Physical AI will be one of the fastest areas of AI over the next 4-5 years: Oppenheimer's Tim Horan

Summary

Oppenheimer tech analyst Tim Horan gives a bullish price target of $250 for SpaceX, citing AI infrastructure and Starlink's disruption of the $2 trillion mobile market. He also says he would buy Tesla, arguing that physical AI—including self-driving vehicles and robotics—will be the fastest-growing AI segment over the next 4-5 years and that Tesla leads this revolution.

• SpaceX private shares trade around $150; Horan sees fair value at $250 based on AI infrastructure and Starlink mobile ambitions.
• Starlink's entry into the $2 trillion communications market could disrupt AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile with a new terrestrial-satellite hybrid network.
• Horan believes SpaceX's engineering culture and unique data position it to dominate both physical and digital AI over the long term.
• He emphasizes that physical AI (autonomous cars, trucks, robots, drones, trains) is just beginning and will be the fastest area of AI in the next 4-5 years.
• He explicitly recommends buying Tesla, citing its unique technology and leadership in self-driving and robotics within the physical AI theme.
• The next generation of wireless networks (6G) and improving compute will accelerate machine-to-machine communication, enabling commercial and military physical AI use cases.
• A possible Tesla-SpaceX merger is seen as a few years away and not urgent, given capital needs and Tesla's own robotics pipeline.