The stocks of ride-hailing app companies Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) both jumped Friday while Tesla stock took a hit, following the EV maker’s long-awaited robotaxi reveal.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company’s highly anticipated robotaxi prototype, dubbed the “Cybercab,” on Thursday evening. But the event left some investors underwhelmed, with analysts pointing to a lack of concrete details and a flood of ambitious promises from Musk.
Uber and Lyft shares both jumped 10% on Friday morning in response, while Tesla stock fell almost 8%.
The Cybercab is expected to be the Tesla’s first car that is capable of fullly autonomous driving. While Tesla offers driving assistance software for self-driving, the vehicles still require a driver.
Musk was unable to provide a specific production date for the Cybercab, saying only that it will enter production “probably” in 2026 or “before 2027.” The car is expected to be priced at less than $30,000.
The CEO has previously described his vision for a robotaxi network as a mix of Airbnb and Uber, in which owners could earn money while they sleep by adding their cars to the service. On Thursday, he even encouraged people — especially Uber and Lyft drivers — to consider buying multiple Cybercabs.
Still, some investors were not impressed.
One analyst called the Cybercab “toothless” and said it was a best-case scenario for Uber.
“We consider the event a best-case outcome for Uber, given Tesla did not provide verifiable evidence of progress toward (Level 3 autonomous driving) or quantify the number of robotaxis planned,” Jefferies analyst John Colantuoni wrote in a client note Friday. “We expect Uber to react positively now that investors can focus on fundamentals.”
— William Gavin and Britney Nguyen contributed to this article.
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