Kathy Wood, Tesla 2026 Outlook... "Robotaxi value begins to materialize"

Kathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, emphasized in an interview with CNBC on the 16th (local time) that the view of Tesla solely as an automaker is no longer appropriate; Tesla is transforming into a technology company centered around robotaxi.

She acknowledged that the electric vehicle sales environment “is facing challenges in itself,” but also stated that market focus has shifted to other areas.

Kathie Wood explained, “The market is increasingly paying attention to the opportunities in robotaxis,” “Although Tesla’s profit margins in automotive hardware are relatively low, around 15%, robotaxis are closer to a SaaS model that generates recurring revenue, with profit margins reaching 70-80%.”

She said, “As analysts begin to understand Tesla’s development direction, they no longer see Tesla as just an automaker but as a tech company,” and added, “Perhaps automotive analysts are re-evaluating the model together with tech analysts,” “In this process, understanding of Tesla’s stock has also become deeper.”

Regarding the speed of autonomous driving adoption, she believes it may be faster than market expectations. Kathie Wood stated, “The expansion speed of Tesla’s service areas is far faster than many people’s expectations.”

When mentioning competition with Waymo, she commented, “In some areas like Texas, the service regions of the two companies have actually started to overlap,” “Competition is a positive factor in accelerating technological development.”

She also predicted, “If autonomous driving legislation can be promoted at the federal level rather than at the state level, the adoption speed of robotaxis will be even faster.”

Regarding the humanoid robot Optimus, she showed a more cautious attitude. Kathie Wood explained, “Getting the Optimus robot fully operational is about 200,000 times more difficult than robotaxi,” “This won’t happen overnight but will require gradual improvements through multiple stages.”

Nevertheless, she emphasized, “Robots already performing grasping, handling, and loading operations in logistics sites are indeed creating meaningful changes,” highlighting the overall long-term potential of robotics technology.

Kathie Wood stated, “Tesla is not just an automaker but a technology platform expanding into autonomous driving, robotaxis, and robotics,” “From this perspective, the growth potential toward 2026 remains valid.”