Tesla (TSLA) gave retail investors plenty to chew on last week, according to a Stocktwits roundup: a long-promised Roadster prototype with SpaceX thrusters, and a weekend post from Elon Musk saying robots and robotaxis will make up most of the company's future value. Third-quarter results land on Oct. 21, so the next few days are where the talk meets the numbers.
The Roadster, with caveats
Tesla unveiled its redesigned Roadster prototype at SpaceX's rocket test site in McGregor, Texas, fitted with thrusters developed by SpaceX. Stocktwits says Tesla claimed the car could reach 60 mph (97 km/h) from a standstill in under a second, and TechCrunch reports the same one-second figure. Fox News adds that the claim is unverified by independent testing, and that Tesla's own wording for the top Rocket version is "under 0.59 seconds". It is a company claim for a prototype either way.
The fine print matters. Production is planned for 2028, and the rocket-thruster version is not approved for public roads, per Stocktwits and Bloomberg News. Fox notes that Tesla originally promised deliveries in 2020, and that the company says it cannot guarantee when a car will be delivered, or whether it will be delivered at all. A 2028 date is a promise, not a schedule you can plan around.
Musk points past the cars
Musk replied on X late Saturday, Oct. 17, Pacific time, to a fan account called Teslaconomics, writing: "Optimus and Cybercab will be the vast majority of Tesla's value." Stocktwits places the post on Sunday, but the report that quotes it gives the Saturday night timing, so we've followed that. Musk gave no figures to back it up, and the same report says he didn't explain what he meant by "K2" when he listed what can scale "to incredible size". It is a pitch that leans on AI and robotics rather than on electric cars alone. It is also a statement of ambition: the coverage we read gives no production figures or launch dates for either product.
What to expect on Oct. 21
Tesla has said it will post results after the market closes on Oct. 21, with a live webcast at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. Analysts, according to Fiscal.ai data as relayed by Stocktwits, expect earnings of $0.45 per share on revenue of $28.1 billion. Those are consensus estimates, not Tesla guidance.
Stocktwits says the stock fell 7.3% over the week despite the Roadster show, and that sentiment among retail traders on its own platform cooled from bullish to neutral. Stocktwits is itself a retail-trading platform, so treat that reading as colour rather than a verdict.
Listen for whether Tesla puts any dates or volumes behind Optimus and Cybercab, and whether the Roadster gets a price. None was announced at the reveal, though reservation deposits run from $50,000 to $250,000 depending on the version. Do you buy the idea that robots will outweigh cars at Tesla, or does the car business still carry the story?
Sources
- 1.AAPL, TSLA, NFLX, GME, RKLB: Why Retail Traders Couldn’t Take Their Eyes Off These Stocks Last Week · Stocktwits
- 2.Tesla reveals SpaceX-powered Roadster that flies and falls with style · TechCrunch
- 3.Tesla Roadster flies and flips in dramatic SpaceX-powered unveiling · Fox News
- 4.Tesla launches Roadster at SpaceX site in latest merger hint (Bloomberg News report) · Transport Topics
- 5.Elon Musk: Optimus, Cybercab Will Be Most of Tesla's Value · Tesla North
- 6.Tesla announces the date and time for the Q3 2026 earnings call live webcast · Tesla Oracle
Reported by the WattsUpNext desk from the sources linked below. Spot an error? Tell us at corrections@wattsupnext.com.
The WattsUpNext Brief
Get stories like this in your inbox.
One email each weekday, only the topics you choose. Real news, sourced, no fluff. Unsubscribe in one click.
