For the last few years, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has spoken repeatedly about his vision to turn his electric vehicle (EV) company into a full-blown artificial intelligence (AI) operation. One of the primary ways AI is expected to revolutionize Tesla's business is through autonomous driving.
Musk doesn't just want to integrate self-driving technology into Tesla cars for consumers to enjoy, though. Rather, he is looking to create a fleet of autonomous Tesla cars that people can hail at virtually any time. This initiative is known as the Robotaxi, and it's become one of the biggest sources of excitement for Tesla bulls ever since Musk gave the public a sneak peek late last year.
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While the idea of Robotaxi has certainly garnered a lot of attention, Tesla is not the only major technology company exploring the prospects of AI in the automobile market. In the piece below, I'm going to explore why I think some of the moves billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has been making as of late could spell trouble for Tesla and its autonomous vehicle vision.
Did Ackman just beat Tesla at its own game? Read on to find out more.
Ackman is the CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Unlike other hedge fund managers, one of Ackman's notable attributes is that he tends to keep Pershing Square's portfolio limited to a small number of stocks, generally owning positions in 10 or so companies at a time.
Since AI burst onto the scene as the market's hottest trend a couple of years ago, one mega-cap tech stock that's been relatively polarizing is Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL). Some skeptics argue that Alphabet's dominance in internet search via Google could be threatened by the rise of ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs). In addition, Meta Platforms and Amazon are becoming increasingly popular areas for advertisers to invest their budget over the likes of Alphabet-owned properties Google and YouTube.
Nevertheless, Ackman took a liking to Alphabet and began building a position in the company a couple of years ago. The obvious thesis around Alphabet as an AI play is that the company has the ability to integrate new services across its ecosystem -- from advertising, cloud computing, cybersecurity, workplace productivity, internet search, and more.
However, one area that receives virtually no attention pertaining to Alphabet's AI ambitions is autonomous driving.
Over the last several years, Alphabet has quietly built an impressive autonomous vehicle operation of its own called Waymo. Today, Waymo taxis are already serving customers in major metropolitan areas, including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin.
Image source: Getty Images.
Earlier this year, Ackman took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in which he revealed that Pershing Square took a position in ride-hailing leader Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER). Similar to Alphabet, Pershing Square's investment thesis around Uber primarily revolved around the company's valuation relative to its growth profile. While the firm thinks Uber's global scale and diversified services operation provide the company with a unique ability to expand profit margins over the coming years, there is a more subtle tailwind that could accelerate its growth as well.
According to Pershing Square's annual investor presentation from February, autonomous vehicle developers may choose to partner with taxi operations, such as Uber, due to the company's existing base of 170 million customers worldwide. In other words, Uber's value proposition is that it already has an enormous, sticky base of consumers that autonomous vehicle businesses wouldn't need to try and acquire themselves. In addition, Pershing Square's stance is that as autonomous vehicle fleets scale and become more mainstream, this dynamic provides an opportunity for the entire rideshare market to expand as well.
You might wonder how autonomous vehicles could benefit Uber's business. Think about other service-oriented businesses that act as distributors. Airbnb doesn't build its own physical infrastructure, unlike hotels. Rather, it serves as a platform on which consumers can book a trip, and Airbnb makes money by brokering that transaction.
In the same way, Uber does not need to spend billions building its own fleet of autonomous vehicles. Rather, it can strike partnerships with other companies developing self-driving technology and simply serve as a distribution channel. This mitigates a lot of risk, as Uber stands to benefit from a number of different companies that may choose to leverage its platform for a robotaxi service. Meanwhile, if Tesla does not pull off its goals in autonomous driving or fails to scale its own fleet, the company will likely be in a tough position in terms of growth opportunities.
Just a few days ago, Ackman took to X again to reveal Pershing Square's latest big move: building a position in car rental stock Hertz (NASDAQ: HTZ). Once again, Ackman provided a long list of detailed financial analyses in his post and made the case for why he thinks Hertz is trading for a great value.
However, there was a sentence in the last paragraph of the post that really caught my eye.
Ackman wrote, "What if Uber partnered with Hertz on an AV [autonomous vehicle] fleet rollout over time?"
Such an idea could make a ton of sense. By merging car rentals, ride-hailing, and autonomous vehicle technology, Hertz could transform into a robotaxi operation of its own. Instead of relying on foot traffic for its services at airports and other venues, Hertz could rent self-driving cars (perhaps from Waymo) on the Uber app. As a result, Hertz removes the variability of the middleman (human drivers) but still benefits from a consistent flow of renters via Uber's installed base. In turn, Hertz could unlock steadier revenue streams and improve its unit economics on its existing vehicle infrastructure.
