Tesla peppered its latest earnings call with pledges to launch commercial robotaxi operations soon, with CEO Elon Musk promising that autonomous vehicles will "move the financial needle in a significant way" by late next year.

Most bullish investors and analysts tie the bulk of Tesla's stock value to its plans for a massive robotaxi and autonomous-driving subscription business. Now is the time for "the fundamental inflection" that "we're all hoping for," said Blake Anderson, associate portfolio manager at Carson Group, a Tesla investor.

An early Tesla investor argued Wednesday that Elon Musk’s “abhorrent” political views have plummeted the brand’s reputation to a low point he won’t be able to save. Ross Gerber, the CEO of an investment management company who claims to have been involved with Tesla for over a decade,