Elon Musk's longtime supporter, Cathie Wood, founder of Ark Investment Management, doubled down on her praise for the Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO. This time, she lauded the company's decision to ramp up investment in artificial intelligence.
What Happened: "At a time when many companies are bowing to short-term oriented shareholders who are demanding profits, dividends, and share repurchases NOW, #Tesla's increased investment in the largest #AI project on Earth is separating it from the auto and tech packs," Wood wrote on social media.
This post echoed remarks Musk made earlier, where he agreed with Wood's assessment of Tesla being "the biggest AI project on earth."
Consistent View From Wood: Wood's praise for Tesla's AI focus isn't new. During an early April appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box, she emphasized, "This is the biggest AI project in the world. We're in a bit of a trading range and we will be until more and more analysts and investors understand how transformative the convergence of these three technologies will be." The three technologies she refers to are robotaxis, energy storage, and AI.
Yes, at a time when many companies are bowing to short-term oriented shareholders who are demanding profits, dividends, and share repurchases NOW, #Tesla's increased investment in the largest #AI project on Earth is separating it from the auto and tech packs.
— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) April 28, 2024
Why It Matters: Tesla utilizes AI for both training and inference, crucial for perfecting its self-driving technology. Their full self-driving tech has transitioned from beta testing to a "Supervised" FSD program. Musk recently stated on X that Tesla plans to invest roughly $10 billion in a combination of training and inference AI, with the latter primarily used in cars. He added, "Any company not spending at this level, and doing so efficiently, cannot compete."
Shareholder Appeasement: Wood's remarks about companies catering to short-term shareholder demands follow Alphabet's recent announcement of its first-ever dividend. The Google parent's earnings release revealed board approval for a 20-cent per share cash dividend, to be paid on June 17 to stockholders of record on June 10.
With this move, all but two companies from the once-dominant "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks now offer dividends. Tesla and Amazon remain the holdouts. Notably, during Tesla's stock decline in 2022, pressure mounted for the company to initiate stock buybacks to counter the slide.
Tesla's Focus On The Future: While Tesla's core auto business faces significant challenges, the company appears to be placing its future bets on advancements in FSD and robotaxi technology.
Tesla ended Friday's session down 1.11% at $168.29, but was up 0.37% after the closing bell, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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Photo via WEF on Flickr