Tesla's Cybercab launch in Austin turned into a rout within 24 hours: the invitation-only event skipped a livestream and Elon Musk himself stayed away, then federal regulators opened an audit into the vehicle's safety certification. Shares fell 6% the next day after rallying ahead of the event, leaving Tesla down 21.4% for the year.
Tesla held a Cybercab launch party in Austin, but by all accounts it was invitation-only, without a livestream or a press release on Tesla's website. Even CEO Elon Musk skipped the event, though he posted prerecorded videos about the Cybercab on X.
Shares rally, then reverse
Tesla shares rose 5.4% on Thursday in anticipation of the launch, as fans waited on X for a livestream that never came.
Analysts weren't impressed either. Wells Fargo called the event underwhelming and pointed to early execution issues for the Austin robotaxi service. RBC Capital Markets flagged limited new disclosure on pricing, production cadence, and regulatory approvals.
NHTSA opens an audit into the Cybercab
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it was opening an Audit Query into Tesla's self-certification of the Cybercab, which lacks a steering wheel or pedals. According to NHTSA: "The vehicles lack permanently attached, conventional manual controls", referring to features like brake pedals and mirrors required under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The agency said it will examine the process Tesla used to certify the vehicle as compliant.
A precedent from Amazon's Zoox
The situation echoes what happened to Amazon's self-driving unit Zoox, which received its own NHTSA audit query in 2023 after self-certifying its robotaxi. That investigation delayed Zoox's path to commercialization, and the company didn't win an exemption to charge for rides until this July — more than three years later. Tesla's audit query may not take as long, but there is no way yet to tell when full Cybercab service might begin in Austin, let alone nationwide.
Tesla shares plunged 6% the day after the launch, finishing slightly below Wednesday's close and leaving the stock down 21.4% so far this year. The underlying business has not changed since Wednesday — it remains a company with a robotaxi service and a line of humanoid robots still in the plan stage rather than fully delivered.
Source: The Motley Fool
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