Morgan Stanley analyst: Regarding Tesla, this is the most important sentence from Musk, related to Xiaomi YU 7

After this week's "defending Tesla at all costs," another statement from Musk reveals key information about the company's future development.

Recently, Musk clearly stated in an interview with CNBC:

"In the long run, the only thing that matters is autonomous driving and Optimus."

However, Morgan Stanley's latest report reveals a potential game-changing new competitor—Xiaomi YU7.

According to news from the Wind Trading Platform, Morgan Stanley released a research report on the 21st, stating that observing the design and specifications of Xiaomi YU7 will be very enlightening for Tesla. The Xiaomi YU7 looks like a Ferrari or Aston Martin SUV, but is priced similarly to a Toyota Camry.

The emergence of YU7 not only provides consumers with more choices but also brings unprecedented pressure to Tesla. This raises a key question: Should Tesla continue to launch more traditional steering wheel electric vehicles, or should it focus on cutting-edge technologies such as autonomous driving and robotics?

Launching Unsupervised Robotaxi in 40 Days! Austin First, Expansion Imminent

Morgan Stanley pointed out that Musk confirmed in the interview that a fully autonomous Cybercab will be launched in Austin, Texas, within 40 days, stating, "We have thousands of cars being tested."

Although the initial deployment scale is very small (only 10 cars in the first week), Musk expects "it could reach 1,000 cars within a few months," and will then expand to cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Antonio.

This aligns with Morgan Stanley's expectations that Tesla will prioritize deploying services in "Tesla-friendly states" such as Texas, Nevada, California, and Florida, ultimately forming a high-capacity hub network connecting city centers, airports, and intercity routes. This "hub-and-spoke" network model has enormous potential.

The Importance of Federal Standards and the "Vision First" Strategy

Musk emphasized a major disadvantage the U.S. faces in the field of autonomous driving—the lack of federal autonomous driving standards. He stated:

"It will be very important to establish a unified national regulation for autonomous vehicles."

The report mentioned that Tesla may open FSD licensing to other major automakers. Although Morgan Stanley's team does not expect FSD licensing to be as significant as it was a few years ago, it remains a potential collaboration opportunity worth noting.

Additionally, Tesla insists on a "vision-first" approach to autonomous driving technology. Musk believes that multi-sensor systems can easily cause confusion, leading to accidents:

"We find that when there are multiple sensors, they often confuse each other. So do you trust the camera or do you trust the lidar? If you feel confused... that's the reason that could lead to accidents."

Tesla Faces New Challenges, Xiaomi YU7's Cost-Effectiveness Highlights

Tesla is facing new challenges in the competitive landscape of the electric vehicle market. The report mentions that the YU7 model launched by Xiaomi, with its excellent cost-performance ratio, is becoming a strong competitor in the market.

"It looks like a Ferrari or Aston Martin SUV, but is priced similarly to a Toyota Camry."

Morgan Stanley believes that in the face of competitors like the Xiaomi YU7, Tesla may find itself at a disadvantage in market competition if it continues to insist on launching more traditional electric vehicles with steering wheels.

"Ask yourself whether Tesla is better suited to launch more electric vehicles with steering wheels."