Tesla RoboTaxis: Is This The Real Deal?

What Happened: 

Elon Musk’s latest claim on Twitter was to announce the long-awaited Robotaxi reveal on August 8th, shooting the stock market up early 5% on Monday. 

This announcement was posted on X on Friday just after news broke from Reuters that Tesla planned to cancel the long-awaited sub-$30,000 “Model 2” electric vehicle once again in order to focus on the launch of the robotaxi. 

Elon Musk was quoted responding on X, saying that Reuters was “lying (again),” even though this information came from a legitimate and trustworthy source within the EV company.

Sides Are Split.

Although Tesla's stock shot up, Wall Street analysts are heavily mixed about the announcement:

Bull Viewpoint:

If the shift away from the Model 2 is confirmed, some analysts believe that this would dramatically improve Tesla’s current position in the market. If the EV company is so optimistic on its improvements to its autonomous technology that it has decided to solely focus its efforts on releasing the robotaxi, then many analysts see this as a major positive.

Tesla is often valued closer to a technology company than an automotive one, and this development surely indicates this will continue to be true. The actual vehicle has never been Tesla’s main asset, but its self-driving robotaxi network, which is just now coming fully into focus, is its main value driver. Very few automotive companies would be able to imitate this product, which would give Tesla very favorable economics.

Bear Viewpoint:

On the other side, many analysts believe Tesla has sacrificed a key portion of its business, labeling the Model 2 as a volume play that would reaccelerate volume and demand for the company, metrics that have really suffered in 2025. 

In order for features such as FSD, or full self-driving, to be as accurate as possible, Tesla needs more data. To get more data, the EV maker needs more cars on the road, hence where the Model 2 comes in.

Time and patience are the only factors that can determine if the bears or the bulls are right.