NEW YORK– Electric vehicle maker Tesla plans to delay until October the launch of its self-driving robotaxi, which had been announced for early August, the Bloomberg business news agency reported on Thursday.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, the group owned by tycoon Elon Musk needs more time to produce prototypes of the vehicle.
In response to this news, Tesla shares fell by almost 7% on Wall Street in mid-session, interrupting a bullish streak of more than ten sessions because this postponement puts into doubt one of the manufacturer’s most important projects.
It was Musk himself who had announced the presentation at the beginning of April in a brief message on X, his social network, that the autonomous vehicle would be presented in August: “Presentation of the Tesla robotaxi on August 8,” he posted.
“While the knee-jerk reaction is clearly negative to this delay (…) we believe the timing of robotaxis, partnerships and AI-based autonomous technology does not change our positive view on Tesla at all,” Daniel Ives, an analyst at consultancy Wedbush, said in a note.
The launch of the robotaxi is seen as the start of a new chapter in the manufacturer’s history of autonomous driving.
But the vehicle’s development has hit some roadblocks in the past, particularly related to concerns from transport regulators and consumers about safety.
Tesla delivered nearly 444,000 vehicles in the second quarter worldwide, above analysts’ expectations (436,000) but down 4.70% year-on-year.
Source: With information from AFP.
