Ross Gerber, CEO and co-founder of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management, has thrown cold water on the long-awaited Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Roadster, predicting the vehicle will amount to little more than a niche curiosity.
Speaking with Benzinga, Gerber said he is not holding a reservation for the Roadster, citing past frustrations with Tesla’s reservation process.
“I’m not holding a reservation because I’ve fallen for the reservation trick for too long with Tesla,” Gerber said, adding that “it usually doesn’t serve you any purpose to have a reservation.”
Despite his skepticism, Gerber acknowledged a personal desire for the car, saying he had wanted it since being shown the prototype five years ago.
He noted that his commitment to electric vehicles had kept him from purchasing alternatives, saying “I’ve had to put off buying a McLaren or Ferrari or any kind of fancy car because I won’t drive a gas car.”
Gerber dismissed the Roadster’s rumored hovering capability, which Elon Musk has suggested could be achieved using Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX) inspired technology, as impractical and unnecessary.
“Why would I need a car to hover? I don’t see the purpose of it,” he said flatly, adding “I look at it as a gimmick” and warning the feature would significantly balloon costs.
He cited battery weight as a core obstacle to getting an electric vehicle airborne, drawing a parallel to why electric planes remain outside the mainstream aviation market.
“Nobody’s going to let me fly this around the city; it obviously does not have the aerodynamics of a plane,” Gerber said, before summing up his frustration bluntly: “The whole thing is stupid to me. Just give me the f***ing car.”
Gerber predicted the Roadster would not enter mass production, saying “I think this is just going to be a one-off thing, like maybe they make a few hundred of these things and sell them. And that’s that.”
The investor lamented Tesla’s decision to discontinue the Model S Plaid, which he called the “best car ever,” arguing it was hard to justify the Roadster when consumers could no longer purchase that model.
Gerber drew a comparison to Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE), explaining that luxury automakers derive their pricing power from scarcity, noting “when you buy a Ferrari, you’re essentially turning over over $100,000 to the company just because it’s a Ferrari.”
He acknowledged that Ferrari operates with exceptional profit margins but faces a structural growth ceiling, since producing too many vehicles would erode their exclusivity and undermine the brand’s premium pricing.
On the broader EV market, Gerber argued that the real opportunity lies at the affordable end of the spectrum, particularly as energy shocks and high fuel costs stemming from the Iran war and Russia-Ukraine conflict continue to squeeze consumers.
“A low-cost EV is a game changer for whoever can make one, because people will buy them,” he said, suggesting a $25,000 two-seater with strong range and self-driving capability could “sell millions throughout the world.”
Gerber criticized Musk for prioritizing what he called “moonshot” ideas, including Tesla’s Optimus robot program, over practical and affordable transportation solutions that could address genuine consumer needs.
“There’s a massive need for cheaper EVs,” Gerber said, arguing that Musk “can fill that, but he’s choosing not to at the expense of these ‘moonshot’ ideas.”
Gerber also weighed in on the Cybercab, saying he had ridden in one and would personally consider buying it, but questioned why Tesla was positioning it exclusively as a cab rather than a vehicle consumers could drive themselves.
He closed by noting that Tesla’s commercial potential remains significant, but that Musk’s polarizing public persona continues to be a drag on sales, saying “when you’re the biggest a***ole on Earth, people don’t like buying stuff from you.”
