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The stocks of ride-hailing app companies Uber (UBER+0.76%) and Lyft (LYFT+2.01%) both jumped Friday while Tesla stock took a hit, following the EV maker’s long-awaited robotaxi reveal.
Tesla (TSLA-0.55%) CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company’s highly anticipated robotaxi prototype, dubbed the “Cybercab,” on Thursday evening. But the event left some investors underwhelmed, with analysts pointing to a lack of concrete details and a flood of ambitious promises from Musk.
Uber and Lyft shares both jumped 10% on Friday morning in response, while Tesla stock fell almost 8%.
The Cybercab is expected to be the Tesla’s first car that is capable of fullly autonomous driving. While Tesla offers driving assistance software for self-driving, the vehicles still require a driver.
Musk was unable to provide a specific production date for the Cybercab, saying only that it will enter production “probably” in 2026 or “before 2027.” The car is expected to be priced at less than $30,000.
The CEO has previously described his vision for a robotaxi network as a mix of Airbnb and Uber, in which owners could earn money while they sleep by adding their cars to the service. On Thursday, he even encouraged people — especially Uber and Lyft drivers — to consider buying multiple Cybercabs.
Still, some investors were not impressed.
One analyst called the Cybercab “toothless” and said it was a best-case scenario for Uber.
“We consider the event a best-case outcome for Uber, given Tesla did not provide verifiable evidence of progress toward (Level 3 autonomous driving) or quantify the number of robotaxis planned,” Jefferies analyst John Colantuoni wrote in a client note Friday. “We expect Uber to react positively now that investors can focus on fundamentals.”
— William Gavin and Britney Nguyen contributed to this article.