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Conway Gittens: I’m Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
The Dow and the S&P 500 could once again reach new highs Friday. Wholesale inflation was flat in September, while prices were up 1.8 percent from a year ago. Earnings were also market friendly. Two of America’s biggest banks - JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo - both topped quarterly estimates.
Related: Tesla drops bombshell ahead of anticipated robotaxi event
In other news - Elon Musk finally let the world see the robotaxi he’s been talking about for years - and well…..the early reviews are underwhelming.
Ever the showman, as well as one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time, Musk used a Warner Bros movie lot to show off a prototype of what is now being called the Cybercab. This version was a sleek, silver, two-seater without the familiar steering wheel or pedals of a traditional car.
And that’s where the criticism comes in. Tesla experts described the unveil as high on style and low on substance. For one thing, there was no mention of artificial intelligence. In the few details that were offered, Musk plans to sell the Cybercab for less than $30,000, with planned production to start before 2027. Besides a lack of detail on how AI will be used in the car, experts point out that according to Musk’s admission, the Cybercab may not be fully capable of autonomous driving when the first keys are handed over.
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Along those lines, Musk said the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y should have unsupervised full self-driving capabilities in Texas and California some time next year. Musk often exaggerates with his timelines.
But he is a futurist - you can’t take that away from him. He showed off a drink-mixing, dancing humanoid robot and a so-called robovan. Both pointed to the future, but did little to address this question: how is Musk going to stop his EVs from losing market share in the here and now?
That’ll do it for your Daily Briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Conway Gittens with TheStreet.
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