We Need Robotaxis, And We Need Them Now: Tesla's Stock Price Plummet Proves It

Tesla CEO Elon Musk had the world buzzing with excitement over the announcement of his new Robotaxi, but delay after delay caused Tesla's stock price to plummet. Let’s make one thing very clear: the world is ready for the Robotaxi, and they need it now. Here's what happened. 

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In April this year, tech giant entrepreneur Elon Musk announced on his social media platform X that the Robotaxi would arrive on Aug. 8, 2024. During the company's earnings report, Tesla released a sneak peek of what to expect, and it was fair to say it captured the world's attention. On five big screens, Tesla revealed some key features of the long-gestating Robotaxi that comes with an app similar to Uber but with Tesla's unique style. The autonomous vehicle is currently being built on Tesla's next-generation vehicle platform and is part of the "Tesla Network." 

Musk revealed that the taxis operated by Tesla will be like a "combination of Airbnb and Uber" and that customers can also use these cars. Musk explains, "There will be a bunch of cars where they're owned by the end user," he added, "But that end user can add or subtract their car to the fleet whenever they want." By doing this, Musk has created an opportunity for Tesla vehicle owners to generate income while at work or on vacation, capturing many people's attention. During the first quarter earnings call, Musk explained his belief about this revolutionary passenger-hailing idea, "in the future, gasoline cars that are not autonomous will be like riding a horse and using a flip phone." 

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But so far, that's been it, and Musk has not released any further details until now. His August 8 announcement on X helped Tesla’s shares rise by 4.9% that day and 60% just two days later. 

Then Bloomberg News reported that the unveiling of Robotaxi had been pushed from August 8 to October, but no actual date was given. Following Bloomberg's announcement, Tesla's shares dropped 8.4%. However, it wasn't just Tesla that suffered a blow to the stock market. It was also Musk himself. On Thursday, the 11th, the value of his 20.5% stake in Tesla fell from $188.24 billion to $172.34 billion, which was a whopping $16 billion drop. According to The Street, Tesla's stock plummeting was the worst among stocks in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100 Index. 

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Bloomberg announced the delay, citing that the team working on the project "needed more time to build additional prototypes." Musk has confirmed the delay and claimed that design changes are the cause of the delay. In a social media post, Musk wrote, “Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things." 

But this isn't the first time that Musk and Tesla have made big announcements that have amounted to nothing. Back in 2019, Musk had promised that Tesla would have over a million robotaxis on the road in 2020. Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor, told Reuters, "Tesla has been playing this game for nearly a decade, promising ‘next year, next year.’" He pointed out, "And I've seen no indication that Tesla … is on track for a meaningful deployment of the kind of automated driving system that Tesla has consistently promised." 

While there's still so much uncertainty about when we'll expect an autonomous Robotaxi, there's no uncertainty that we need them, and Tesla's plummeting stock is proof of that. 

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