Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, told LVMH scion Antoine Arnault that he believes the automaker’s market capitalization is directly related to whether it can successfully develop autonomous driving.

Musk was addressing the VivaTech innovation conference in Paris. The younger Arnault made fun of Musk for Tesla’s $827 billion market worth, pointing out that it eclipsed the company’s valuation of the storied luxury group.

In response, the Tesla CEO claimed he lacked much understanding of changes in stock prices. Values are a peculiar thing, according to Musk. Hey, I think the stock price at Tesla is too high sometimes, and then the stock price increases. I think, “Okay.

Musk, though, also opined that Tesla’s market value depended on how well the business developed autonomous driving technology.

“Really the value of the company is primarily on the basis of autonomy,” Musk said. “If you look at our total vehicle output, it’s almost 2 million vehicles this year or something like that. But that’s still only 2% of total vehicle production.”

“The potential for autonomy is that the value of autonomy is so high, that even if you have a discount, a percentage probability of autonomy happening, that is so incredibly valuable,” the CEO continued. He also reaffirmed the notion of Tesla owners converting their cars into a fleet of autonomous robotaxis, a concept he previously predicted will be achieved by 2020.

Tesla’s cars still only offer sophisticated driver assistance capabilities, despite Musk’s claims that the company is close to developing fully autonomous vehicles.

(Adapted from CNBC.com)