Pushing back the Robotaxi day to October throws doubt on one of Tesla's most important promises.
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Tesla is reportedly pushing back its robotaxi event to the fall, according to a report from Bloomberg on Thursday.
Elon Musk's automaker had been aiming to host investors at an event detailing its long-awaited robotaxi business plans on August 8, less than a month from now. Bloomberg reported that the company will now need more time to work up prototypes for the event, pushing the date back to October.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Shares of Tesla, which have rallied in recent months despite worsening financial results, sank more than 6% following the report.
While Musk is famous for missing his own deadlines, pushing back the robotaxi event would throw doubt on the company's most crucial promise right now: AI.
After initially staying above the fray in the industry's electric vehicle slowdown, Tesla is finally starting to feel the pinch of decreased demand. And its strategy to boost demand by slashing prices is taking a toll on the company's bottom line.
Following tough first-quarter financial results, Musk was able to win over investors with a couple of key promises — including a driverless taxi business that would operate like "a combination of Airbnb and Uber." So far, the company has shown off renderings of an app interface and a short video, but no verifiable product.
Powered by Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, fleets of driverless Tesla cars, belonging to the company and to individual owners, would be available for rides by anyone.
Tesla bulls like Wedbush analyst Dan Ives were unphased by the reported delay.
"While the knee jerk reaction will clearly be negative on a delay of August 8th," Ives wrote in a note to clients, "we believe the timing of robotaxis, partnerships, and the ultimate autonomous and AI driven technology does not change at all for our bullish Tesla thesis."
