Tesla Hints at Expanded Robotaxi Lineup, Fueling Stock Surge and Autonomous Vehicle Ambitions

Elon Musk's Robotaxi Ambitions Are Sending TSLA Stock Soaring: Could Tesla Have More Cybercab Models Planned For 2025? - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

In a recent presentation at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Tuesday, Tesla Inc.'s TSLA chief designer Franz von Holzhausen hinted at the possibility of introducing new vehicle forms for the company's robotaxi lineup. What Happened: Von Holzhausen's cryptic comment suggests that Tesla may expand its robotaxi offerings beyond the already known Cybercab model. "We have other vehicles in our lineup, and future vehicles coming that will basically take multiple passengers," he said during an overview of the Cybercab at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Von Holzhausen's comments have fueled speculation about Tesla's future robotaxi models, potentially addressing market needs for larger passenger groups. Tesla's strategy involves using existing vehicles as robotaxis, but the Cybercab's two-seat design aims to optimize costs and storage for typical ride-hailing trips. Earlier, Travis Axelrod, Tesla's Head of Investor Relations, informed Deutsche Bank that 2025 would be a pivotal year for the company's product launches. This includes the unofficially-named "Model Q" and a long wheelbase Model Y tailored for the Chinese market. Axelrod also mentioned that the latter half of 2025 would see the introduction of "other new vehicles." See Also: Tesla Reportedly In Talks With Austin To Bring Autonomous Vehicles To Texas Roads: Elon Musk-Led EV Giant Rises 3% In Pre-Market Why It Matters: Tesla's ambitions for its robotaxi fleet are gaining momentum, with recent developments indicating a significant push towards autonomous vehicle deployment. The company is reportedly in early discussions with Austin city officials to test its autonomous vehicles on Texas roads by 2025. This move could bolster Tesla's driverless vehicle ambitions if the discussions prove fruitful. Von Holzhausen also recently shared insights into the aesthetic choices for the Cybercab, describing it as a "future version" of New York City's iconic yellow cabs. The choice of gold paint reflects a modern take on the traditional yellow cab, aiming to create something more expressive and up-to-date. Analysts at Wedbush Securities foresee Tesla potentially reaching a $2 trillion market cap by the end of 2025, driven by its autonomous vehicle initiatives, including the launch of the Cybercab. The firm's bullish outlook underscores the importance of Tesla's autonomous strategy in achieving this milestone. Price Action: Tesla stock closed at $436.17 on Thursday, lower by 0.90%. It fell another 1.9% in after-hours trading. Year-to-date, the Tesla stock is up 75.6%, according to Benzinga Pro data. The overall consensus rating on the Tesla stock is currently 'Buy' with the highest price target being $515, implying an 18% upside. Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Read Next: SpaceX Lost Ground Control On Dragon Spacecraft During Polaris Dawn Mission Due To Power Outage At California Facility Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Tesla Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Tesla's Head Designer Hints Robotaxi Could Get Additional Form Factors

This, combined with previous comments from Tesla's Head of Investor Relations, could hint that Tesla may have additional robotaxi form factors up its sleeve Tesla's Robotaxi ambitions are sending its share soaring right now. Investors are riled up over Tesla's promises to deliver a commercial autonomy platform, and that all starts with its first dedicated vehicle: the Cybercab. During a recent overview of the Cybercab at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen made a cryptic remark: "We have other vehicles in our lineup and future vehicles coming that will basically take multiple passengers." Could this be referring to the teased Robovan concept, or does Tesla have something else up its sleeve for its future fleet of autonomous cars? Let's remember that Travis Axelrod, Tesla's Head of Investor Relations, told Deutsche Bank that 2025 would be "a year of product launches." We know this refers to Tesla's unofficially-named "Model Q" and a long wheelbase Model Y with three rows for the Chinese market, but Axelrod also noted that the second half of 2025 would feature the release of "other new vehicles" -- yes, that's vehicles with an "s." Between Axelrod and von Holzhausen's comments, it raises the question of whether or not Tesla has some additional Robotaxis on the horizon that the world has yet to see. Tesla has said that designing the Cybercab with two seats was deliberate. Data suggests that most ride-hailing trips involve just one or two passengers, meaning that Tesla could cut down on costs and maximize storage by limiting the Cybercab to just two seats. However, that leaves a huge gap in the market for larger groups of people looking to hail a ride from an autonomous car. Tesla has long planned to fill that gap using its fleet of existing cars on the road as robotaxis. Even before the robotaxi was a twinkle in Elon Musk's eye, the CEO had talked about launching the Tesla Network, an autonomous ride-sharing app that utilizes customer-owned Teslas equipped with Full Self-Driving to provide Uber-like services when not in use. That was all the way back in 2020 and a lot has changed since then -- like the idea of bringing a dedicated robotaxi platform with no steering wheels or pedals into the mix. One of the biggest hurdles for this approach comes from within. Tesla will first have to figure out if its cars equipped with aging Hardware 3 and current Hardware 4 FSD computers will be able to actually operate fully autonomously. The Cybercab will ship with Hardware 5 (or, as Musk has called it, AI5). It's unclear if older cars will be able to operate at a hardware level necessary for Level 5 fully automated driving, which means either Tesla pushes existing models with new FSD hardware, or consider new dedicated vehicles. Could this be what Franz has suggested during his talk at Petersen? It's questionable if the next dedicated platform will be the Robovan, as that would require certain costly accessibility concessions to the Tesla network very early on rather than be developed as it grows. The Robovan, which is slated for carrying over 20 people, must meet the Americans With Disabilities Act's "readily accessible and usable" standard for demand-responsive transportation systems -- meaning that the Robovan must be designed from the ground up to be immediately usable by people with disabilities (think built-in ramps, doors, and multimodal controls). The two-seater Cybercab (and the rest of Tesla's fleet) would only need to provide "equivalent service," which would be an alternative method for folks with disabilities to utilize the service. This is obviously a more complicated approach to launching a service, which is why Tesla could be focused on launching smaller capacity vehicles -- like the Cybercab and enabling the function on existing models -- prior to the Robovan. Even General Motors recently threw in the towel with Cruise's robotaxi service, given concerns over the capital requirements to launch and maintain it. Von Holzhausen's comments hint at Tesla's bigger picture. Its CEO has said time and time again that Tesla's is an AI company that just happens to build cars, so maximizing its offerings to meet that narrative would be Tesla's main priority. Tesla has yet to confirm what other robotaxi designs -- if any -- are in development, but it's clear that the company sees the need for additional models across its fleet to meet some needs; otherwise, why would Axelrod drop the hint that Tesla would announce several vehicles in the new year? For now, the Cybercab and Robovan are the only two dedicated robotaxi platforms that Tesla has officially previewed to the world. Whether it complements those vehicles with existing models or completely new vehicles is still to be seen, but it at least creates a bit of justification for Tesla's hyped-up stock price.