Unclear regulatory path hampers scaling; valuation at ~170x 2027 EPS leads to hold.

It's got a pretty impressive pedigree in terms of its technical aspects. Whether it's the no rare earth metals that are in the 219 horsepower motor or the 48 kWh battery that can apparently deliver over 400 miles of range, which is incredibly efficient uh range level for that small of a battery.

And you know, there's no uh brake traditional brake system. It doesn't have any brake lines or hydraulic fluid. It's all being done through uh electric motors and switches right at each wheel.

So, it's clear that uh Tesla really wanted this vehicle to be ahead of the game in terms of its technical pedigree in ter and and that would enable it to have very efficient range and hopefully lower cost, lighter weight, all the things you want from any vehicle.

But this vehicle seems to be well ahead of the average electric vehicle out there now.

But the bigger question is here, can Tesla safe enough to operate without a steering wheel, without pedals? I think it also doesn't have any mirrors because there's no driver. I mean, how are you looking at at this as a truly scalable option now that we also have a federal investigation underway?

Sure. I mean, the first thing is that federal safety rules currently cap their production of vehicles that lack a steering wheel and pedals at 2500 uh units per year unless the manufacturer gets a special exemption.

So, you know, as you mentioned, Tesla is attempting to self-certify. That has prompted uh this investigation by the NHTSA.

Um, you know, we saw a similar situation last year with Amazon and their Zuks. uh they attempted to self-certify NHTSA, began an investigation. Um Amazon eventually withdrew that claim and then eventually they were granted a a limited uh federal exemption for operation of the vehicle.

So um the regulatory path is is is unclear. Um and uh we think that's really going to hamper Tesla's ability to scale. uh which is really what um is the primary reason why the stock trades at such lofty multiples.

I mean you're looking at the stock here trading at uh roughly 170 times projected uh EPS for 2027. So um and I I think that's one of the reasons why we're at a hold. Um it just we we're a little skeptical how quickly the company can ramp up and expand, you know, beyond this limited geo fenced area of Austin where they're currently operating and to other markets, which is a really a key component of the valuation.

Well, it's very kind of standard Tesla and Elon, right? just kind of go his own route and we'll figure it out on our own and and everyone else will catch up to us eventually on where we're at.

I think that's his approach often. We've seen it before and here we are again.

But, you know, it's true that that until they get this approved at a level that they can do widespread use and roll out, uh, they're going to really be limited in the the functionality of these cyber caps, no matter how technologically advanced they are.

And I feel like that's kind of the the diametrically opposed, you know, or the two two worlds that we're living in right now with a lot of this technology. And Tesla's a great example.

You've got this very advanced vehicle, more advanced than a lot of electric vehicles right now. At the end of the day, you have to have fully capable, consistent, safe self-driving technology.

And the full self-driving system that are in consumer cars right now for Teslas is impressive. There's a lot of people out there experiencing amazing things.

But you can't be close or you're going to have lawsuits. You got to essentially be at the level of like airline travel in terms of flawlessness. And until we get there, any company, including Tesla, gets there, all the rest of this is kind of a, you know, just an exercise in in playing around with a a whole new kind of cultural world we can live in with self-driving cars.

But we're not there yet. And I don't know who's going to get there first. Tesla could be the first, but they might not.

Yeah, it really comes down to regulatory approval. As Carl mentioned, the potential liability is just massive. So, I think that's why you're seeing Tesla take a more cautious approach versus some of the proclamations that were made several years ago about how quickly uh fully autonomous vehicles would be available.

Uh human drivers are very safe and so that autonomous vehicle the real challenge is getting you know those final uh hundreds and thousands and 10,000th of a percent uh closer to 100% safety.

That is the real challenge and that's the phase we're in right now with autonomous vehicles is getting them where they're as safe or safer than a human driver and that's we think is probably going to take several years.

Tesla slightly higher on the session. We're up about 610 of a percent.