Tesla Stands Among Rare Founder-Run Tech Leaders as Q2 Earnings Approach—Should Investors Buy Before July 22?

Key Points

Many of the world’s most successful technology companies were founded by visionary leaders who later stepped away. Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Google, now part of Alphabet; Apple was steered by Steve Jobs; Microsoft by Bill Gates; and Amazon by Jeff Bezos. All four remain thriving under new management.

By contrast, a few founders still directly lead the firms they built into powerhouses—most notably Elon Musk at Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). Tesla has become a dominant electric vehicle manufacturer, propelled in large part by Musk’s persona and forward-looking strategy, which have cultivated a dedicated base of loyal supporters.

Tesla has evolved into one of the largest companies globally, with a market capitalization near $1.6 trillion. Yet Musk’s expansive roadmap—spanning the Optimus humanoid robot and unsupervised full self-driving capability—continues to shape investor expectations and sustain the company’s premium valuation.

TSLA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

Significant growth assumptions are embedded in Tesla’s share price, which has declined 15% year to date. With second-quarter results due on July 22, the question is whether Musk can reverse the stock’s recent weakness.

Tesla at a glance

Tesla’s foundation remains its electric vehicle business, anchored by the Model 3 and Model Y. In the second quarter, the company delivered 480,126 vehicles, of which 467,762 were from those two lines. Quarterly sales rose 25%, marking a recovery after annual automotive revenue declines in 2024 and 2025.

The fastest-expanding unit is services, encompassing automotive support, Robotaxi, and the full self-driving software subscription. Although FSD still requires a human driver, Musk anticipates regulatory approval for unsupervised operation in the future. Services revenue climbed 42% year over year in the first quarter to $3.74 billion.

Potentially the largest upside resides in Optimus robots. Cathie Wood of Ark Invest forecasts the robots will reshape home and industrial life in 2028–2029, crediting Musk’s persistence for Tesla’s robotics lead.

Image source: The White House.

Is Tesla a buy before earnings?

Tesla remains a complex story. Musk has exited government advisory work and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been dissolved. Nonetheless, he stays highly active: his company Space Exploration Technologies went public in June, and rumors of a SpaceX–Tesla merger within a year have emerged. Even absent a merger, SpaceX’s AI, energy storage, data center, and large language model projects are expected to bolster Tesla’s FSD and Optimus development.

If Tesla were only a carmaker, its stock would warrant caution. Rivian Automotive is deploying updates that challenge Tesla’s EV software edge, and Chinese firms such as BYD pose stiff competition. Yet Tesla transcends autos—evidenced by the shareholder-approved Musk pay plan worth up to $1 trillion. Yahoo Finance’s analyst consensus target is $425, implying 11.5% upside.

As Wood and Tesla’s retail investors note, owning the stock is largely a wager on Musk. With auto sales rebounding annually, improved quarterly revenue is likely, but the trajectory will hinge on Musk’s earnings call and his ability to articulate the next 12 months’ strategy.

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