Tesla Stock Gains As Robotaxi Hits On Austin Roads

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(RTTNews) - Tesla Inc. officially launched its highly anticipated Robotaxi driverless taxi service in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. Currently, the company is providing service in limited areas of Austin. The vehicles were confined to certain streets, and the riders reportedly included investors and social-media influencers who live-streamed their trips.

On the Nasdaq, Tesla shares are currently gaining around 7.1 percent to trade at $345.13.

In its website, Tesla has shared that Robotaxi combines its automated driving technology and renowned vehicle hardware design to create a personalized driverless experience that is reliable and convenient.

Riders could download the Robotaxi app, create a Tesla Account, and can enter their destination from within the service area shown in the Robotaxi app.

Bloomberg reported that the luxury vehicle maker is using only 10 to 20 vehicles in the initial stage. The vehicles will have safety monitors and may not operate in bad weather.

Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk had given a tentative launch date of June 22 for the service, which he sees as a transformative new business line, earlier in June.

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.

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.

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 of declining demand.

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.