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Tesla Inc TSLA has been an electric vehicle story for years. As the company’s growth objectives shift, we polled Benzinga viewers to see what the most important item for the company could be ahead.
EVs, AI, Robots and Robotaxis
Tesla reports their second-quarter financial results Wednesday after market close and similar to recent quarterly reports, the information and management commentary could be less about consumer electric vehicles and more about AI, robots and autonomous vehicles.
Benzinga asked viewers about Tesla’s future growth plans.
"Tesla Q2 earnings drop this week. What’s the most important growth driver ahead?" Benzinga asked viewers of "PreMarket Playbook" on Tuesday. “PreMarket Playbook” runs Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. ET on YouTube and is hosted by Ryan Faloona. Watch Tuesday’s episode below.
The results are:
- Humanoid Robots (Optimus Bot): 32%
- Robotaxis: 30%
- New electric vehicle models: 26%
- FSD Monthly subscriptions: 12%
While the Optimus Bot won, the poll divided Benzinga readers on humanoid robots, robotaxis and new EV models. FSD monthly subscriptions finished last in the poll with only 12%.
The fact that humanoid robots and robotaxis got 62% of the votes in the poll signals a major shift for Tesla and one that CEO Elon Musk is betting on.
Musk has said that FSD and Optimus are "the biggest factors" in Tesla achieving its Master Plan Part 4.
"80% of Tesla’s value will be Optimus," Musk tweeted previously.
“I think that’s probably correct if we execute well on autonomous transport and Optimus,” Musk said.
In June 2024, Musk also said Optimus could help Tesla hit a $25 trillion market capitalization.
Musk has placed a huge significance on Optimus for Tesla’s future. The Tesla CEO previously said Optimus "has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time," and separately that roughly 80 percent of Tesla’s future value will come from the robot program.
Tesla is expected to begin third-party sales and high-volume production of Optimus in 2027.
Tesla Q2 Earnings
Tesla has beaten analyst estimates for revenue and earnings per share in two straight quarters, but the stock price has fallen after three of the last four earnings reports with an average loss of 5% over that time.
The revenue and earnings per share continue to matter less for Tesla investors and analysts than the commentary from Musk and the future timeline for items like FSD, new vehicles, robotaxis and the Optimus Bot.
Tesla gave updates on robotaxi paid miles, robotaxi city rollouts, FSD subscriptions and a timeline on its vehicle releases during its first-quarter earnings report and conference call.
“We are excited about Tesla’s positioning in 2026 with tailwinds persisting for the auto business, our continued progress on FSD 4, the ramp of Robotaxi, progress on Optimus ahead of mass production and the growth of our energy production capacity,” the company said after first-quarter results.
The previous timeline was for the Cybercab to enter volume production "this year."
Investors will be closely watching to see the update numbers on these growth initiatives and an updated timeline on releases.
Price Action
Tesla stock is down 0.3% to $377.98 on Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $297.82 to $498.83. The company’s shares are down 13.8% year-to-date in 2026.
Photo courtesy: Rokas Tenys on Shutterstock.com
© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
This article Tesla's Hottest Growth Story? Readers Say It Walks, Not Drives originally appeared on Benzinga.com.
