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1. Tesla’s postearnings tumble was about something more ominous than an earnings miss: Elon Musk may be losing his golden touch.

2. There’s no way to sugarcoat it: Tesla’s second-quarter earnings report was lousy. This past Wednesday evening, Tesla announced a second-quarter operating profit of $398 million, down from $923 million a year ago and far below Wall Street’s expectations for $1.7 billion, according to FactSet. The $1.3 billion miss was caused by weaker pricing and a weaker vehicle mix, lower regulatory credit sales, rising costs, and higher research spending.

3. The miss, however, is the least of Tesla’s problems. Whether to buy or sell the stock has never really been a decision based on fundamentals. It has always been a bet on the future and Musk’s ability to see—and articulate—it more clearly than anyone else. But with shares down 14% after the release, the worry is that the market has started to doubt his foresight.

4. “Investors are losing patience in hype followed by a lack of follow-through,” says Future Fund co-founder Gary Black.

5. There was plenty of hype on the earnings conference call. The robotaxi business continues to see a “very high compound growth rate,” and robots will still be the “biggest product ever,” Musk said. The mercurial CEO even introduced a potential new business: the Megapod, essentially a small, modular artificial-intelligence data center with Tesla hardware doing much of the computing.

6. Wall Street doesn’t seem overly worried about Tesla’s future. No analysts upgraded or downgraded shares in the immediate aftermath of the quarter, while the average price target dropped just $8, to $392, according to FactSet.

7. The analyst community seems united in the view that Tesla is spending more now to make more down the road, and that higher spending typically squeezes profitability. Phrases like “working through a business transition,” “accelerating capex cycle necessary,” and the potential for a “transformational year” are scattered throughout reports.

8. Still, the stock dropped by about seven times the price target decline on Thursday, a sign that investor confidence is starting to wane. That would be an enormous change. Musk’s great gift has always been the ability to get credit for potential, and it’s a big reason Tesla stock trades for roughly 175 times 2026 earnings while the rest of the Magnificent Seven trade for an average of 24 times.

9. “The valuation is already saying that investors are paying less attention to vehicle deliveries and more attention to whether high-margin software, autonomy, power, and eventually robot revenue arrive quickly enough to offset structurally lower auto margins,” says Bill Birmingham, managing director at Rex Shares.

10. The solution is easy: Musk needs to show results. He has done so in the past. Tesla has sold almost 10 million electric vehicles over its history, and 1.5 million people pay for the company’s Full Self Driving, or FSD, driver-assistance product. Now, Tesla needs more robotaxis more than operating income, or humanoid robots that will become the next high-margin revenue stream—something, anything, that will restore Musk’s narrative-shaping power to full strength.

11. “We have walked this Tesla tightrope before,” says Canaccord analyst George Gianarikas. He still rates Tesla stock Buy, though his price target did drop by $40, to $410, after earnings. “History has taught us, betting against Elon Musk is usually a fool’s errand.”

12. Shareholders better hope that history repeats.

Questions (choose the best answer for each)

1. What is the main concern raised in the passage about Tesla?A. The company missed its earnings target by a small margin.B. Tesla's vehicle deliveries have declined significantly.C. The market has started to doubt Elon Musk's ability to foresee the future.D. The company is facing severe competition from other EV makers.

2. Which of the following is TRUE about Tesla's second-quarter earnings according to paragraph 2?A. Its operating profit dropped by more than half compared with a year ago.B. Its operating profit of $1.7 billion exceeded Wall Street's expectations.C. The earnings miss was mainly caused by higher regulatory credit sales.D. The company reported a net loss for the quarter.

3. The word "sugarcoat" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.A. sweetenB. disguiseC. exposeD. emphasize

4. What does the wide gap between Tesla's stock drop and the average price target decline indicate?A. Analysts have largely upgraded their ratings on Tesla.B. Investors have completely lost interest in Tesla's future plans.C. Investor confidence in Musk's vision is beginning to weaken.D. The stock price is now more aligned with fundamental valuations.

5. What is George Gianarikas's attitude toward Tesla's future as expressed in the last paragraph?A. Deeply pessimistic and advising investors to sell.B. Cautiously optimistic, believing that betting against Musk is unwise.C. Neutral, with no clear opinion on the stock.D. Highly skeptical, questioning Musk's past achievements.

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