Why Tesla is delaying robotaxi's launch until October
Tesla has postponed the unveiling of its much-anticipated robotaxi project from August 8 to October, according to Bloomberg. The decision was made to allow more time for the development of additional vehicle prototypes. This information, significant in Tesla's journey toward autonomous transportation, has not yet been officially announced by the company. The autonomous taxi service has been part of Tesla's vision for nearly a decade, as outlined by CEO Elon Musk in a "master plan."
Impact of robotaxi project on Tesla's market
The initial announcement of the robotaxi project significantly boosted Tesla's market capitalization, leading to an 11-day streak of gains, which added over $257 billion to the firm's value. However, news of the delay resulted in an intraday trading drop of over 8% on Thursday.
Tesla's autonomous drive and production slowdown
For over a decade, Musk has been promoting Tesla's work on autonomous-vehicle technology and the Full Self-Driving (FSD) package. Despite its name, FSD still requires constant driver supervision and does not make Tesla vehicles fully autonomous. Meanwhile, Tesla delivered 6.6% fewer cars in the first half of this year, and produced 14% fewer vehicles in the second quarter compared to a year earlier, despite adding the Cybertruck to its lineup.
Robotaxi delay boosts shares of Uber and Lyft
The postponement of Tesla's robotaxi unveiling had a positive impact on the shares of potential taxi rivals Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft. Following the news, both companies saw a surge in their stocks on Thursday, with Uber's stock rising 6.1% and Lyft shares jumping 4.6%. The delay is expected to allow Tesla to refine its technology and prototypes for a successful launch, following reports that the design team was asked to rework certain elements of the car.
