00:00 Speaker A

Yeah, when Tesla made its 2010 public debut, it was considered a moonshot. The company had just one car on the market, the original Roadster, and plenty of skeptics. But Tesla quickly shifted into high gear, first with the Model S, then with the debut of the more affordable Model 3, which marked a big turning point in consumer adoption. Tesla wasn't just a niche luxury brand anymore, it became a mass-market EV powerhouse. Behind the scenes, CEO Elon Musk bet big, building out gigafactories around the world to scale up battery production, pioneering autopilot, Tesla's semi-autonomous driving system, years before its rivals. And the company also flipped the script on how cars are sold: no dealerships, just direct-to-consumer online sales that created a lot of hype. And it's become one of the most recognized brands on the planet. At one point, the company even became the most valuable automaker in the world, briefly joining the trillion-dollar club in 2021. But it hasn't all been smooth sailing or driving in that this case. Production delays, price cuts and rising EV competition, especially from Chinese rival BYD, have raised new questions about sales growth and margin pressure. More recently, Elon Musk has faced criticism over his erratic behavior, unpredictable relationship with the president, and distractions caused by juggling his former government role as head of Dodge alongside his other ventures, including the social media platform X. So what is next for Tesla? Well, investors are now watching for growth in Tesla's AI and robotics bets like its Dojo supercomputer, self-driving software, and even the Optimus humanoid robot, which Musk says could become more valuable than the car business itself. And according to analysts tracked by Bloomberg, many on Wall Street remain bullish. The company has 30 buy ratings, 17 holds, and 14 sells showing there's still plenty of faith in Tesla's future even amid all the challenges ahead.