Elon Musk hypes robotaxi to rescue Tesla's tumbling stock

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Elon Musk announced he'll unveil a Tesla robotaxi in August, it was a clear attempt to arrest a spiral for the once high-flying carmaker.

Tesla shares already had been sinking before the company reported anemic quarterly delivery figures last week. Then, Reuters reported the automaker was shelving plans for a cheaper electric vehicle, extending the tailspin. Musk's vague denial didn't do the trick — the stock closed Friday as the worst performer in the S&P 500 this year.

So the chief executive officer turned to his tried-and-true playbook: change the narrative by dangling a new product. The shares jumped in late trading at the end of last week and traded up 4.2% at the start of Monday's premarket session.

Splashy events have long been part of Tesla's strategy to generate buzz while spending next to nothing on traditional advertising. Musk has mastered the craft of keeping investors focused on the future instead of current pain points. But there's usually been years of wait between when he's unveiled prototypes and when Tesla actually starts production.
«Investors need to curb some of their enthusiasm with this stock and its various product announcements, as there tends to be a wide chasm between hype/speculation and reality,» Adam Crisafulli, the founder of analysis firm Vital Knowledge, said by email. «This seems to be an example of Tesla trying to distract from the current EV market conditions, which are very bleak at the moment.»

Bloomberg