Musk Says Tesla Will Unveil Long-Promised Robotaxi on Aug. 8

Tesla Inc. plans to unveil its long-promised robotaxi later this year. The electric carmaker is struggling with weak sales and competition from cheap Chinese EVs, Bloomberg reported.

Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk posted Friday on X, his social media site, that Tesla’s robotaxi will be unveiled on Aug. 8.

Shares gained as much as 5.1% in postmarket trading in New York. Through Friday’s close, Tesla’s stock had fallen 34% this year. Shortly before Musk posted the news about the robotaxi, he lost the title of the third-richest person in the world to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc.

A fully autonomous vehicle, pitched to investors in 2019, has long been key to Tesla’s lofty valuation. In recent weeks, Tesla has rolled out the latest version of the driver-assistance software that it markets as FSD, or Full Self-Driving, to consumers.

The company has said that its next-generation vehicle platform will include a cheaper car and a dedicated robotaxi. Though the company has teased both, it has yet to unveil prototypes of either. Musk’s Friday tweet indicates that the robotaxi will take priority over the cheaper car, though both will be designed on the same platform.

Reuters reported earlier Friday that the carmaker had called off plans for the less-expensive vehicle and was shifting more resources toward trying to bring a robotaxi to market. Musk responded by saying, “Reuters is lying,” without offering specifics.

Tesla also produced 46,561 more vehicles than it delivered in the first quarter, forcing it to slash prices. US consumers have been turning away from more expensive EVs in favor of hybrid models, causing many manufacturers to rethink their efforts to electrify their fleets.

Musk’s splashy product announcements have always been a key part of Tesla’s ability to gin up enthusiasm among customers and investors without spending on traditional advertising. However, they don’t always work. The company unveiled the Cybertruck to enormous fanfare in November 2019, but production was delayed for years, and the ramp-up of that vehicle has been slow.