Tesla’s Robotaxi impresses; cyber and tech stocks face mixed investor views

Tesla’s Robotaxi impresses; cyber and tech stocks face mixed investor views

AI-Generated Summary

In a recent conversation about Tesla, participants discussed the company’s autonomous driving technology, with one associate praising its smoothness and maneuverability, rating it a perfect ten based on limited test drives. They expressed optimism about Tesla’s future, predicting its trillion-dollar valuation and expansion into 25-30 cities within a year. However, concerns were raised about Tesla lagging behind competitors like Waymo, especially regarding safety data and the absence of lidar. The discussion shifted to the broader tech trade, with debates on whether tech stocks still serve as safe havens amid geopolitical risks and cybersecurity threats. Top cybersecurity picks like Cyberark, Palo Alto, and CrowdStrike were highlighted as potential beneficiaries of rising tensions. Opinions diverged on software stocks, with some seeing them as undervalued and others cautious about their vulnerability. Meta was cited as a reasonably priced and resilient tech play.

📜 Full Transcript

conversation with you about Tesla a week ago. So we got to start right there. Dan, you weren’t there. Personally, I’m sure everybody was a little disappointed you weren’t there personally, but you had one of your associates and your team there. What did you make of these rides? A few vehicles in a very limited geo fenced off space. >> I mean, I thought it was extremely smooth. Everything we saw, not just from a safety perspective, maneuverability was way impressive. I thought actually better than even Waymo coming out of the gates. I mean, Frank going in, I thought it would be an eight out of ten. I think it was a ten out of ten relative to our experience, two 15 minute drives that our team had. And I think the other thing is that this is just the start, because I think a year from now, 25 to 30 cities, it speaks to this trillion dollar autonomous valuation that we believe will be for Tesla. >> So coming over to you, I mean, I’m going to take Dan’s words. It’s just a start. Other companies are ahead of it including Waymo. Also, Amazon has its own self-driving company that they’re rolling out as well. What did you make of what we saw and heard over the weekend? >> You know, I actually just saw a report that apparently people are capturing videos of them speeding, swerving into the wrong lanes. And look, I’m not a great driver. You can ask my mom, but I’m also not a computer car that’s supposed to lead a company to $1 trillion market cap. And so, you know, the whole sort of premise of robotaxis is that they are safer and more efficient than having real drivers in the car, because there’s a lot of cost to them. So, you know, is Tesla behind Waymo? Yes. I’ve lived in San Francisco for a long time, so I’ve seen almost every iteration of self-driving cars testing. I still have a lot of concerns about the fact that they don’t have lidar, that they’re not releasing a ton of safety data. Time will certainly tell. I agree with Dan that it is the beginning, but I think that the reality is that they’re pretty far behind most of their competitors. >> All right, Sarah, I’ll stick with you for a second. Let’s talk about the broader tech trade. We were showing some of the mag seven stocks pretty muted this morning. What does that say to you about the tech trade right now. Does that say that investors are not looking for a safe haven. Or do they maybe no longer see these names as safe havens? >> I think it’s really hard to find a safe haven right now, you know, and one of the risks, I think, in this sort of uncertain geopolitical environment is that if cyber warfare becomes a part of that story, some of these software names might look a little bit less safe. You can’t really bomb Microsoft, but you certainly can hack them. Right. And so I think that there’s some of that. The reality is a lot of these have been trading at relatively high multiples. There are still names I like in there I like meta, I like Nvidia. But you know, I think that it is a time of uneasiness and there’s not a lot of enthusiasm to buy into something that you’re already overweight in. >> So Dan, that leads us to the cyber trade right now. We had a guest on last week calling cyber professionals some of the most sophisticated, whether it’s defense or offense. With that in mind, do you have some top picks in the cyber space just to kind of play some of these geopolitical tensions and the potential Iranian threat? >> Yeah. Look, I think cybersecurity is going to get a huge bid today because it’s just going to give another talent. Cyberark Palo Alto, CrowdStrike. And I think Zscaler is another one. I mean, I think, look, this is just going to speak to just more talent that you’re going to see for cybersecurity plays. I also think Palantir is going to get more and more of a bid because they’re going to benefit, I think, on both sides. But I think it just shows, you know, Sara had some great points. I believe it’s actually a risk on I think you’re going to see tech is going to be on today because ultimately it’s going to be viewed as the black swan event in terms of Middle East is removed relative to weaken Iran. And that is I think that’s been a concern for investors. And I also think that what’s happened in the Middle East with, I mean, in terms of UAE and everything. >> Do you share her opinion that software names might be seen as less safe right now in this current environment? And maybe that’s why we’re not seeing as big a move in some of those big tech names like Microsoft, big software player, alphabet. >> Yeah. Look, I actually think, I mean, when it comes to software, it’s actually even more of a safety name, because when you look at names like Microsoft, you look at Oracle. I get what Sara’s home on the valuation. But I actually think these are names that have huge valuation upside. And especially given what we’re going to see, you’re going to see more and more of an appetite. And also what Sara talked about with Tesla. You look I look forward to having some barbecue with Sara down in Austin to show her the maneuverability. Actually it was actually pretty impressive. Look forward to talking with her there in Austin. >> Yeah, we’ll have to set up you guys to get some ribs and all that kind of good stuff. Sara, I want to come back over to you right now with this week, a lot of tensions, a lot of apprehension, even though we’re not really seeing in the market, but a lot of geopolitical tension. Is there one of those big tech names or even outside the Mag seven, that you see as potentially the best play? >> I like meta, I think that it is reasonably priced, and the reality is that, you know, love him or hate him, you are using zucks platforms to consume this information, right? Nobody right now is logging off. And so the real

[ad_1]
[ad_2]

Scroll to Top