tesla brand is becoming toxic. The unsold cyber trucks are accumulating in large lots. Sales of Tesla sedans have slumped, partly because Musk himself is a toxic brand and partly because of competition.
Looks like Musk is crying “uncle.”
“Elon Musk, who turned an upstart electric vehicle maker into an industry-changing powerhouse, is pulling the plug on the two models that helped get him there, as he struggles with another quarter of declining profits and car sales.
“He announced the end of production of two models – the Model S and Model X, among the company’s most expensive models, on a Wednesday earnings call. Instead, the company will use that factory space to build humanoid robots instead.
“And he seemed to suggest that selling electric vehicles, which Tesla helped to introduce to the global mass market, would soon be an afterthought for the company.”
Musk says Tesla will pivot to robotaxis:
“Musk predicted the Cybercab, a two-seat self-driving “robotaxi” vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals, will eventually be sold in numbers “several times more” than all Tesla’s other vehicles combined.
“But Tesla’s robotaxi service is still not in wide operation, using Tesla employees as “safety monitors” in the cars while other companies offer true driverless rides in far more cities. Meanwhile, the company’s EV sales and profits, which it still depends upon for the cash to fund its ambitious autonomous and AI future, continue to decline.
“Tesla said Wednesday that its adjusted income fell 16% during the last three months of 2025. Its net income tumbled further, plunging 61% in the quarter and 46% for the year, or a $3.3 billion decline.
“The company posted its biggest year-over-year sales volume drop ever in the fourth quarter and by far the biggest drop in annual sales at a company that at once been growing at nearly a 50% pace.”
The Chinese are eating his lunch on EVs and Waymo is far ahead on deployed robotaxis. Time to take the capital losses, peeps.
Time to dump Tesla?
Looks like Musk is crying “uncle.”
“Elon Musk, who turned an upstart electric vehicle maker into an industry-changing powerhouse, is pulling the plug on the two models that helped get him there, as he struggles with another quarter of declining profits and car sales.
“He announced the end of production of two models – the Model S and Model X, among the company’s most expensive models, on a Wednesday earnings call. Instead, the company will use that factory space to build humanoid robots instead.
“And he seemed to suggest that selling electric vehicles, which Tesla helped to introduce to the global mass market, would soon be an afterthought for the company.”
Musk says Tesla will pivot to robotaxis:
“Musk predicted the Cybercab, a two-seat self-driving “robotaxi” vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals, will eventually be sold in numbers “several times more” than all Tesla’s other vehicles combined.
“But Tesla’s robotaxi service is still not in wide operation, using Tesla employees as “safety monitors” in the cars while other companies offer true driverless rides in far more cities. Meanwhile, the company’s EV sales and profits, which it still depends upon for the cash to fund its ambitious autonomous and AI future, continue to decline.
“Tesla said Wednesday that its adjusted income fell 16% during the last three months of 2025. Its net income tumbled further, plunging 61% in the quarter and 46% for the year, or a $3.3 billion decline.
“The company posted its biggest year-over-year sales volume drop ever in the fourth quarter and by far the biggest drop in annual sales at a company that at once been growing at nearly a 50% pace.”
The Chinese are eating his lunch on EVs and Waymo is far ahead on deployed robotaxis. Time to take the capital losses, peeps.
Time to dump Tesla?
“use that factory space to build humanoid robots instead”
Is there a demand for humanoid robots? Now, today, to replace cars that would have been built?
@Jane,
Sure. Shut-ins, elderly in supported living and in nursing homes are obvious places where humanoid robots could do the work of humans tirelessly and more cheaply.
There’s very little demand for humanoid robots that cost tens of thousands of dollars and don’t work. Demonstrations of the “capabilities” of the Optimus robot have been faked, with robots actually being remote-controlled by human operators behind the scenes. In reality, Musk’s robots struggle to stay standing up or walk without falling over, never mind do anything useful.
Even if somebody someday builds a humanoid robot that can actually do the things humans ordinarily do, there’s not going to be a demand for millions or billions of them as Musk claims. I can’t think of anything I would use one for.
@Infidel,
I’m sure the military can think of plenty of uses.