Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) may be betting its future on robotaxis and humanoid robots, but former company president Jon McNeill says the automaker still needs its traditional car business to fund that transition.

"They need the cash flow from the cars to fund what is looking like a longer road to robots and a longer road to cybercabs," McNeill told CNBC Friday after Tesla reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter deliveries.

McNeill, now CEO of DVx Ventures, said both businesses are taking longer to develop and scale while requiring "enormous amounts of capital."

Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles, 5.3% above the 461,974 average of 24 sell-side estimates published by Tesla before the report. Deliveries were still down 2.1% from last year’s record 497,099.

Shares rose more than 5% following the report.

Energy storage was the weaker part of Friday’s update. Tesla deployed 13.7 GWh during the quarter, 13.8% below the 15.9 GWh consensus and its third straight miss.

Back to the Future

McNeill called Tesla’s renewed focus on its core automotive business a "back to the future" moment.

He said Tesla is "hitting the refresh button," pointing to updates to the Model 3 and the upcoming Roadster as efforts to draw attention back to vehicle sales.

McNeill previously served as president of Tesla, where he oversaw a period in which company revenue grew from about $2 billion to $20 billion, according to DVx Ventures.

McNeill Says FSD Is Driving Tesla Sales

McNeill also argued investors may be underestimating the role Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software is playing in vehicle demand.

He said he regularly hears from customers who were reluctant to buy a Tesla but now say they “can’t live without” the feature.

McNeill compared the shift to the move from flip phones to smartphones, with Tesla offering buyers "a car that will drive you for the same price as a car that won’t."

"I think you’re seeing this in the Tesla numbers and it’s really driving their sales," he said.

Prediction Markets Were Closer

Prediction market traders were much closer than Wall Street to Tesla’s final delivery number.

Ahead of the report, traders were pricing in roughly 480,000 deliveries, compared with Tesla’s sell-side consensus of 461,974. Tesla ultimately delivered 486,532 vehicles.

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