Admittedly, the idea of a three-way partnership between Alphabet (Waymo), Uber, and Hertz might seem like a pipe dream. But remember, Ackman is an activist investor -- often working with a company's executive leadership to identify ways to improve profitability and scale the overall operation.
Given his public statements, I think it's reasonable to say that Pershing Square could see Alphabet, Uber, and Hertz as a cheaper way to invest at the intersection of AI and autonomous driving compared to Tesla and its lofty valuation.
But at a deeper level, I think Ackman could be in the early stages of triangulating an AI trade for the record books. Should Waymo, Uber, and Hertz go on to work together in the world of autonomous vehicle fleets, Ackman would be in a position to benefit from three different opportunities -- as opposed to betting the farm on just one player such as Tesla.
Before you buy stock in Alphabet, consider this:
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Airbnb, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Tesla, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
After a strong run for the stock market the past two years, volatility has returned in 2025. But there are pockets of opportunity among top growth stocks. While the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is down 8% at the time of writing, some companies that entered the year with strong momentum are holding up quite well.
Shares of Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) and Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) are two of the best performing stocks in the S&P 500 this year. Let's look at what is driving their share prices higher, and whether these top performers are still good investments.
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Leading businesses and governments are modernizing with artificial intelligence (AI). Palantir Technologies is one of the top providers of AI-powered data analytics software. The stock has had a phenomenal run, rising 1,500% since 2022. It has continued to perform well in 2025, up 33% as of April 23. But investors have to wonder if the stock has gotten too far ahead of the company's actual performance.
Palantir delivered accelerating revenue growth over the past year. In the fourth quarter, U.S. commercial revenue grew 64% year-over-year. Companies are choosing Palantir to improve efficiency and speed up decision making. For example, a leading telecommunications company recently signed a $40 million deal with Palantir, which will free up capital from using older technology and equipment.
Palantir also is playing a vital role in strengthening the U.S. military with cutting-edge technology. Its U.S. government revenue grew 45% year-over-year in Q4. Palantir developed its Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) for the U.S. Army that uses AI to improve strike targeting and accuracy on the battlefield.
These use cases indicate the level of sophistication of Palantir's AI capabilities, and that's why leading companies continue to sign multimillion-dollar deals. It's also benefiting the stock that the company is converting these growing revenues into a healthy profit. The company made $462 million in net profit on $2.9 billion of revenue last year.
The only negative with Palantir stock is the valuation. The shares trade at an astronomical 548 times earnings at the time of writing. At these lofty share prices, the stock could be overshooting the company's worth. While it's impossible to predict the timing, investors have to assume that this nosebleed valuation could lead to a downward correction in the share price. It might be best to wait for the stock to settle at a lower earnings multiple before starting an investment.
Investors shouldn't overlook the momentum happening in the global ride-hailing market. Uber Technologies has made substantial investments in its technology and service, and it is translating to strong growth. The stock climbed 200% since 2022 and 22% year to date through April 23, but its valuation could leave room for more gains over the next year and beyond.
Uber's growth suggests it is going after a huge opportunity in the transportation market. It offers multiple services tailored for healthcare, freight, and enterprise. It's also expanding into membership that offers special discounts on Uber Eats and rides and has already reached 30 million subscribers so far, up 60% year-over-year in the fourth quarter.
It's also investing in the future. The company has partnered with Google's Waymo self-driving car unit, in addition to China's WeRide. Its autonomous ride service recently launched in Austin, Texas, and is soon launching in Atlanta, Georgia. Overall, Uber currently has multiple partners working on autonomous ride and delivery services.
Uber benefits from a capital-light business model, where drivers maintain their own vehicles, which leaves a lucrative revenue stream coming from fees on every ride and delivery. Last year, Uber's operating profit more than doubled to $2.8 billion, and there seems to be more room for growth as the company improves margins.
Analysts expect Uber's earnings to grow at an annualized rate of 30% in the coming years, yet investors can buy shares for just 23 times 2025 earnings estimates. That's a fair multiple for an average growth stock, so investors should expect Uber shares to deliver satisfactory returns over the long term.
Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Ballard has positions in Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Palantir Technologies, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images
DoorDash wants Uber's anti-competition lawsuit tossed by the California Superior Court, saying the litigation is a "cynical and calculated scare tactic."
DoorDash filed the motion alongside a press release on Friday.
"It's disappointing behavior from a company once known for competing on the merits of its products and innovation," DoorDash, which tops the online food delivery market in the United States, wrote in the release.
Uber filed a complaint against DoorDash in February, accusing the company of anti-competitive business practices that inflated prices for restaurants and customers. The complaint said DoorDash "devised and is engaged in an unlawful scheme to stifle competition with Uber Eats, its closest rival."
Uber accused DoorDash in the complaint of leveraging restaurants' dependence on its app to secure near-exclusive or exclusive use.
"Restaurants simply cannot afford to stand up to DoorDash, and find themselves powerless to choose the service or services that are best for their businesses in the market for first-party delivery," Uber's complaint said.
Emily Dulla/Getty Images for DoorDash
Earnest Analytics reported in February that DoorDash dominated the food delivery market with a 60.7% share. Uber Eats followed at 26.1% and Grubhub at 6.3%.
DoorDash denied Uber's accusations in the motion on Friday.
Among its arguments, DoorDash said Uber is trying to "shoehorn its competition claims" by using a statute that typically applies to "disputes regarding employee non-compete provisions."
"Uber's lawsuit should be seen for what it is: sour grapes from a competitor that has been told by merchants, time and again, that they prefer working with DoorDash," the company's motion said. That's not the basis for a lawsuit — it's just fair competition. The Court should sustain DoorDash's demurrer."
Uber told Business Insider in a statement that it won't back down.
"It seems like the team at DoorDash is having a hard time understanding the content of our complaint. When restaurants are forced to choose between unfair terms or retaliation, that's not competition — it's coercion. Uber will continue to stand up for merchants and for a level playing field. We look forward to presenting the facts in court," an Uber spokesperson said.
A lawyer for DoorDash told BI, "Uber appears to be upset that they're losing in the marketplace because DoorDash has better and more innovative products, but that isn't a legitimate basis for a lawsuit."
"Uber's legal claims are meritless and should be dismissed," the lawyer said.
DoorDash isn't Uber's only legal battle this year. In April, the Federal Trade Commission sued Uber, saying the company added users to its Uber One subscription program without their consent.
The FTC said in a press release that the company "failed to deliver promised savings" and made it tough for users to cancel the service.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told Semafor on Friday that the FTC's lawsuit was a "head-scratcher."
"We make it incredibly easy to sign up for Uber One, the value is enormous, the renewal rates are over 90%. It's a great product," Khosrowshahi said. "We allow you to cancel. We allow you to pause. That one was a head-scratcher for me."
REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Your ride to the airport or Friday-night dinner delivery through Uber might cost less if an economic downturn arrives, according to its CEO.
If the economy enters a recession, more people could sign up to drive and deliver for Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi said on Friday.
"If there is more unemployment, the cost of Uber will come down, because, to some extent, the cost of labor comes down," Khosrowshahi said at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington, D.C.
Khosrowshahi said that Uber tends to be "recession-resistant" since many people still want groceries, restaurant delivery, rides around town, and other "everyday use cases" — even if they cut back spending in other areas.
"You may put off going on vacation in Europe this summer, but you're still going to treat your family to a nice dinner," he said. "We specialize in small treats, not big treats."
Consumers have turned to said small treats when the economy — and their income — have deteriorated in the past.
Lipstick sales, for instance, rose during the 2001 recession as some shoppers looked to makeup as an affordable luxury even as they avoided larger purchases.
Economists, executives, and others worry that a recession could be sparked this year by President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Many retailers and consumer brands have said that they will pass the costs of the tariffs to shoppers, leading to higher prices on store shelves and online after years of post-pandemic inflation.
While shoppers pulled back spending in many areas last year, many did keep paying to have what they bought delivered through services including DoorDash, Instacart, and Uber Eats, earnings reports at the time showed.
Getting work on Uber and other gig apps might not be so easy for laid-off workers and others in a recession, though.
Current gig workers have told Business Insider that many apps are already saturated with people looking to claim work, and that some even have wait lists for prospective independent contractors.
Do you have a story to share about Uber or other gig work apps? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.
AP Photo/Markus Schreiber
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on Friday that he isn't sweating Elon Musk's robotaxis.
"I don't think that there will be a winner-take-all," Khosrowshahi told Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith during the publication's World Economic Summit in Washington.
