(Reuters) – Tesla shares rose 2.5% on Thursday after the electric carmaker stuck to plans to roll out its advanced Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver-assistance software in China and Europe, pending approval from regulators in those regions.
It comes about a month before the company unveils its robotaxi product, “Cybercab,” powered by technology that helps drivers accelerate, brake and steer in cities and highways with human supervision.
CEO Elon Musk said in July that Tesla would likely get regulatory approval for FSD in both regions by the end of the year. The billionaire said Thursday that FSD could launch in right-hand drive markets in the late first quarter or early April-June period.
Musk’s tendency to set aggressive deadlines has raised doubts among investors and analysts, especially after missing several optimistic targets for FSD, Semi and Cybertruck.
It also announced other features like Actually Smart Summon, FSD for the Cybertruck electric pickup this month, and version 13 of the less-intervention software next month.
Shanghai, home to one of Tesla’s gigafactories, approved 10 vehicles for FSD testing in June, paving the way for its rollout in China.
Broker Piper Sandler said that while recent data from a community tracker on the performance of the FSD HW3 (hardware 3) might worry some car owners, it is not a major concern for Tesla investors.
Tesla’s increased focus on products such as its humanoid robot, the robotaxi and the FSD comes as electric vehicle sales continue to come under pressure due to higher borrowing costs, consumer concerns about fast-charging facilities and driving range on a single charge.
Wall Street remains cautious about companies developing self-driving technologies because of tight regulatory oversight. Investors, however, anticipate that a potential Trump administration could speed up the regulatory process.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bangalore; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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