Former hedge-fund manager Whitney Tilson isn’t shy about his bearish outlook on Tesla TSLA, -5.22% . In fact, it feels like a bit of an obsession.
Tilson calls his decision to cover his short in 2014 “one of the biggest mistakes long or short of my investment career,” and, earlier this year, he predicted the stock would finish 2019 under $100 — so far so good on that particular vision.
Now he’s out with another anti-Tesla missive.
‘Elon’s claims are FAR from being reality.’ Whitney Tilson
“Tesla is a zillion miles from Musk’s promise of Level 5 by the end of this year and a fleet of a million robotaxis by the end of next year,” he said in an email to investors that was posted on ValueWalk.
“Level 5” is basically the point at which cars are capable of driving themselves anywhere, under any conditions, with no limitations. Of course, none of those cars are on the road currently, and critics are doubtful we’ll see them anytime soon.
In fact, Tilson is so confident that it won’t happen he says he’s willing to wager anybody who thinks otherwise. What’s more, he’s willing to bet $10,000 that Musk doesn’t even come within a year of either of those promises.
“Elon’s claims are FAR from being reality,” he said, pointing to this video to show how behind he believes Tesla is on its vision of reaching Level 7.
“If you don’t have the time to watch it, I’ll summarize it for you: Autopilot is LAUGHABLY BAD,” Tilson wrote. “The driver had to intervene dozens of times — every few seconds, it seemed — to avoid MAJOR accidents.”
Tesla shares on Monday touched their lowest level since January 2017, with trade-war fears gripping the broader market, and were poised to extend their losing streak to a fifth straight session, down 11% in the period and more than 30% this year.
