Tesla rolled out a prototype of its Optimus humanoid robot at AI Day on Friday. Optimus walked unsteadily on the stage for a dozen or so steps, made a few hand motions and a slow, swaying dance move. Video shown at the event later displayed it picking up a box and other objects in a factory, as well as using a watering can. CEO Elon Musk said the target price for the robot was under $20,000. Tesla stock fell on Friday.
Optimus is a humanoid robot that Musk has said could launch next year. In January, Musk said Optimus could help with labor shortages in factories. The robot would perform boring, repetitive tasks, Musk says.
At 5-feet-8-inches tall and 125 pounds, Optimus would resemble an average human rather than an imposing robot. It would have a top speed of 5 mph, making it easy to avoid if necessary. It will be capable of lifting 150 pounds and will use eight cameras to see its environment. Optimus would use the same computer that controls Tesla's cars.
There's a lot of skepticism that a useful, general-purpose humanoid robot is anywhere close to being a reality.
FSD 'Key To Tesla Story'
But AI Day is about more than that just Optimus. The event also included discussion about Tesla's self-driving software and its Dojo supercomputer program.
"The Street wants to see progress on this front as well as self-driving and robotaxis, with this elusive technology footprint a key part of the broader Tesla story over the next decade," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told IBD on Tuesday. "We believe FSD has seen a number of hurdles and this AI day is an important event to convince the Street this strategy is heading in the right direction."
AI Day is mainly a Tesla job fair meant to attract engineers to the company. The Sept. 30 event, which will take place in Palo Alto, Calif., is expected to provide an update on the progress of Tesla's self-driving software.
And Tesla is also likely to showcase its Dojo supercomputer platform. Dojo is Tesla's custom-built supercomputer that uses video data to train neural networks. The process is key to the company's self-driving software.
Wall Street is also looking for clues about the next quarter's financial results and details about Musk's Twitter drama.
"We think it will take a lot to divert attention away from the impending trial over Musk's proposed acquisition of Twitter," Garrett Nelson, vice president of equity research at CFRA Research, told IBD on Tuesday.
"We expect the updates to be longer-term in focus, but investors will listen for any clues regarding its Q3 results, such as whether it has been adversely affected by operational and cost issues similar to those disclosed by Ford last week."
Tesla will release third-quarter global production and deliveries in October, perhaps as early as this weekend.
Nelson added that investors will seek reassurance that Tesla's second half of 2022 volume ramp remains intact, that production at the Austin and Berlin factories continues to ramp, and more details regarding the timing of first deliveries of the Semi and Cybertruck.
Tesla Stock
Shares fell 1.1% to 265.24 on the stock market today. Tesla deliveries in China rebounded in the latest week, according to insurance registration data released Tuesday, but demand concerns remain. Tesla will likely release Q3 global deliveries this weekend.
TSLA stock is trading below its 50-day moving average, with the 200-day line just above that.
Shares of Tesla stock are in a long consolidation with a 402.73 buy point, according to MarketSmith. Investors could view the pattern as a long double-bottom base, offering a 384.35 entry.
But there's also a smaller bottoming base within the wide and loose action of the past year. That provides a much closer 314.74 buy point. With TSLA stock undercutting its recent lows, the base has a double-bottom look, offering a slightly lower 313.90 entry.
The EV giant's relative strength line is trending lower. Tesla's RS Rating is 78 out of a best-possible 99. Its EPS Rating is 77.
Among other U.S.-based EV stocks, Rivian rose 1.8% on Friday, while Lucid fell 1.5%. Tesla's China-based rival and Warren-Buffet backed BYD declined 2%. Meanwhile, Nio inched gained 1.2%, XPeng fell 1.3% and Li Auto dipped 1.5%.
Nio, XPeng and Li Auto released September and Q3 deliveries data on Saturday.
Follow Adelia Cellini Linecker on Twitter @IBD_Adelia.
