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Elon Musk on Tuesday said that Tesla will hold its robotaxi unveiling — which is widely seen as a product demonstration, not a launch — on Oct. 10, slightly more than two months after its planned date.
Musk in April rallied investors when he promised the electric vehicle maker will reveal a robotaxi on Aug. 8. However, after it was reported that the event would be pushed back, Tesla shares lost some of its massive gains made over the past few months.
The Tesla CEO on July 15 wrote on social media that he had requested an “important design change to the front” of the vehicles, adding that it will give his team time to “show off a few other things.”
“While the knee jerk reaction will clearly be negative on a delay of August 8th based on [Bloomberg’s report], we believe the timing of robotaxis, partnerships, and the ultimate autonomous and AI driven technology does not change at all for our bullish Tesla thesis,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote at the time. Wedbush has a $300 per share price target for Tesla.
Analysts generally view the unveiling as less of a product launch and more of a demonstration of Austin, Texas-based Tesla’s aspirations for the technology. Musk has made a habit of promising new technology and vehicles in the past, only for the products to launch on the market years later.
The Cybertruck electric pickup was first revealed in November 2019 with production scheduled for 2021, although its first model wouldn’t be made until 2023. Tesla had aimed to launch a second-generation Roadster sports car on the market by 2021, but now expects to showcase a prototype by the end of 2024.
Robotaxis are expected to be a major moneymaker for Tesla in the future. Musk has described launching a network that’s a “combination of Airbnb and Uber,” since owners can opt their cars into the service at their leisure. Last month, he reiterated his pitch to Tesla owners that they can make money on the self-driving fleet while sleeping, as the company would call cars to pick up customers of its potential ride-hail service through an app.
Ark Investment Management has forecast a scenario that could bring Tesla to $2,600 per share, with 90% of the company’s value and earnings attributable to robotaxis by 2029. However, if such a network isn’t operable by then, Ark’s forecast drops to $350 per share.
After meeting with Tesla’s new head of investor relations, Travis Axelrod, in June, JPMorgan Chase analysts wrote that it doesn’t expect “material revenue generation likely for years to come” for robotaxis. Axelrod implied that a self-driving car would be built on a next-generation platform, which isn’t expected to launch before 2027.
Tesla stock is down more than 6% in after-market trading Thursday, after Tesla reported second-quarter earnings that fell below Wall Street’s expectations.