Dave Lee on Investing

I address the idea of requiring Elon Musk spend a certain number of hours per week on Tesla. I also critique the idea of required the Tesla board to oversee Elon Musk's political activity. Elon has proven himself over and over to be one of the greatest innovators and value-creators of all time. Yet some people want the Tesla Board to micromanage his hours and police his outside activity. This would be a terrible mistake. You don't babysit Elon. You treat him like an adult and give him performance-based compensation tied to long-term ambitious milestones (like market cap, revenue/profit, etc). And then expect him to knock it out of the park like he's done with every other performance-based Tesla compensation plan. Social

I took my wife on three Tesla Robotaxi rides and two Waymo rides in Austin, Texas. I learned a lot from her reaction. Social

If you're interested in Tesla Robotaxi, Tesla AI or Tesla FSD, then you ought to know about James Douma. He's probably the one person who's done the deepest public dives on Tesla FSD and Tesla AI over the years. In fact, over the past 4 years I've published 40+ videos (!) with James Douma on Tesla AI/FSD (they are all on a playlist on my YouTube channel). I first discovered James Douma a long time ago (maybe almost 8-10 years ago?) on a web forum called http://teslamotorsclub.com . Back then it was one of the only places for early Tesla owners and TSLA investors to discuss issues deeply. While I posted about investing topics, James posted about Tesla Autopilot and its hardware but in a way that was more thorough than anybody else. When I started posting YouTube videos years later, I invited him on my channel to hear his thoughts on Tesla Autopilot/FSD. It was a riveting discussion and I was surprised at how much I could learn from him. I invited him again for another interview on my channel, and once again I was floored by how much I was learning. So over the years, James has been a great resource for me (and many others) to keep pulse on what Tesla is doing with FSD and AI (and even robotics). He doesn't have his own YouTube channel. He doesn't have any paid services or subscriptions. He probably has mixed feelings about so many people knowing about him. But I appreciate his willingness over the years to be available and help the Tesla community by offering his insights and knowledge. Here's an hour+ discussion on Optimus humanoid robots with James Douma. Social

I had the chance to spend the day taking Tesla Robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas with James Douma. We discuss our experiences riding Tesla's driverless cars and the Robotaxi service, possible expansion, Waymo and competition, and more. Social

I spend two days with Emmet Peppers in Austin, Texas as we take multiple rides in Tesla's new Robotaxi service. Social

Day 3. Finished 5 Tesla Robotaxi rides, 4 Waymo rides, and 1 Uber ride. (See 39-minute edited video below.) Uber is in a tough situation. Classic innovators dilemma. Autonomous ride-hailing clearly is the future, but if Uber invites Waymo then that's working against their human drivers which will hurt Uber's recruiting ability (which they need to keep density especially in suburban areas). But if they don't welcome Waymo, then Uber is toast because people want cheaper/autonomous ride-hailing. Also, if Uber welcomes Waymo and Waymo cars increase then Waymo can just bypass Uber with their own Waymo app. Uber's only "hope" would be if multiple autonomous driving companies come online soon and Uber becomes the ride-hailing marketplace for them. But I think this is unlikely. Autonomous driving is just a really hard problem to solve, and with data and network effects. I think it's a winner-takes-most market. We'll see. But the more I take Tesla's Robotaxi, the more I think it's smoother and better than Waymo. And the more I take Waymo, the more I get pessimistic about Uber's long-term future. Social

Here's my video from Day 2 of trying out the Tesla Robotaxi network in Austin, Texas. I took a total of 5 Tesla Robotaxi rides today and also 1 Waymo ride. Social

I took 5 rides in Tesla's new Robotaxi network in Austin, Texas today. Was very impressed! Social

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Tesla is doing something fascinating. They're using their auto business as a launching pad into two massive adjacent markets: AI transport and AI labor. Social

Tesla's Q2 deliveries exceeded production by 33,000 vehicles, showing a significant increase from the previous quarter. This strong performance is likely to improve Tesla's financial margins, countering the recent downward trend and challenging the narrative that Tesla is becoming a low-margin automaker. Tesla press release for Q2 2024 delivery numbers: https://ir.tesla.com/press-release/tesla-vehicle-production-deliveries-and-date-financial-results-webcast-second-quarter-2024 Social

I chat with Emmet Peppers on the latest trends with AI, investing, Tesla, FSD, Robotaxi, Cybertruck and more. Emmet Peppers on X: https://x.com/EmmetPeppers Emmet Peppers on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodsoilinvest Emmet Peppers on web: https://goodsoilinvestment.com Social

Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot could potentially revolutionize the world with its ability to learn and perform countless physical tasks through over-the-air software updates. As AI capabilities continue to skyrocket, the usefulness of the robot will exponentially increase, driving demand for the product and allowing it to take advantage of the rapid improvements in artificial intelligence. Social

