Tesla’s ‘Supercharged Narrative’ Shreds Stock’s Valuation Models

Tesla Inc.’s quarterly results this week drove home the lesson that profit and sales numbers don’t seem to matter much for this stock anymore. Instead, it’s Elon Musk’s narrative that’s wooing investors at the moment.

The electric-vehicle maker’s fourth-quarter earnings fell short of analysts’ expectations pretty much across the board. Profit, revenue and margins all missed. Even its sales growth outlook for 2025 was dialed back. Yet, the stock closed up 2.9% on Thursday, as investors shrugged off the disappointing report and instead focused on Musk’s upbeat tone on the robotaxi business, humanoid robots and artificial intelligence.