Published in 2016, Elon Musk’s “Master Plan, Part Deux” proposed the idea for the Tesla Network, essentially an automated version of Uber that would be operating in a world after both technical autonomy is achieved and government regulations allow for the driverless operation of vehicles.
There is a long-standing argument about whether Tesla is a car company or a tech company. This argument is typically made in the context of how Wall Street should value the company. If Tesla is just a new kind of carmaker, it should be valued at something significantly less than its annual revenue — maybe 25% to 50%, like Ford and GM. Alternatively, if Tesla is a tech company, then it could be valued significantly higher. Google, for example, is trading at about 6 times its revenues today, Facebook at 8, Microsoft at 9, and Salesforce at 10 times. Tesla trades at around 3 times its revenues with some profits, while Uber and Lyft trade around 4 times revenues and have never been profitable.
Prior to its new “Pickup Truck” unveil on Thursday night, Tesla had built up an impressive amount of anticipation across Tesla fanatics and the car industry alike.
Speculation was rampant. Actual knowledge of the truck’s details, however, was bone dry.
