Cathie Wood's Recent Tesla Buying: A Closer Look at Her Robotaxi Strategy

Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management has been aggressively buying Tesla (TSLA) shares, with recent purchases totaling 318,275 shares across several ETFs. Wood is bullish on Tesla's autonomous driving and robotaxi business, with a long-run price target of $2,600 per share. The move is seen as a long-term bet on Tesla's potential to scale its robotaxi operation and disrupt the AI landscape.

Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management has been aggressively acquiring Tesla (TSLA) shares, with recent purchases totaling 318,275 shares across several ETFs. This move underscores Wood's bullish stance on Tesla's autonomous driving and robotaxi business, with a long-run price target of $2,600 per share. The investment is seen as a long-term bet on Tesla's potential to scale its robotaxi operation and disrupt the AI landscape.

Wood has been a strong supporter of Tesla, and her recent buying activity suggests she remains optimistic about the company's AI pursuits, particularly its robotaxi business. In a June interview on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Wood described Tesla as "the largest AI project on earth," highlighting the potential for autonomous taxi networks to generate between $8 trillion and $10 trillion in global revenue within the next 5–10 years [1].

Tesla's AI ambitions are not without challenges. The company faces increased competition from the likes of Waymo and Uber Technologies. Additionally, Musk's aggressive timeline of serving half the U.S. population with autonomous ride-hailing by the end of 2025 is seen as ambitious, given regulatory hurdles and Musk's history of deadline misses [2].

Despite these challenges, Wood's investment strategy is rooted in long-term growth potential. She is optimistic that Tesla's robotaxi business will scale meaningfully during the second half of 2025, finally bearing fruit for the company as it transitions from a traditional automaker to a technology business [2].

Valuing Tesla stock is complex, as it sits at the intersection of car manufacturing, energy storage, AI, robotics, and software. While the company's P/E multiple has expanded despite decelerating profitability, investors should monitor Tesla as it scales its robotaxi business. It will take time before AI begins to move the needle for the company from a financial perspective [2].

References:
[1] https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/25/08/46819258/elon-musk-agrees-with-cathie-wood-tesla-is-largest-ai-project-on-earth-amid-robotaxi-vision-samsung-chip-deal-buzz
[2] https://www.fool.com/investing/2025/08/09/does-cathie-wood-know-something-that-wall-street-d/