We recently published a list of 10 AI Stocks Everyone is Talking About These Days. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) stands against other AI stocks everyone is talking about these days.

President Donald Trump’s $500 billion investment plan to build AI infrastructure, Stargate, is making waves as analysts believe the project provides a new growth catalyst for major tech companies. Sasha Ostojic, Playground Global venture partner, said in a latest program on CNBC that the plan is just the beginning of AI “renaissance” in the country:

“Stargate is just the beginning, I think, of this renaissance of AI technology in this country, even though it seems like we’ve been in it for a few years. And, you know, it reminds me of the Apollo program from the 50s and 60s. In that case, it was a government-run program that created a bunch of technology, propelled the world forward, created a bunch of companies, and set us up for a lot of prosperity in the decades to follow.”

Ostojic also talked about the Jensen Huang-led company and said its stock has been going “sideways” and the market is waiting for the next big “trigger.” He is bullish on the company and thinks the $500 billion plan with the company at its center could be the next growth catalyst investors were waiting for.

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For this article, we picked 10 AI stocks currently trending on the back of the latest news. With each stock, we have mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 99

Daniel Newman from The Futurum Group said while talking to Schwab Network that investors “pour in” when Elon Musk tells a story and he believes autonomous driving, solar and electric cars could be the key drivers for Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares in the future.

“You saw the recent deliveries numbers—not necessarily where they need to be, but the market seems to be willing to shrug that off as a whole. Of course, it’s always a little bit more volatile. Tesla is a stock that can move in really big ways and seems to be a very emotional move.

The other thing, though, is in the short term, getting that RoboTaxi and getting people to believe that’s a real thing and starting to monetize it. That smaller Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) 2 model they talk a lot about, Nicole, is something that could really move the needle because that changes the spreadsheets.”

Looking beyond the recent spike in Tesla shares amid Donald Trump’s victory, Tesla’s fundamentals are challenged. How? Tesla, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) key robotaxi event was short on details. Notably absent was the discussion of a “more affordable” model that Musk had previously mentioned to boost confidence in Tesla’s vehicle sales growth outlook.

What about the $30,000 price tag claim?

Musk has indicated that the Cybercab will have a production cost of approximately $30,000. Operating within the robotaxi fleet is projected to cost around $0.20 per mile. With a production cost of $30,000, the retail price of the Cybercab is likely to exceed this figure. For instance, if the Cybercab is priced at $30,000 per unit, that translates to $15,000 per seat. In contrast, the average price per passenger seat in Tesla, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) most affordable long-range RWD Model 3—factoring in full self-driving (FSD) licensing—is under $10,000 ($29,990 post-incentive vehicle price plus $8,000 for the FSD license, divided by four passenger seats). Regarding operational costs, while the Cybercab is expected to cost $0.20 per mile, charging the Model 3 is estimated at under $0.10 per mile, leaving a significant margin to cover maintenance and downtime.

There is a lot of hype around Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) robo taxis but many believe they will not be enough to fix the company’s long-term challenges.

What are these challenges?

Tesla, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) product lineup is showing signs of stagnation, with over 95% of sales still coming from the Model 3 and Model Y. Meanwhile, competitors are rolling out more advanced models. Even Rivian’s CEO suggested Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) could be nearing market saturation for these models. According to Reuters, Tesla’s market share in Europe is slipping as legacy automakers like BMW post stronger sales. Chinese competitor BYD is also gaining ground in Europe, despite talk of tariffs.

Delaware Ivy Core Equity Fund stated the following regarding Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) – Though it isn’t a holding within the portfolio, Tesla continues to be a cult-like stock with weak fundamentals dependent on highly speculative development of autonomous driving technology. The company’s share price moved higher during the quarter after weakness in the year-to-date period.”

Overall, TSLA ranks 8th on our list of AI stocks everyone is talking about these days. While we acknowledge the potential of TSLA, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TSLA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.