Tesla announced a new version of its full self-driving supervised technology Tuesday morning, but investors are looking for something bigger.
Over the weekend, Elon Musk’s company shared a teaser clip featuring a logo-emblazoned, spinning component that could be anything from a wheel cover to a fan or turbine. The clip ended with the numbers “10/7,” indicating Tuesday’s date for the reveal.
Tesla posted a second clip to X on Sunday showing the outline of a vehicle’s headlights in the dark.
Shares climbed 5% Monday as the buzz grew online over what the announcement would be.
The big reveal could be the long-awaited lower-cost model, or the next-generation Roadster that Musk has promised for years.
Or something else.
The company hasn’t released a new model vehicle for sale since it began shipping the Cybertruck, its angular unpainted steel pickup, in late 2023.
Musk originally promoted the Cybertruck at an “unveiling” event in 2019, where his demo went awry and he shattered a window. The Cybertuck never achieved the level of popularity of Tesla’s Model 3 sedan or Model Y SUVs and has been the subject of at least eight voluntary recalls in the U.S.
With its auto sales in a multi-quarter slump, Tesla has been trying to shift investor attention to its future as a robotics and self-driving car business.
The slump has resulted, in part, from a consumer backlash against Musk, his endorsements of far-right political parties and figures, and his incendiary political rhetoric. But it’s also due to an aging lineup and increased competition from companies including Volkswagen and BYD.
In mid-October of last year, Tesla held its invitation-only, “We, Robot” event in Hollywood, where it showed off a low, two-seater Cybercab concept with no steering wheels or pedals. Musk said the driverless car would cost about $30,000.
As of the company’s second-quarter earnings call, it was not yet in production.
At an event in late 2017, Musk promised Tesla would make a next-generation Roadster, but the vehicle has never moved into production. In 2021, Musk promised the Roadster would be able to “fly,” and last year he said the elusive sports car was being redesigned in collaboration with SpaceX, his aerospace and defense contractor.
Musk has been promising to turn existing Tesla EVs into robotaxis with a software update for about a decade.
The company currently has human safety drivers in its Robotaxi-branded test and fleet vehicles, unlike robotaxi rivals like Alphabet’s Waymo and Baidu’s Apollo Go.
In the realm of humanoid robots, Musk has said Tesla’s Optimus robots will be capable of factory work or babysitting your kids, but they’ve yet to hit the market. Meanwhile, competitors like Agility Robotics and Unitree are already selling bipedal, humanoid robots.
Following a brutal first quarter that saw Tesla lose 36% of its value, the stock has been on a tear, jumping 40% in the third quarter. It’s now up 12% for the year. That stock price increase was aided by Musk, who purchased about $1 billion of Tesla stock himself in mid-September.
WATCH: Tesla teases new product launch
