Elon Musk's Tesla is reportedly postponing its Robotaxi launch by two months, prompting a roughly 8% decline in its stock value on Thursday, July 11.
Delayed by 2 Months
According to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the decision, Tesla has delayed the debut of its robotaxi from August to October to allow the project teams additional time to create prototypes.
Musk established the original August 8 launch date months ago, and the anticipation for the event has boosted the company's stock price, increasing its market value by almost $257 billion in only 11 trading days. On Thursday, the stock reached its worst closing loss since January, falling 8.4%, as reported by Fortune.
At the same time, the announcement caused a jump in shares of Lyft and Uber, two companies that were expected to be competitors. On Thursday, Uber's shares saw a 6.1% increase. The stock price of Lyft increased by 4.6%.
Unmet Goals
For a long time, Musk has promised investors a robotaxi, according to CNBC.
In his 2015 prediction, Musk said that Tesla's cars would achieve full autonomy within three years. He also said in 2016 that by the end of the following year, Tesla's vehicles could drive themselves across the nation.
On a teleconference with institutional investors in 2019, Musk continued to make hollow promises, stating that Tesla will have one million robotic-ready cars on the road by 2020. However, the robotaxi, autonomous vehicle, or technology to upgrade their automobiles to "level 3" automated vehicles still has not arrived.
In April, when Tesla reported disappointing first-quarter profitability, Musk reaffirmed the company's commitment to creating profitable robotaxis and a network of autonomous vehicles.
Join the Conversation