Deepwater advises Tesla to stay quiet about Robotaxi in 2024

Deepwater Asset Management has published its 2024 Tech Predictions, one of which was focused on electric vehicle maker Tesla’s upcoming vehicle programs. As per the firm, it would be best for Tesla to stay quiet about its Robotaxi program, as the vehicle’s expected price point could adversely affect the sales of the company’s lower-priced cars. 

Deepwater’s tech predictions have a fairly good record. In its 2023 Tech Predictions, the firm estimated that global EV sales will decline during the year, and that the Ford F-150 Lightning would outsell the Tesla Cybertruck. Both predictions came true. 

The firm posted two specific predictions for Tesla in its 2024 Tech Predictions, the first of which was related to the Robotaxi. As per Deepwater, it is in Tesla’s best interests to stay quiet about its Robotaxi due to its potential cooling effect on the company’s current vehicle lineup. 

Drumroll; Introducing Deepwater’s 2024 Tech Predictions. They include a little on AI, $AAPL, $TSLA, the market, along with a favorable IPO outlook. If you’re curious on how we did for our 2023 predictions, we got 8.5 out of 10 right which means we have room to improve. Happy New…

— Gene Munster (@munster_gene) December 27, 2023

“The Tesla Robotaxi will not be announced. In 2024, I believe its in Tesla’s best interest to stay quiet on the Robotaxi. The new vehicle’s selling ‘feature’ is its price and Tesla showcasing the upcoming vehicle would likely have a cooling effect on current low-priced Model 3 sales, a risk not worth taking in a year where EV sales will continue to muted. On top of that, the car will likely be produced in Giga Mexico which we believe won’t be operational until 2027,” the firm wrote. 

Deepwater, however, also predicted that Tesla would likely stay as the United States’ top electric car maker. This would likely be the case as conventional automakers such as General Motors and Ford are putting a damper on their respective electric vehicle investments. 

“Tesla will maintain US EV market share. While most investors expect Tesla to lose share in 2024 given they have almost 60% US market share today, we believe the company will maintain share as traditional car makers are slowing their investments in EVs,” Deepwater added. 

The firm further noted that electric vehicle sales would likely grow by about 25% in 2024. This would be down from the over 40% growth that the sector saw this year. Despite this, Deepwater expects that the EV sector’s growth will likely see another boost in 2025 amidst consumer optimism around the segment and the rollout of legitimately affordable electric cars. 

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