Tesla shareholders overwhelmingly re-approved Elon Musk's 2018 compensation plan and the company's incorporation in Texas at the annual shareholder meeting last week. The vote shows strong support for Musk's leadership and the company's long-term focus on Full Self-Driving (FSD) and the Optimus humanoid robot, despite short-term challenges, and opens the door for a new compensation plan that could increase Musk's voting power to push forward with his aggressive AI and robotics plans. Social

Will CyberCab be made of stainless steel? What do you think? I talk with @farzyness (Farzad Mesbahi) about: • Tesla shareholder meeting • Elon 2018 compensation plan re-approval • Texas redomestication of Tesla • FSD • 8/8 • Optimus humanoid robot Farzad Mesbahi on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@farzyness Farzad Mesbahi on X (Twitter): https://x.com/farzyness Social

AI has the potential to radically increase the value of certain companies by embedding human-level intelligence into products and services. Two key opportunities to profit from this: creating or reinventing products and services with AI, and investing in companies that are leaders in bringing AI-powered value to their offerings. However, investing in AI companies also carries risks, as the competition to bring AI into products and services will be immense. Social

Some investors argue that Tesla's potential robotaxi service should not be included in valuation models because other companies will quickly catch up once Tesla solves unsupervised FSD. However, the ride-hailing market has strong winner-takes-most dynamics, and Tesla's significant lead in generalized autonomous driving technology would give them a major advantage in establishing a dominant robotaxi network that would be extremely difficult for competitors to challenge. Social

Once Tesla releases their unsupervised Robotaxi platform will adoption be slow or fast? Social

In this video I want to focus on two specific things. First, the unique position of Tesla to make the best humanoid robot. And number two, why being first matters with humanoid robots. Social

I talk with Alexandra Merz about Tesla's upcoming annual shareholder meeting and the two main issues being voted on: 1) Re-approving the 2018 Elon Musk Compensation Plan, and 2). Redomestication of Tesla to the state of Texas. Alexandra Merz on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/TeslaBoomerMama Social

I'm joined by James Douma as we discuss Tesla's latest FSD v12 (supervised) release and how ti compares to previous FSD versions. We also dive into Robotaxi, Optimus, LLMs, and more. James Douma on Twitter, https://twitter.com/jamesdouma James Douma on AI playlist, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfibpgBinf9R7KIedEU3y-YjrA63LSKHX Social

I take to the streets of central/downtown Austin and show some amazing moments where Tesla's FSD Beta v12.3 demonstrating high driving intelligence but also show some moments of hesitation and mistake. Social

This morning, I received Tesla's FSD v12.3 software update in my car, and here's my first impressions. 1. Overall, I'm super impressed. Ride quality is much more human-like than v11 with acceleration, braking and turning all much improved. 2. Smart decisions - overall, v12.3 made better and smarter decisions in challenging situations than v11. Several places where I know v11 would have difficulty, v12.3 handled with ease. 3. v12.3 handled speed bumps perfectly. 4. Many of my rides today were flawless and exactly how a human would drive. v11 has a rigidity that is gone with v12.3. Overall, I'm quite blown away by v12.3. I was expecting a version that was comparable to v11 - better in some ways and worse in other ways. But what I've experienced (so far) is a system that feels much more confident and capable than v11. v12.3 is far from perfect and there's still a lot of work ahead for Tesla's FSD team but the end-to-end neural net approach looks like it's clearly the right approach. Social

I discuss thoughts from Tesla's Q4 2023 earnings report, shareholder letter, and Elon Musk's comments to investors. Tesla Q4 2023 shareholder letter: https://digitalassets.tesla.com/tesla-contents/image/upload/IR/TSLA-Q4-2023-Update.pdf Social

I discuss why Tesla had to do a complete rewrite of FSD and more importantly, why it should allow them to improve faster and potentially solve autonomous driving. Narrow Driving Intelligence (NDI) is an approach to autonomous driving where each unique driving challenge, or edge case, is solved individually with a specific solution or algorithm. However, this approach does not improve the vehicle's ability to handle new, unseen edge cases. On the other hand, General Driving Intelligence (GDI) aims to develop a holistic driving intelligence that can handle a variety of situations and new edge cases, much like a human driver would. It involves creating a massive neural network that learns from millions of videos of various driving situations, enabling it to intelligently navigate through situations and edge cases it's never seen before. Social

I discuss Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) Version 12, a significant rewrite of their driving software, transitioning from rule-based coding to a neural network approach. This new version is a big leap, moving from using specific rules to an end-to-end neural net. I highlight the accomplishments but also note the challenges ahead for the Tesla FSD team. Social

