Tesla stock sinks as 'toothless' robotaxi disappoints

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Tesla (TSLA) stock sank more than 7% Friday midday as investors signaled disappointment over the EV maker’s robotaxi debut.

Following the event on Thursday night, “We, Robot” — which aimed to cement CEO Elon Musk’s position as an AI leader — investors and analysts came away with more skepticism than excitement over Tesla’s lofty vision for a future of driverless cabs.

Jefferies (JEF) analysts called Tesla’s $30,000 robotaxi, dubbed the Cybercab, a “toothless taxi” in a note to investors Friday morning, adding that Tesla has “ambitious targets" with “little evidence of feasibility.”

“We believe TSLA potentially underappreciates the obstacles to scaling a robotaxi fleet,” they wrote.

Tesla’s new Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals and is designed to be fully autonomous, Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reported. The company said it will begin unsupervised full self-driving (FSD) trials with Model 3 and Model Y test vehicles next year in Texas and California. Tesla is aiming to begin Cybercab production “before 2027,” Musk said.

Tesla’s stock drop on Friday extended a two-week decline. TSLA shares fell last week after the company missed Wall Street estimates on its third quarter deliveries, issued a recall, and discontinued a lower-priced model. The stock — which has experienced far more volatility over the past year than its Magnificent Seven peers — is down 17% from last year. Still, TSLA’s Friday price of $220 per share is far higher than lows below $140 this spring. Shares hit a 15-month low in April amid Tesla’s layoffs and price cuts.

Investors and analysts had hoped the company’s long-awaited robotaxi event would live up to the hype but were disappointed by Musk’s lack of clarity over how the company would achieve its ambitious goals.

Raymond James (RJF) analyst Josh Beck called Tesla’s plan to commercialize its Cybercabs “vague” and “underwhelming.” Morgan Stanley (MS) analysts said the event included a “disappointing lack of detail” about updates to Tesla's FSD technology and market strategy.

RBC Capital analyst Tom Narayan concurred, writing in a note Friday that investors believe Musk’s vision “was light of real numbers and timelines.”

“These typically come at Tesla events,” he added. “This one seemed focused on branding and marketing Tesla's vision, rather than giving concrete numbers for us to model out.”

Additionally, Tesla did not reveal details about a lower-priced vehicle as some investors had hoped. That vehicle is expected to launch in the first half of 2025, analysts noted.

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk rides in Tesla's robotaxi at an unveilling event in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 10, 2024 in this still image taken from video. Tesla/Handout via REUTERS
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk rides in Tesla's robotaxi at an unveilling event in Los Angeles, Calif, Oct. 10, 2024 (Screenshot, Tesla/Handout via REUTERS) · Reuters / Reuters

To be sure, some experts on Wall Street think “We, Robot” was a success. Bank of America analysts said the robotaxi event “lived up to the hype.”