Tesla (TSLA) stock is on the rise after two big pieces of news came overnight: a reported start date for robotaxi testing and CEO Elon Musk’s official government departure.
Per Bloomberg, Tesla is targeting a June 12 launch date for its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, according to sources. The start date, which could change, the source added, is earlier than the late-June date Musk had previously announced.
Early this morning, in a post on X, Musk confirmed that for “the past several days, Tesla has been testing self-driving Model Y cars (no one in driver’s seat) on Austin public streets with no incidents,” also confirming a similar Bloomberg report.
Musk added that Tesla is planning its first “self-delivery” from the factory to a customer next month.
Also fueling optimism in the auto sector is the US Court of International Trade putting a temporary pause on many of President Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, though sector tariffs on autos, aluminum, and steel remain.
Tesla stock rose over 2% in early trade.
“We interpret the set date as a sign that management is confident the software is ready for testing,” Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein wrote in a note. “The report said Tesla plans to test 10 robotaxis. Based on our estimate for robotaxis making 15 rides per day, this could allow Tesla to run at least 4,500 tests per month, if not more.”
Goldstein added that the amount of testing should allow Tesla to more quickly identify and fix any issues with the robotaxi service versus a smaller fleet. Musk has said previously that if all goes well, Tesla would expand the number of vehicles in the fleet for further testing.
Musk and Tesla have bet the future of the company on self-driving and the ability for its cars to perform robotaxi services. Tesla’s dedicated robotaxi — the Cybercab — is slated for a 2026 launch as well.
“It’s prudent for us to start with a small number, confirm that things are going well, and then scale it up,” Musk said last week.
In a post on X late last night, Musk revealed that his time in Washington was coming to an end.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” he wrote, in part.
Musk’s declaration comes after he posted earlier this week that he would he would be back “to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms,” being “super focused” on X, Tesla, and SpaceX.
Tesla investors and analysts would like nothing more for Musk to focus on his businesses — and avoid Washington and political blowback altogether.
“We believe the golden age of autonomous is now on the doorstep for Tesla with the Austin launch on June 12th kicking off this key next chapter of growth,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote to investors, adding that it is now time for Musk to focus and steer “Tesla in a very positive direction with autonomous and robotics the future.”
Ives believes that while there will be technical setbacks on the path toward full autonomy, the opportunity could be worth $1 trillion for Tesla. “We see the true autonomous winner as Tesla and over the coming year more investors will recognize this AI vision,” he wrote.
Ives maintained his Outperform rating and $500 price target.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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