Tesla retail investors are interested in issues different from COVID-19

The Coronavirus pandemic is already the number 1 topic of discussion in almost every industry across the globe. It shook finances, entertainment, production, and lots of other industries quite drastically. However, with the first-quarter financial results approaching, Tesla retail investors seem to be interested in topics that are different from Coronavirus.

On Tesla’s official event page for question submissions, retail investors have submitted questions regarding various different issues. Among those, the most popular question was the future of the Robotaxi initiative, compound annual growth rate projections, etc. Questions about the COVID-19 pandemic were hardly asked.

The global focus on COVID-19

It is not a place or time to evaluate such a peculiar development. If you look everywhere around you, you will hear stories about how the new pandemic initiated a financial crisis in a given industry.

In Forex, for instance, almost all currencies have dropped significantly. With the global currencies like USD, CHF, and EUR relatively intact, all other currencies and their swap rates are experiencing serious changes. This, in turn, encourages Forex traders to seldom enter the market with their own money and instead opt for several demo accounts to choose from. Demo trading allows them to still interact with live market conditions, regardless of how volatile the price changes are, yet lose nothing along the way. In fact, this practice makes it easier for them to test out new strategies that suit financial crises like the one occurring right now.

Even more drastic was the impact on the oil industry. Some mainstream publications are going as far as questioning whether the new pandemic can kill the oil industry and “save the climate,” which clearly reflects the current situation in the industry: the price on a barrel of oil has dropped to its lowest point at $11 on April 21.

Tesla investors with different priorities

With all that being said, Tesla retail investors are showing an interesting diversion from the mainstream. Instead of asking questions like how the company will protect its employees or how it will boost demand during the pandemic, investors are more interested in how Tesla is doing with its new Robotaxi project – a self-driving taxi technology that is set to be released pretty soon.

There is a Q&A page created on the official website where the company “invites investors to ask and upvote questions that they would like addressed on their earnings call.” That’s where the top 50 questions were asked and where only four questions were about Coronavirus.

At the time of writing this, the No. 1 question on the page is whether Elon Musk will maintain his planned compound annual growth rate at 50% or will that rate come down to a more realistic 40%. One question even suggested expanding into a new grocery delivery market due to the influx of demand during the current pandemic.

One way or another, the COVID-19 pandemic is a global phenomenon that concerns anyone, be it a Tesla retail investor or a small-time shop owner in the suburbs of Latin America. Taking emergency measures to protect ourselves, as well as those around us from the pandemic, while at the same time not sacrificing our financial stability is the No. 1 challenge that everyone is facing today.