Cathie Wood Sees Tesla’s Robotaxi Business Taking Off — Says This Is The Moment Investors Have Waited For

During an interview with CNBC, Wood said ARK has been buying Tesla and SpaceX shares during the recent pullback.

• Wood said ARK Invest has been using the recent correction in Tesla and SpaceX shares to increase its exposure to the companies rather than retreat from its bets on Elon Musk.
• She acknowledged that Musk could face political distractions, including potentially being called to testify, but argued that his ability to manage multiple responsibilities sets him apart.
• Wood also weighed in on Anthropic's reported plans to go public, suggesting the current turbulence in AI stocks could influence the company's eventual valuation.

ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood remains optimistic about Tesla Inc. (TSLA) despite the stock’s recent turbulence, saying the company's Robotaxi business is beginning to deliver on its promise, even as investors remain focused on Elon Musk's businesses and their exposure to political and regulatory uncertainty.

During an interview with CNBC at the UP.Summit at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, Wood said ARK has been buying Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (SPCX) shares during the recent pullback, doubling down on two of its highest-conviction investments.

Tesla shares gained more than 4% in Friday’s regular trading, while SpaceX shares surged nearly 9%.

Wood Says Tesla Robotaxis Have Hit 'Escape Velocity'

Wood said ARK Invest has been using the recent correction in Tesla and SpaceX shares to increase its exposure to the companies rather than retreat from its bets on Musk.

"We post our trades every day. So you can see we've been buying them," she said.

Wood added that Tesla and SpaceX are among ARK's highest-conviction holdings, making market corrections an opportunity to concentrate investments in companies she believes have the strongest long-term potential.

"If anything, Robotaxi has hit escape velocity delighting consumers. This is the moment we've been waiting for, so we're not worried there," Wood said. Her optimism comes despite Tesla stock tumbling more than 10% over the past week.

Wood acknowledged that Musk could face political distractions, including potentially being called to testify, but argued that his ability to manage multiple responsibilities sets him apart.

"He is a maestro at compartmentalization like no one else I've ever seen," she said.

Wood also pointed to the growing importance of SpaceX's ambitions beyond rocket launches, particularly the possibility of building data centers in orbit.

She argued that the challenges surrounding terrestrial data centers could make space-based infrastructure even more attractive. Wood also highlighted the possibility of powering these facilities using nuclear energy rather than relying exclusively on solar power.

"I think data centers in space might be a little more important now than many people might have thought," she said.

Wood Calls Anthropic's Financials 'Astonishing' Ahead Of Potential IPO

Beyond Tesla and SpaceX, Wood also weighed in on Anthropic's reported plans to go public, suggesting the current turbulence in AI stocks could influence the company's eventual valuation.

Discussing speculation that Anthropic could command a valuation between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion, Wood said the current market environment might push it toward the lower end of that range.

However, she believes the company's financial performance deserves considerably more attention.

"If you look at the S-1 that Anthropic published... the numbers are astonishing," Wood said.

She highlighted the company's strong revenue growth and, more importantly, its operating profitability. According to Wood, Anthropic is using approximately 75% of its computing power for training, a significant expense, while still managing to remain profitable.

"I don't think people understand quite how provocative that is," she said.

Wood also connected AI's financial potential to a broader productivity boom, pointing to recent U.S. economic data showing annualized productivity growth of 3.7% and unit labor costs declining 0.7%.

She believes this could mark the beginning of the productivity revolution ARK has long anticipated, adding that workers could eventually share in the economic benefits of those gains.

What Retail Investors Think Of TSLA Stock

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Tesla trended in the ‘extremely bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

TSLA stock is down 20% year-to-date, while SPCX stock is down 10%. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up 10% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is up 7%.

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