Cathie Wood, Ark Invest’s CEO and CIO, suggested that Tesla Motors is no longer just an auto company during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box. She said that while the EV sales environment has been under pressure, investor focus is increasingly shifting toward the “robotaxi opportunity.”
Asked where Tesla stands today, Wood said, “We’re moving from 15% gross margins in autos, the hardware, to more of a SAAS model where robotaxis’ recurring revenue model—those margins are more in the 70s and 80s. And I think as analysts understand that that’s where Tesla is going, and they start building in the model for robotaxis.” She added, “It’s been interesting to me to see upgrades, even by some auto analysts, now that they’re beginning to understand that this is not an auto company—maybe they’re working with their tech analysts and understanding the stock a bit better.”
CNBC also pressed on what autonomous robotaxis and robots will ultimately look like and that such ambitious efforts could take a long time to reach meaningful scale. Wood responded, saying, “We’re keeping an eye on how quickly Tesla’s footprint is expanding here, and it’s expanding a lot faster, I think, than many people expected. And it’s interesting to watch Waymo as well. We draw in Texas, we draw the footprint, and they’re competing with each other. Competition is a good thing. So I think this is actually going to happen faster than most analysts think, in terms of the proliferation of robotaxis, especially if we get more federal legislation instead of just state by state.”
Tesla (TSLA) is the largest holding in Ark Invest’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK).