“We are starting a new book”

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Even though Elon Musk’s supporters see him as a messianic figure with the power, like Steve Jobs, to distort perceptions, his ambitions often conflict with reality.

Musk has been promising self-driving cars for years, long before Tesla’s recent push into robot taxis. The extraordinary promises have not come to fruition.

After shareholders approved Tesla CEO’s impressive salary package, investors are now eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the company’s robotaxis in August.

And while Tesla’s focus on an autonomous fleet is nothing new, one thing that has changed since Musk’s predictions about vehicle autonomy is that the challenges of driverless technology are more apparent.

On the same day Tesla confirmed that its voting shareholders had lined up behind Musk, Alphabet’s (GOOG) Waymo recalled its 672 self-driving cars to reduce the likelihood of them crashing into telephone poles.

Last week, General Motors (GM) announced an additional investment of $850 million in its autonomous subsidiary Cruise to cover costs after its robotaxi service had to be shut down when one of its self-driving cars struck and dragged a pedestrian.

Self-driving companies still struggle with fundamental problems, but Musk remains committed to an autonomous future for the world’s most valuable automaker.

Investors are waiting for Musk to reveal more details about the robotaxi plans at the upcoming August 8 presentation, but it would be a mistake to think that a lackluster performance would be Tesla’s undoing.

Similar to previous events and investor calls, it is less about the details than about the story Musk can spin, the loyalty of his fans and the positive reactions of analysts that underlie a bull case thesis.

It almost doesn’t matter what the August presentation reveals about the technological progress of the robotaxi initiative. What matters more is Musk’s insistence on positioning Tesla as a company that goes beyond selling electric vehicles. Only his ability to convince people to keep thinking that way matters.

Musk’s AI game

“It’s a tough business out there,” Musk told investors at Tesla’s annual shareholder event, referring to the electric vehicle market.

Tesla is not alone in facing a decline in electric cars. Demand is cooling. And since the company cannot rely on hybrid or conventional gasoline cars, it must bear the full burden of the slowdown.

But to inspire his followers, Musk once again draws on his wealth of big promises.

“Working on Tesla Masterplan 4. It’s going to be epic,” Musk said Monday on his social media platform X.

The story goes on

A look back at Tesla’s three previous plans – which involved mass production of electric vehicles and laying the foundation for global electrification – reveals a history of ambitious and even inspiring proposals.

As with most of Musk’s statements, some details have yet to be confirmed. For example, the plan proposed in 2016 to “let your car earn money for you when you’re not using it” has not yet been implemented.

But reaching for the stars just to reach the moon is an achievement in itself. And Tesla’s loyal supporters point out – perhaps rightly – that by setting “honest goals,” Musk has provoked the entire auto industry to aggressively develop electric vehicles and move society forward, even if Tesla’s core electric vehicle business is currently under pressure.

At Tesla’s shareholder meeting this month, Musk also talked about the potential of Optimus, the company’s humanoid robot, to be the next big thing.

“I think Optimus has a $25 trillion market cap. It’s a tremendous amount of work to get there, but we’re moving very quickly down that path,” Musk said at the shareholder presentation.

“We are not just starting a new chapter for Tesla; we are starting a new book,” Musk said.

Not the first time. And probably not the last time either.

Hamza Shaban is a reporter for Yahoo Finance covering markets and economics. Follow Hamza on Twitter @hshaban.

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