The stock market punishes Tesla for the delay of the Robotaxi

Ambition is good, reason is not bad either. In announcing the presentation of Tesla’s Robotaxi on August 8, 2024, Elon Musk may have been overly optimistic.

According to Bloomberg, we will have to wait until October to see Tesla’s autonomous taxi. Three months isn’t much for a vehicle that isn’t meant to hit the road tomorrow, but it signifies a problem. Elon Musk has accustomed us to presenting unfinished models, so no one would have been surprised to see just a simple model of the Robotaxi…

For Tesla’s stock on NASDAQ to drop nearly 9% after a completely wild month that saw the stock rise 36%, there must be a good reason… or a bad reason depending on the perspective on the Robotaxi issue!

The big question looming over Tesla is whether the manufacturer can actually create an autonomous car and deploy it safely. For years, Tesla has prioritized the development of an autonomous ridesharing service with a fleet made up of both customer-owned Teslas and Robotaxis. It was this latter that Musk had promised us in April for August 8. But why rush it? This surprise announcement actually served as a distraction from the decision to suspend the lower-cost vehicle project which is much quicker to implement and certainly more profitable in the short term.

Because it will take time to make the entire “Robotaxi” financial sphere profitable. Ask Uber, and you’ll see that we’re no longer talking in weeks or months but indeed in years! So, the delay in implementing the Robotaxi means lost money for investors, and that definitely deserves a good punishment…