Well, Tesla (TSLA) and its robotaxi saga just got even more interesting.
For what felt like forever, Elon Musk’s been banging the drum on Tesla’s ride-or-die robotaxi plan, the next big moneymaker.
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We finally got the big reveal on Sunday, bringing much-needed relief for Tesla bulls.
So far, the reaction has been mostly mixed, with both Wall Street and early users split on what to make of it.
Nevertheless, a veteran Tesla bull says Wall Street’s got it all wrong, potentially setting it up for a major spark that sends the stock soaring.
Daniel Ives hypes Tesla’s robotaxi after test ride.
Image source: Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Robotaxi reveal: Tesla’s big bet finally hits the streets
After years of Musk promising a self-driving future, the robotaxi finally hit the streets of Austin on Sunday. Well, sort of.
The service is live only in a small, geofenced slice of Austin during set hours.
That’s far from the 24/7, coast-to-coast network Musk has long hyped. On top of that, each Model Y had a Tesla safety driver onboard, ready to take over in a jiffy.
Nonetheless, early riders were mostly impressed.
They said the cabin felt chill and the rides were smooth, despite the testing turns and rough patches. Also, they praised the app, which made it super easy to book, track, and hop out.
Related: Tesla’s robotaxi finally launches, but there’s a twist
Most folks felt the experience was “normal,” with the car navigating similarly to a human driver. It’s far from the robotaxi revolution Musk promised, but a working step in that direction.
Musk has long hyped robotaxis as Tesla’s next cash cow. The goal is to turn idle Tesla cars into money-minting machines with a city-wide self-driving fleet.
Behind the curtain, Musk is talking “thousands” of robotaxis in months and a million by 2026.
Still, there have been multiple tough moments since the launch.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating clips showing one robotaxi drifting into oncoming traffic with its blinker on. Another froze in the middle of an intersection, and one slammed on the brakes out of nowhere.
At this point, though, Tesla says it’s testing just 10–20 Model Ys in a small geofenced zone while it irons out the bugs.
That hasn’t slowed down Google parent Alphabet’s Waymo, which continues to turn heads with its latest strides in the robotaxi space.
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Waymo got a major boost from Uber, as driverless Jaguars roll out in Atlanta with zero extra fees.
Meanwhile, Uber looks to cash in on Waymo’s reach, and Tesla scrambles to fix glitches as the robotaxi wars kick into high gear.
Daniel Ives calls Tesla’s robotaxi ride a ‘spark for autonomy’
Tesla’s hyped-up robotaxi launch got a thumbs-up from longtime Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives.
Invited to test Austin’s autonomous Model Y fleet, Ives was impressed, calling the roughly 15-minute trips “comfortable, safe, and personalized.”
He said it surpassed his expectations, a spark that could finally push autonomous driving into high gear.
Related: Veteran Tesla analyst makes boldest robotaxi call yet
That said, the longtime Tesla bull’s comments contrast sharply with the viral clips making the rounds, raising questions over the robotaxi’s safety.
As mentioned earlier, the NHTSA is also involved, which complicates matters.
Just before the launch, Ives hailed the Austin robotaxi rollout as the start of a “golden era of autonomous.”
He stuck with an outperform rating and a bold $500 price target, close to a 50% upside from Tesla’s current price.
Moreover, he feels that if Tesla pulls off full-scale robotaxi deployment, it could unlock a $1 trillion bump in valuation.
Following the reveal on Sunday, Tesla stock surged on June 23, opening at $348.68, up sharply from Friday’s close of $322.16.
However, the excitement didn’t last.
By June 25, shares had pulled back to $327.55, giving up a lot of those gains as the hype cooled off and traders reassessed the long-term impact.
Related: Veteran analyst drops bold new call on Nvidia stock