"The drama is winner-take-all, but I think that the transportation industry is a trillion-plus-dollar industry," he said. "You could argue that rideshare is going to finally beat personal car ownership in a world where you've got robots driving all over the place, so I think there will be plenty of room in the industry."
Khosrowshahi said Uber would "love to work with" Musk's company. He also revealed that he owns a Tesla.
"Great car," Khosrowshahi said.
Asked if he has tried full self-driving, Khosrowshahi responded, "It is delightful, but I have to take over every once in a while. It is an absolutely great product. Again, the car is a terrific car."
Musk isn't playing as nicely with his competitors in the autonomous taxi space. Earlier this week, Musk took a shot at Waymo during Tesla's Q1 earnings call.
Musk said the problem with Alphabet's robotaxis is that they cost "way mo' money."
Waymo's ex-CEO brushed off the insult.
"Tesla has never competed with Waymo — they've never sold a robotaxi ride to a public rider, but they've sold a lot of cars," John Krafcik said in an email to Business Insider.
Uber and Waymo are partnering on autonomous ride-hailing in Austin and Atlanta. Tesla is aiming to roll out a "pilot" robotaxi service in Austin in June.
Hunter Moreno
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with pop culture news influencer Kristi Cook. Cook's YouTube channel, Spill Sesh, has 808,000 subscribers. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
I built a following on YouTube covering the lives of influencers, but I hid my own identity for years.
In 2018, I stumbled upon this community on YouTube that talked about influencer news and digital culture. I felt like mainstream news outlets weren't covering this. But I was invested in these influencers' lives.
I consumed YouTube content like crazy. I made videos and had a few different YouTube channels over the years. I also worked for TMZ and freelanced on the side.
I made a video about YouTuber Manny Mua, a makeup artist, who sent a copyright strike to the YouTube channel Tea Spill for using footage from his channel to critique him. I uploaded the video under a new channel I made, which I called Spill Sesh.
Launching the YouTube channel as an anonymous creator wasn't intentional.
I saw videos from other influencer news channels, like Tea Spill, that were just text on a screen. I thought to myself, I could do that. That's really where it began.
I didn't talk or show my face in my videos. Eventually, I added voice-overs.
I figured that if I stayed anonymous, people I knew couldn't find out what I was doing and make fun of it. I felt like I could be more myself that way. I felt like I could be funnier.
I honestly never thought I would be front-facing.
But being anonymous had limitations. All my videos looked the same, and there wasn't much I could do creatively with only text and audio. I also wanted to do more on-scene reporting.
I needed to be on camera to expand what I was doing and make Spill Sesh into a news outlet.
Manny Mua and I had messaged here and there on social media, and my first Spill Sesh video was about him. I thought it would be a full circle moment if I revealed my face while he did my glam.
I connected with a publicist who helped me connect with my management firm. I filmed that video with Manny in 2023 and then posted it.
I was absolutely freaking out the day I posted my face reveal.
The response at first was amazing. Everyone loved it, and there was so much positivity.
Then, the next day, people were upset that I had done the video with Manny.
It was right after the Colleen Ballinger controversy, and Manny had published a podcast episode where he and his cohost were accused of protecting her. He was also friends at the time with YouTuber James Charles, who admitted to sending sexually explicit messages to underage boys. People were upset with Manny, so viewers were upset with me.
In the moment, I thought the backlash to my face reveal was ridiculous. I had made so many videos calling people out, especially Ballinger.
Mostly, I felt sad that people thought I was acting fake or was a fraud.
Luckily, the backlash passed as time went on.
The internet was so messy back then. YouTubers and influencers were ruthless. Everyone was trying to expose one another, and it just felt like a hot fire pit. Now, everyone is a little more reserved.
But revealing my face threw me into that drama.
Before, nobody knew who I was, so if I was in the same room with someone I had just made a video about, it wouldn't be weird. We were going to parties at the Team 10 house, to Tana Mongeau's birthday parties — everyone in the industry was going everywhere. The downside to revealing my identity was that it sometimes made it awkward with other creators.
Yet, overall, revealing my identity has opened a lot of doors. It's made everything much more exciting and refreshed.
Now, it's great to tell people at events what I actually do. I used to just tell people I worked in social media. I no longer have anxiety about describing my job. I can actually network and meet people at events.
