Investors Unmoved by High-Flying Tesla Roadster Debut -- WSJ

By Patrick George

Elon Musk may have dazzled the internet with Thursday's gravity-defying debut of the thruster-equipped Tesla Roadster, but Wall Street was less enthusiastic on Friday.

The Musk-run automaker showed off an angular, ultra-fast sports car it says will be capable of flight via "cold-air thrusters" supposedly derived from SpaceX technology.

Yet Tesla shares are trading down more than 1%, indicating investors aren't especially moved by the long-term growth of flying vehicles from the company.

Tesla in recent years has affirmed that its future lies not in making cars, but in developing autonomous vehicles, AI and humanoid robotics. Much of the company's sky-high valuation-eclipsing dozens of other automakers put together-comes from its autonomy efforts.

However, the vast majority of Tesla's revenue comes from selling cars. An ultra-high-end car like the Roadster is expected to be expensive. (Its final price tag wasn't released, but it won't be cheap.)

"The Roadster will not move the volume or revenue needle, with production likely limited, and investors should not model it as a growth driver," wrote Yorkville Ives analyst Dan Ives in a note. "What it does is restore the brand halo at the top of the market and put a spotlight on the engineering stack" ahead of next week's third-quarter earnings.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 16, 2026 12:04 ET (16:04 GMT)