Tesla holders want robotaxi answers after missed rollout targets
Retail investors are pressing Tesla on robotaxi delays, Cybercab production and Optimus ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call is shaping up around one blunt investor demand: explain why the robotaxi rollout is still lagging Elon Musk’s earlier targets.
On Say Technologies’ shareholder platform, where Tesla lets individual investors submit and vote on questions for earnings calls, robotaxi delays sit near the top of the pile. One retail investor pointed to missed short-term guidance across three straight earnings reports, including an earlier goal of covering 50% of the U.S. by the end of 2025 and a later target involving seven new cities in the first half of 2026.
That question had 581 votes and was tied to at least 1.4 million Tesla shares on the platform. Tesla’s investor-relations chief typically reads several of the highest-ranked questions during the call, where management, including Musk, can respond or decline to take them up.
Robotaxi rollout under the microscope
Robotaxis are a major piece of the valuation story around Tesla, according to MarketWatch, and investors are tracking the gap between company targets and actual expansion.
Tesla began its robotaxi service in June 2025 in Austin, Texas. Since then, the company has brought limited unsupervised rideshare service to at least Austin, Dallas and Houston, according to MarketWatch. It also offers supervised trips in California’s San Francisco Bay Area.
On July 3, Tesla started allowing rideshare trips in Miami, and videos posted online showed at least some vehicles operating without supervision, MarketWatch reported. Miami was among five cities Tesla had named as targets earlier this year, along with Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
A January shareholder presentation said Tesla aimed to start operations in those cities during the first half of 2026. In an April presentation, the company changed its language to say preparations were underway, without giving a schedule.
Musk told investors on Tesla’s first-quarter call in April that the main obstacle was validation and safety. “The limiting factor for expansion is really rigorous validation, making sure things are completely safe,” he said then, adding that Tesla did not want an accident or injury tied to the robotaxi expansion.
Cybercab and Optimus are also in the queue
Another highly ranked investor question on Say Technologies, tied to 5.2 million shares and 492 votes, asks Tesla to identify the main bottlenecks in expanding robotaxi service and give more detail on Cybercab production.
Cybercab is Tesla’s purpose-built robotaxi vehicle. It entered production last quarter and is expected to increase output gradually, according to MarketWatch.
Investors are also looking for updates on Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot. The third-ranked question by votes asks about the schedule for the third-generation Optimus, expected sales volume next year and what the robot will be able to do.
Musk has described Optimus as Tesla’s “greatest” product and has offered ambitious forecasts for the humanoid-robot market. Tesla had planned to demonstrate the robot earlier this year but delayed the showing, citing worries that competitors could copy its designs. Musk said in April that Optimus works functionally.
Tesla shares were down 2% Monday afternoon and had fallen 17% so far this year, according to MarketWatch. In a client note last week, Oppenheimer analysts said they saw the possibility of further pressure on the stock, citing expected robotaxi timeline slippage and issues tied to Optimus.
This story draws on original reporting from MarketWatch.