After revealing my identity, I started to get invited to more exclusive influencer events. For instance, last week, TikTok invited me to Universal Studios Hollywood. We spent a day there listening to people talk about film and TV on TikTok. I got to meet with other creators, go on a studio tour, and to the park. I'd never been to Universal, so this was a sick experience.
I've tried to keep my content relatively the same. The videos look the same, I'm just in them for the first couple of seconds.
Now that I show my face, I take a more neutral stance on the topics I cover. I started to feel like it's not my place to share an opinion on what's going on. Instead, I share both sides, what happened, and what people are saying.
I can also be more creative. It's easier for me to create content instead of trying to find different assets to make a video exciting. Overall, showing my face has definitely boosted my content because I've been able to make way more of it.
The stock market sell-off can be a difficult challenge for many investors. Here's how I am approaching the recent market volatility. (NASDAQ: AAPL) (NASDAQ: NVDA) (NYSE: UBER)
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of April 19, 2025. The video was published on April 21, 2025.
Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $561,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $606,106!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 811% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 153% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025
Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has positions in Apple, Nvidia, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Nvidia, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
Got a little money and a lot of time? Say, 10 years or more? That's perfect. Time is an investor's best friend, and of course, the more capital you've got to deploy, the bigger your potential net return gets. And if you've got at least a decade to work with, you've got time to take a shot on some relatively volatile but potentially revolutionary investment prospects.
With that as the backdrop, here's a rundown of three monster stocks to buy and hold for 10 years, if not longer. Notice that each of them isn't just in a whole new kind of business. They're largely driving the formation of their respective industries.
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A decade ago, the idea of connecting a stranger who needed a ride with another stranger willing to give them one (using the driver's own vehicle, no less) didn't just seem unmarketable. It seemed outrageous. As it turns out, however, the ride-hailing business was a brilliant idea driven by a major sociocultural movement that wouldn't become clear until several years later.
In short, people are decreasingly interested in driving or even owning their own automobile. Figures from the Federal Highway Administration indicate that the number of 19-year-olds with a driver's license in the United States has fallen from over 87% in 1983 to under 69% as of 2022. And the difference is even starker the younger the teen. Fewer than 40% of eligible teenagers living in the United States hold a driver's license, for perspective, versus about two-thirds of this group three decades ago.
In a similar vein, a recent survey taken by Deloitte suggests that while only 11% of U.S. residents aged 55 and up would consider giving up their car, 44% of people under the age of 35 would at least be willing to entertain the idea, given their willingness to use other modes of transportation.
Connect the dots. Younger consumers are more comfortable with new ways of doing things. As they age, they'll further normalize this alternate mode of mobility.
Enter Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER), which dominates the domestic ride-hailing business but has also set up shop overseas where the same growing disinterest in driving and vehicle ownership is evident. Last year's top-line growth of 18% to $44 billion extends a long-standing trend that's expected to persist at this pace for at least a few more years.
Data source: StockAnalysis.com. Chart by author.
However, this growth trend will likely last for longer than just a few more years. Market research outfit Coherent Market Insights believes the global ride-hailing market is set to grow at an annualized pace of 13.5% through 2032. As a market leader, Uber is well-positioned to capture its fair share of this long-term growth. That is why the stock's lethargic performance since early last year is a buying opportunity.
Given the strides made by artificial intelligence just within the past few years, most investors would likely agree that it's only a matter of time before AI is being used to create new drugs. What most people might not realize, however, is that it's already happening. A company called Recursion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RXRX) currently uses such a developmental tool as well as offers it to third-party pharmaceutical companies.
It's called Recursion OS. Like any other ordinary LLM (large language model) AI platform, this one can sift through a massive amount of digital data and then combine contextually relevant information. It can then determine how a new therapeutic molecule might be assembled and then test how it might work as a treatment for a particular disease.
This approach's chief advantages over more conventional forms of drug research are ones you might guess: speed and cost. Whereas traditional pharma R&D work might require several years and hundreds of millions of dollars just to complete a trial that ends in failure, AI-based testing can be virtually completed for a fraction of the cost in a matter of weeks, if not days. This means the pharmaceutical industry can afford to take more swings, even knowing that most of them might end in failure.
Recursion's business is double-barreled, to be clear. Not only is it sharing revenue-bearing access to its platform with third-party drug companies that currently include Roche, Bayer, and Sanofi, but it's also working on some of its own stuff. All told, nearly a dozen drugs conceived and digitally tested within Recursion OS are now in actual, required clinical trials. Others were weeded out before wasting time and money on clinical testing.
