Tesla closes down 8.4% on report it will delay robotaxi unveiling

According to Bloomberg News on Thursday, electric vehicle giant Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) will delay its planned robotaxi unveiling until October from August.

In a post on his social media platform X in April this year, Musk originally earmarked August 8 as the date Tesla would unveil its robotaxi. "Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8," he posted at the time.

However, Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, said the company has now pushed back the date to allow its teams working on the project more time to build more vehicle prototypes,

Optimism about the upcoming event has contributed to Tesla's strong share price rise over the last couple of weeks. However, Tesla stock price closed 8.4% lower following the news on Thursday, its biggest drop since March 4. It is now trading below the $245 mark. The news has also resulted in a boost to the share prices of Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) and Uber (NYSE:UBER).

In a recent note to clients, analysts at Wedbush said "the key for Tesla's stock looking ahead is the Street recognizing that Tesla is the most undervalued AI play in the market in our view with a historical Robotaxi Day ahead for Musk and Tesla on August 8th that will lay the yellow brick road to FSD and an autonomous future."

They added that Tesla's long-standing commitment to full self-driving, which was first mentioned in connection with robotaxis in 2019, is now becoming a reality.

The firm concluded: "In a nutshell, the worst is in the rear-view mirror for Tesla as we believe the EV demand story is starting to return to the disruptive tech stalwart ahead of a historical Robotaxi Day on August 8th with the bears now heading back into hibernation mode and their caves."