Tesla Shares Gain As Musk Sets Robotaxi Service Launch Tentatively On June 22

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(RTTNews) - Tesla Inc. shares were gaining around 2.4 percent in the pre-market activity on the Nasdaq following a 6 percent jump on Tuesday's regular trading, after the founder and CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the much awaited robotaxi service is tentatively set to launch in Austin, Texas, on June 22.

In a post on his social media platform X, Musk said, "Tentatively, June 22. We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift. First Tesla that drives itself from factory end of line all the way to a customer house is June 28."

Musk in late May had announced that Tesla had begun testing fully autonomous Model Y vehicles on public roads in Austin, Texas, without a human safety supervisor in the driver's seat.

A video shared by Musk on X shows Tesla's latest version of the Model Y SUV in black with a white "Robotaxi" graffiti-style logo painted on it.

Earlier this year, the CEO had stated that the company would start with a limited rollout of 10 to 20 robotaxi-ready Model Y units in Austin with a new, unsupervised version of its advanced driver assistance software, Full Self-Driving or FSD technology. The operations are expected to expand to other U.S. states later in the year, including California with strict AV regulations.

Safety is the biggest concern for commercializing autonomous vehicles, along with challenges of tight regulations and significantly higher investments.

Meanwhile, a successful launch of its robotaxi service is expected to give the luxury electric vehicle maker a much required boost amid the ongoing issues with declining demand and last week's public fallout between Musk and US President Donald Trump, once allies, over the administration's new tax plan and cuts to EV incentives.

Following the fallout, shares of Tesla had plunged around 14 percent on last Thursday, losing around $152 billion from its market capital in a single day, with its market capitalisation reaching below the $1 trillion mark. However, the shares regained on Friday after both parties tried to mend ways.

The electric automaker had recorded a 71 percent cut in its first-quarter profit, below market estimates, on 9.2 percent drop in revenue as vehicle deliveries declined.

The automaker is also facing severe downfall in Europe, with its market share reaching nearly 4 percent, down from nearly 10 percent a year ago. In late May, the company had said sales in Europe plunged 49 percent in April.

On the Nasdaq, Tesla shares closed Tuesday's regular trading at $326.09, up 5.67 percent.

As of this writing, shares are gaining 1.9 percent in the pre-market activity and trading at $332.30.