“A Giant Metal Box” Powers Tesla Ambitions, Tesla Stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) Slips in Response

Electric vehicle giant Tesla TSLA -1.06% ▼ , when you get right down to it, is less an electric vehicle titan and more a battery titan. Calling an electric vehicle a battery on wheels is not that far out of line, even if it is a bit reductive. But those batteries are paving the way for a whole new play at Tesla, and one that might elevate the Tesla battery to true “secret weapon” status. Investors seemed skeptical, and Tesla shares slipped fractionally in Thursday afternoon’s trading.

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Tesla, noted a report from The Atlantic, is eyeing the field of data centers with clear relish. Data centers are notorious as power hogs, and getting all those extra kilowatts to them will require serious infrastructure operations. Many are looking to solar power to do the job, another point in Tesla’s favor. But solar is notoriously unreliable, dropping out of the picture with every cloud or after sunset. Thus, Tesla’s batteries step in once again, providing those same kilowatts regardless of sun exposure.

And while the government hurt Tesla in one way—removing incentives to buy electric cars—it helped in another, proving eager to encourage American business. With Chinese batteries currently leading the way, the United States needs a presence in that market. And Tesla is a ready-made alternative. Tesla needs steady revenue to bridge the gap between electric cars and robots, and batteries may be just the ticket.

Ambitious Predictions

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also well-known for predictions, even though they seldom actually come to pass. One of the newest, though, would represent a huge win for Tesla if it came to pass: to be one of the first companies to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in humanoid form.

Optimus, Musk suggests, could ultimately become part of a von Neumann probe, which effectively serves as a device that can build new versions of itself as it goes to other worlds, then use those resources found on other worlds to build more of itself, and establish what amount to ready-made colonies. Normally, von Neumann devices are thought of as nanotechnology, but the idea that an Optimus could build another Optimus to a certain limit and then build structures for use by humans is not out of line.

Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 13 Buys, 11 Holds, and seven Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 54.09% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $399.25 per share implies 0.57% downside risk.

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