Elon Musk reshapes Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) mission to focus on AI and humanoid robots. Wall Street is divided in joy and sorrow.

Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) has recently updated its strategic direction to investors, emphasizing that it will no longer be a traditional car manufacturer in the future, but will fully shift towards autonomous driving, Siasun Robot&Automation, and energy business. The market has given a short-term positive response to its "repositioning" narrative. Tesla, Inc. CEO Elon Musk stated that the company has revised its mission with the goal of achieving "amazing prosperity." He emphasized that artificial intelligence and Siasun Robot&Automation will become the core of Tesla, Inc.'s future, rather than pursuing larger car sales volumes. This means that Tesla, Inc.'s long-term value will depend more on the realization of autonomous driving and Siasun Robot&Automation ecosystem. To drive this strategic transformation, Tesla, Inc. expects its capital expenditures to exceed $20 billion by 2026. The company disclosed plans to stop the production of Model S/X vehicles and repurpose the Fremont factory capacity as an Optimus humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation production base. The long-term goal is to achieve an annual production capacity of up to 1 million units, but meaningful scaled production may not be achieved until after the end of 2026. Musk also highlighted the upcoming launch of the Cybercab autonomous driving taxi. This vehicle will feature a design without a steering wheel, with production expected to start around April this year. Tesla, Inc. will also introduce an automatic driving ride-hailing service without the need for safety drivers, planning to initially operate in some cities, further strengthening the timeline for the commercialization of Robotaxi by Tesla, Inc. Additionally, the company mentioned that it is advancing its self-developed AI5 chip, and does not rule out building a local "Terafab" semiconductor factory in the U.S. to reduce long-term chip supply dependency and political risk from GEO Group Inc. These statements show that Tesla, Inc. is trying to position itself as an AI hardware and intelligent manufacturing platform rather than just an electric vehicle company. In the context of high capital expenditures, Morgan Stanley has lowered its target price for Tesla, Inc. to $415. Analyst Andrew Percoco pointed out that the company will face significant free cash flow pressure in the next few years, with an estimated free cash flow consumption of $8.1 billion in 2026, narrowing to $500 million in 2027, and turning positive again in 2028. Morgan Stanley's valuation breakdown shows that network services, travel services, energy, and humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation businesses will have a greater weight in long-term valuation. RBC Capital continues to maintain an optimistic stance on Tesla, Inc., with an "outperform" rating and an unchanged target price of $500. Analyst Tom Narayan stated that the increase in capital expenditure aligns with market expectations and will drive Tesla, Inc.'s innovation path. The clear introduction timeline for Robotaxi also provides investors with more specific catalysts. Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois gave a relatively tepid assessment, maintaining a "hold" rating and a target price of $300. He noted that the company's future outlook lacks specific data support, and apart from the plan for high capital expenditures of up to $20 billion in 2026, the rest of the business goals remain vague. Multiple missed release points may once again weaken market confidence in profitability, despite the company still having around $44 billion in cash reserves. Meanwhile, Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin believes that Tesla, Inc. is currently in a phase of multiple overlapping catalysts, and recommends investors to buy on weakness in stock prices, as valuation will mainly depend on the market's early discounting of its future service market space and profitability.