I discuss the rapid advancement and potential utility of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, highlighting its significant progress in hardware and future improvements in AI. I also talk about the robot's ability to learn and adapt to perform various valuable tasks. Dr Know-it-All video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHGqvR4W3MU Social

I discuss a high-risk, high-reward investment strategy focused on recognizing the potential of groundbreaking products before they impact a company's financial statements. Social

I share my thoughts on the following exchange on X: DavidSHolz: we should be expecting a billion humanoid robots on earth in the 2040s and a hundred billion (mostly alien) robots throughout the solar system in the 2060s Elon Musk: Probably something like that, provided the foundations of civilization are stable Social

I share my thoughts on a video of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot folding clothes and laundry. Social

I share my thoughts on the Cybertruck delivery event, first reviews and more. Social

I discuss my thoughts on a posslbe Tesla-xAI partnership, what it might look like, and what the implications are. Social

I discuss the latest in the OpenAI saga… this morning Sam Altman and Greg Brockman agree to join Microsoft. OpenAI appionts a new CEO, Emmett Shear (former Twitch CEO). And OpenAI employees demand board to resign. Shockingly Ilya Sutskever signs the letter as well. Social

I discuss the current OpenAI drama, firing of Sam Altman, SpaceX launch, xAI, future of AGI, Tesla and more. Social

SpaceX Starship Launch Flight 2 in person. Social

I discuss the future of Starlink IPO, the upcoming Starship Launch, and implications of Tesla's next growth wave. Social

I discuss the future of OpenAI, their new GPT-5 plans, Tesla's FSD v12 and more in this livestream. Social

My critique of the Humane AI Pin, what it shows about the need for local inference compute, and how Tesla Optimus humanoid robot is the generalized application for real world AI. Social

The most local inference + real world AI foundation model + data pipeline + humanoid robots designed for manufacturing at scale. Social

I give my take on Tesla's latest quarterly earnings - the positives and negatives, including Tesla AI, Tesla FSD, Optimus humanoid robot, next-generation vehicle, margins, 2024 guidance and more. Read Tesla's Q3 2023 shareholder letter: https://digitalassets.tesla.com/tesla-contents/image/upload/IR/TSLA-Q3-2023-Update-3.pdf Social

My take on Tesla's Q3 delivery number announcement, impact on TSLA stock price, economic outlook, and more. https://ir.tesla.com/press-release/tesla-vehicle-production-deliveries-and-date-financial-results-webcast-third-quarter-2023 Social

My take on Tesla's Q3 delivery number announcement, impact on TSLA stock price, economic outlook, and more. https://ir.tesla.com/press-release/tesla-vehicle-production-deliveries-and-date-financial-results-webcast-third-quarter-2023 Social

I'm joined by James Douma, a machine learning specialist and Tesla investor, to explore the latest developments with Tesla's FSD beta program, version 12, end-to-end neural networks, and the future of AI. James Douma on Twitter, https://twitter.com/jamesdouma James Douma on AI playlist, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfibpgBinf9R7KIedEU3y-YjrA63LSKHX Social

I'm joined by James Douma, a machine learning specialist and Tesla investor, to explore the latest developments with Tesla's FSD beta program, version 12, end-to-end neural networks, and the future of AI. James Douma on Twitter, https://twitter.com/jamesdouma James Douma on AI playlist, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfibpgBinf9R7KIedEU3y-YjrA63LSKHX Social

Thanks for your support and messages. Means a lot to my wife and I. If you need to get a message to me, send me a DM on Twitter (I usually read my DMs although I'm unable to reply to most). Social

Thanks for your support and messages. Means a lot to my wife and I. If you need to get a message to me, send me a DM on Twitter (I usually read my DMs although I'm unable to reply to most). Social

I share my key takeaways from Tesla's TSLA Q2 Earnings Shareholder Letter. Tesla Q2 2023 Shareholder Letter: https://digitalassets.tesla.com/tesla-contents/image/upload/TSLA-Q2-2023-Update.pdf Social

How close is Tesla FSD to solving autonomous driving? How close is the competition? What are the challenges? Tesla is planning to have 100 Exa-Flops of compute power to train FSD by end of next year. https://twitter.com/heydave7/status/1673307285873983488 Social

How close is Tesla FSD to solving autonomous driving? How close is the competition? What are the challenges? Tesla is planning to have 100 Exa-Flops of compute power to train FSD by end of next year. https://twitter.com/heydave7/status/1673307285873983488 Social

What is Elon Musk trying to accomplish with his X.ai startup? Does it stand a chance against OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and DeepMind? Why not just do it within Tesla? Why does it need to be separate? And will Tesla shareholders benefit from Elon's master AI plan? Social

I answer these questions in this video: What am I invested in right now? How did I know Tesla was going to be a good investment in 2012? Hasn't Tesla reached its peak valuation considering all car companies are now making electric cars? Social