Analysis-Tesla Doubles Down on Robotaxi Timeline; Investors Enthused - and Skeptical

Tesla peppered its latest earnings call with pledges to launch commercial robotaxi operations soon, with CEO Elon Musk promising that autonomous vehicles will "move the financial needle in a significant way" by late next year.

While the U.S. electric vehicle maker has missed targets many times before, its reiteration on Tuesday of a previously announced launch target has investors believing that its self-driving future is close.

As its core automotive business struggles, with vehicle sales down 13% in the first quarter, expectations are high for Tesla to prove it can overcome the technological hurdles of autonomous driving and demonstrate a sound business model for driverless car services.

Most bullish investors and analysts tie the bulk of Tesla's stock value to its plans for a massive robotaxi and autonomous-driving subscription business.

Now is the time for "the fundamental inflection" that "we're all hoping for," said Blake Anderson, associate portfolio manager at Carson Group, a Tesla investor.

Tesla stuck to its previously announced June timeline for launching a paid robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, providing investors confidence that Musk's time spent as a government cost-cutting adviser to President Donald Trump had not caused delays.

On Tuesday's call, Musk said Tesla will first use existing Model Y vehicles outfitted with self-driving software. The automaker is also developing a dedicated autonomous model, dubbed the Cybercab, with production starting next year.