That's still just the beginning, however. Global Market Insights expects the AI-powered drug discovery business to grow at an average annual rate of almost 30% between now and 2032. Recursion Pharmaceuticals is currently unprofitable. Given the industrywide tailwind, though, a swing to profitability could easily be in the cards within the next 10 years, catapulting this stock as a result.
Finally, add IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) to your list of prospects that could dish out monster-sized returns over the course of the coming decade. You're probably familiar with how traditional computing devices -- like the one you're using right now -- work. A massive amount of digital information is racing around a computer chip, being translated into a form you can see and interact with comfortably.
As impressive as this technology may be, however, this tech's underlying binary code consisting of nothing but digital ones and zeros has actually become a bit limiting. There's a much more powerful option. By using subatomic particles as its basis, a so-called quantum computer can handle a massive amount of data. With quantum computing, in fact, calculations that might take a traditional computer decades to complete can now be done in a matter of minutes.
This speed, of course, has major implications for industries like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and even the aforementioned drug discovery, just to name a few.
There is the not-so-small matter of practicality and cost. Such platforms are overkill for everyday web browsing, for instance, while purchasing one for heavy-duty number-crunching could easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more. Even just renting cloud-based access to a quantum computer can cost $50 per minute.
For the right purpose, though, plenty of institutions can come up with that kind of money, like the U.S. Air Force, the city of Busan (Korea), and the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (or ARLIS). All three organizations -- along with several others -- are now test-driving IonQ's tech to figure out how to best leverage this powerful new computing option. The company did $43 million worth of business last year, in fact, up 95% from 2023's top line.
But this still only scratches the surface. Precedence Research predicts that the worldwide quantum computing industry will see compound annualized growth of 31% through 2034, making the next 10 years incredibly exciting for one of the (very) few "pure plays" in the business.
Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $561,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $606,106!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 811% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 153% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025
James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Roche Holding AG. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
There's been no shortage of woes for Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) this year.
The company just reported a 13% decline in first-quarter deliveries. The brand is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis due to CEO Elon Musk's political turn, helming the operation known as the Department of Government Efficiency and weighing in on elections across the U.S. and in Europe. And President Donald Trump's tariffs threaten to further weaken the economy, specifically impacting the auto sector.
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Coming into 2025, Tesla was already struggling as deliveries fell in 2024, marking its first annual decline in unit sales.
However, despite those troubles, Tesla stock has been resilient, largely because investors have high hopes for its autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, which Musk said would make Tesla the world's most valuable company. In particular, the Tesla CEO has talked up a robotaxi network from his company, which he believes will be key in achieving that valuation.
The company unveiled its Cybercab robotaxi at a launch last October, but the event underwhelmed Wall Street, and it has not yet performed an autonomous vehicle ride. Tesla plans to begin offering autonomous rides in June in Austin, Texas.
However, the robotaxi market could get crowded quickly as the company seems to have new competition from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).
Image source: Amazon.
Amazon is a huge company, best known for its e-commerce and cloud-computing businesses. However, the company also has a self-driving car business after acquiring Zoox for $1.2 billion. Zoox has quietly prepared to launch an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service in several cities across the country, and it could do so before Tesla.
Zoox announced recently that it was launching its sixth testing site in the U.S., this time in Los Angeles.
Amazon's ride-sharing service is also aiming to begin serving riders in Las Vegas and San Francisco, though it's unclear when. Zoox is different from most of its autonomous vehicle peers as it has four inward-facing seats, allowing for a more social experience than the typical vehicle and it has double doors that allow for easy entry and exit, making it look more like a shuttle van. The company says it's a robotaxi, not a car.
At this point, it's speculative to assess Zoox's potential in autonomy, but it's clear that the space is becoming more crowded as Alphabet's Waymo continues to spread to new cities and as other companies work toward autonomous ride-sharing.
Tesla is also facing deep-pocketed rivals in Alphabet and Amazon, both of which generate tens of billions of annual free cash flow, some of which they can throw at the autonomous vehicle market.
Tesla does have a singular advantage with millions of cars on the road, but its full self-driving technology still requires supervision. Launch of the ride-sharing service is expected to include unsupervised full self-driving, available to Tesla owners.
If the technology proves to be capable of navigating the roads safely, it could be the game changer that Musk hopes it will be as the millions of Tesla owners could subscribe to FSD and theoretically lease their own vehicles out for ride-sharing -- provided the software is there to support it.
