Ross Gerber, co-founder of Gerber Kawasaki, said Tesla could double sales without Elon Musk and warned investors about a potential SpaceX merger. He cited Tesla's $1.3 trillion market cap and forward PE of 150, while criticizing Musk's leadership and Full Self-Driving progress.
Tesla could double sales without Elon Musk, investor Ross Gerber said, warning on a SpaceX merger as the EV maker trades at $1.3 trillion.
"Considering the fact that my car still can't drive itself, and he's been saying it's going to drive itself for 10 years, and I've been testing full self-driving for over five years, personally, I'm so frustrated with it," Gerber, co-founder of Gerber Kawasaki, said.
Gerber said Musk had promised 20 million cars annually five years ago, but Tesla was "stuck at two million." He also criticized the Robotaxi rollout, saying "We're supposed to have cabs in all major cities right now. We don't have one cab that works."
On the merger front, Gerber said Tesla trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 150, while SpaceX trades at nearly $2 trillion with a forward PE of 80. He said Tesla shareholders "have been very loyal to Elon despite making no money for a long time" and would demand a premium in any combination.
"If Tesla right now is trading at $1.3 trillion and SpaceX is trading at almost $2 trillion, it gets complicated," Gerber said. "If SpaceX bought Tesla at the current price, it would be dilutive to SpaceX. So SpaceX shareholders get screwed."
Gerber said Musk does not want to "sell cars to the public because the public doesn't like him." He argued that if he ran Tesla's car and energy storage business, he would "double Tesla sales" by reintroducing the Model S, building a $25,000 car, and investing in marketing.
"I think Tesla would double if it wasn't involved with Elon," Gerber said.
Gerber also criticized Tesla's Full Self-Driving system, saying it "doesn't understand people waving at you" and struggles with construction zones. He noted that Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo avoids the problem by taking longer routes, which he called "annoying." He said the system could work one day, but that day was "not around the corner."
The investor said Musk was "stuck" with multiple simultaneous projects. "He's got to get Starship working, he's got to get Full Self-Driving working, he's struggling to sell cars," Gerber said, predicting an "extremely challenging" period ahead.
Gerber suggested investors focus on what Musk was investing in rather than Musk's companies directly. "Chips, equipment, build out stuff, infrastructure," he said. "Elon's a great customer, but I don't know if you want to be the investor."
The comments come as Tesla faces declining EV sales in North America, which fell 27 percent in July, and as investor Gary Black separately cautioned that Tesla's projected 200x PE ratio for 2026 gives a PEG ratio of 5.7x versus 2.4x for Magnificent 8 peers.
Gerber's remarks could pressure Tesla shares if investors weigh the implications of Musk's leadership and a potential SpaceX merger. Tesla's next major event is its Q3 delivery report, expected in early October.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
