For a businessman known for broken promises, Elon Musk set himself quite the agenda Thursday night at Tesla's long-awaited Hollywood unveiling of its driverless robotaxis.
Elon Musk arrived on stage — an hour late — in one of 50 Cybercabs circling around Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles, where the event was hosted.
At Tesla’s “We, Robot” event, Musk unveiled not one but two sleek, futuristic vehicles. The first is a self-driving, two-seater robotaxi called the Cybercab. The second is a Robobus/Robovan that can seat up to 20 people.
The plan is for the car to drive itself autonomously from launch. Musk said Tesla hopes to start producing the Cybercab before 2027, but didn’t provide details on where the cars would be manufactured. He introduced the new model, stating it has “no steering wheel or pedals” and will cost under $30,000.
Robobus has a particularly unusual design, which Musk said was intentional. “We want to change the look of the roads,” Musk said. “The future should look like the future.”
Musk has been promising fully self-driving cars for years, but Tesla has a history of production delays, like those that plagued Tesla’s Cybertruck. After deliveries began late last year, the vehicle has been recalled several times due to persistent design flaws.
Analysts weren’t especially impressed by Tesla’s robo event. The futuristic scene and Musk’s promotion of the new products as game-changers didn’t push investors to pour money into Tesla shares.
Tesla stock fell nearly 8% to $221. While the stock has risen nearly 50% since April, when Musk announced the shift to robotaxis, it’s still down 8% over the past year, compared to a 33% increase in the S&P 500 index.
Several important details were missing, prompting investors to be cautious. The presentation lasted just 30 minutes and didn’t address safety concerns regarding self-driving technology.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump criticized self-driving cars at a campaign event Thursday, expressing concerns and pledging to “stop” the technology from being used on American roads.
There was also no deep dive into the business model. Even Optimus, the humanoid robots dancing in fish tanks and pouring drinks for guests, couldn’t lift Tesla stock price.
On Friday, Tesla’s stock was down due to lackluster progress on ride-hailing, while Uber had a strong day. Uber’s stock jumped 9% to an all-time high, and shares of its smaller competitor Lyft surged 10%.
$10 billion — that’s how much Musk’s fortune shrank on Friday, making him $10 billion poorer. Despite that, Musk remains the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $246 billion, according to Forbes.