However, the arrival of well-heeled debutantes like Zoox shows that Tesla may not dominate the robotaxi market the way the bulls expect.
It's also worth remembering the safety risks in AVs. Other companies' autonomous dreams have gone up in smoke, including Uber Technologies and General Motors, which recently pulled all its Cruise vehicles off the road and ended that program.
At this point, Tesla seems priced for perfection, and that perfection includes unsupervised FSD and a burgeoning ride-sharing network. Amazon, on the other hand, has a much more diversified revenue base, a cheaper valuation, and better growth prospects, considering the problems with Tesla's EV business.
Zoox's ramp-up toward a mainstream AV company is likely to be significantly slower than Tesla's, but safety is the biggest hurdle in the industry, not speed.
Overall, Amazon looks like the better buy here. While Zoox might not be a major factor in its business right now, it could be down the road, and it gives investors potential exposure to the robotaxi market.
Keep an eye on Zoox over the coming months as 2025 looks set to be a big year for robotaxis.
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Don't let the sell-off in the markets scare you off: Now may be an ideal time to buy stocks. Even if you don't have a lot of money that you can afford to invest, there are many great stocks you can buy for less than $100, and over time you can slowly build up your position.
Three growth stocks that look like fantastic buys for the long haul right now are AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN), Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER), and Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET). Here's why these can be great investments to hang on to for years.
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Shares of AstraZeneca currently trade at less than $70. This is a stock that can be both a good growth stock and an income-generating investment. Its dividend currently yields 2.3%, which is higher than the S&P 500 average of 1.4%.
But the big reason to invest in AstraZeneca is for its long-term growth potential. The company is investing in growing its pipeline, but it is also using acquisitions to open up new growth opportunities. Last year, it acquired Fusion Pharmaceuticals, a company that develops next-gen cancer treatments involving radiopharmaceuticals, which are more targeted approaches to cancer treatment than chemotherapy.
Through acquisitions and in-house investments, AstraZeneca now has a whopping 191 projects in its pipeline. In addition to oncology, the company has opportunities in rare diseases, respiratory and immunology, cardiovascular, and other therapeutic areas.
AstraZeneca reported more than $54 billion in sales last year, but there's considerably more growth on the horizon. By 2030, it's aiming for $80 billion in sales. This fast-growing stock is a great investment to just buy, put into your portfolio, and forget about.
Uber Technologies stock trades at a similar price to AstraZeneca, also below $70. While it doesn't pay a dividend, it also makes for a compelling growth stock. The simplicity and efficiency of its operating model is what makes it an attractive investment.
Investors have been worried that robotaxis will encroach on Uber's turf and eat into its market share, but I'm not convinced they will pose a significant threat to the business. Uber's model relies on its software connecting drivers to customers, rather than on operating a fleet of vehicles, which can be costly and difficult to turn a profit on. That software can work for robotaxis too, so they may prove to be complementary to Uber's growth in the long run. For example, Uber recently partnered with Alphabet's Waymo on the deployment of autonomous vehicles in Austin and Atlanta.
Uber is seeing terrific growth -- sales have more than doubled in three years, going from $17.5 billion in 2021 to just under $44 billion this past year. And over that time, Uber went from being unprofitable to now posting a strong profit margin of 22%. The company may benefit from new opportunities related to robotaxis, as well as by entering more markets to further expand its reach around the globe.
Another fantastic growth stock to consider buying right now is Arista Networks, which trades at a similar price point to both Uber and AstraZeneca. The tech company provides businesses with networking solutions, helping them upgrade their infrastructure to meet the needs of artificial intelligence (AI) and ensuring they balance their workloads efficiently.
Arista grew its sales by just under 20% last year, to $7 billion; net income also rose by 37% to nearly $2.9 billion. The company can benefit from trends in AI, and while it hasn't generated the sort of returns that chipmaker Nvidia has, there's been a notable correlation in its performance. Over the past three years, while Nvidia's stock has risen more than 300%, Arista has climbed by more than 100%. And as AI stocks have tumbled of late, so too has Arista's valuation.
For investors who are bullish on the opportunities in AI, Arista Networks can make for a compelling buy. With a market cap of around $80 billion and the stock trading at an attractive valuation of 26 times the company's estimated future earnings (based on analyst expectations), it could have a lot of upside in the long run.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Arista Networks, Nvidia, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends AstraZeneca Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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