Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives has predicted that Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) will soon unveil a robotaxi that will significantly impact Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) and the entire industry.
What Happened: Ives suggested that Tesla's upcoming robotaxi could intensify the pressure on Uber and the industry as a whole to expedite the shift to autonomous vehicles, in a recent interview with Yahoo Finance.
Ives acknowledged Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's achievements in terms of both topline and profitability. However, he believes that Tesla's robotaxi will be a game-changer, potentially disrupting Uber's market share.
Tesla's robotaxi unveil is "really going to put more and more pressure on Uber on the overall industry to accelerate, what I ultimately view as the autonomous future," Ives said.
Ives stated that Tesla's upcoming robotaxi, led by Elon Musk, is expected to be "eye-popping."
Yahoo Finance@YahooFinance$TSLA's robotaxi unveil is "really going to put more and more pressure on Uber on the overall industry to accelerate, what I ultimately view as the autonomous future," @DivesTech says.
Why It Matters: This prediction comes at a time when Uber has been receiving positive feedback from analysts. JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth affirmed his confidence in Uber's future, citing the company's mobility expansion and efficient delivery as key factors.
Uber's recent second-quarter earnings report also showed a 16% year-on-year revenue growth, with its Mobility revenue increasing by 25%.
However, this is not the first time that Tesla's autonomous vehicle plans have been met with skepticism. In a previous interview, bearish Tesla analyst Gordon Johnson argued that Tesla's stock was overvalued, and its autonomous vehicle plans were not as advanced as Musk claimed.
Price Action: Uber stock closed at $64.87 on Tuesday, marking a significant gain of 10.93% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock slightly dipped 1.16%. However, year to date, Uber has seen an overall increase of 11.12%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.