At any Tesla event, you have to go in expecting a good amount of smoke and mirrors. This is the company run by Elon Musk, after all — its self-anointed Technoking who’s made a career of overpromising and underdelivering.

Letter writer Rhonda Brooks stated that Baltimore should not purchase Tesla automobiles for the city ( “Baltimore should not be lining Elon Musk’s pockets,” Oct. 12). I have a fiscal concern, but Brooks has an ideological one.

Musk strongly hinted at late 2026 during last week’s event, but hedged a bit — which could mean 2027. That’s a long way off. Tesla’s Cybertruck, around which speculation reached a fever pitch at the end of 2023, is now here. But there is no ready evidence that earnings forecasts have been materially impacted by its arrival.