Tesla has reportedly delayed the unveiling of its highly anticipated robotaxi from August 8 to October, citing the need for further prototype development and design refinements.
Bloomberg Reports Tesla has communicated its decision internally to delay its robotaxi unveiling by about two months. The event, originally scheduled for Aug. 8, has been pushed to October. The delay is intended to give the team working on the project more time to create additional prototypes, according to a source familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the information.
Tesla’s design team was reportedly told this week to rework certain elements of the robotaxi. The delay comes after CEO Elon Musk initially set the event for Aug. 8 months ago. Anticipation surrounding the robotaxi announcement helped Tesla’s shares rise for 11 consecutive days, adding more than $257 billion to the company’s market capitalization.
Following news of the delay, Tesla shares fell 8.4% over the weekend, its biggest one-day drop since January, while shares of potential ride-hailing competitors surged: Uber Technologies Inc. rose 6.1%, while Lyft Inc. was up 4.6% on the day.
The idea of a self-driving taxi service has been part of Tesla’s plans for several years, dating back to Mr. Musk’s second “Master Plan” for the company in 2016. In recent months, Mr. Musk has prioritized the robotaxi project over developing more affordable electric vehicle models.
Tesla touts its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) features to customers, charging thousands of dollars for a suite of advanced driver-assistance systems, but FSD does not make Tesla cars fully autonomous and still requires constant supervision by the driver.
The delayed robotaxi announcement comes at a time when Tesla is experiencing a slowdown in vehicle sales and production. The company reported a 6.6% drop in vehicle deliveries in the first half of the year despite adding the new Cybertruck to its lineup. Additionally, Tesla’s vehicle production in the second quarter fell 14% year over year, a measure aimed at managing rising inventory levels.
Tesla has not publicly announced the delay, and CEO Elon Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship.
