Tesla’s $100 Billion Robotaxi Rally

Tesla is celebrating a massive win on Wall Street. Following the weekend launch of its long-awaited robotaxi service, the company’s shares jumped more than 10% in Monday trading session, adding a staggering $104 billion to its market capitalization and pushing the total value of the Elon Musk-led company to $1.14 trillion.

The surge was a direct response to the limited debut in Austin, Texas, where a small fleet of about a dozen Model Y SUVs began operating in a geofenced area. For investors, the focus wasn’t just on the cars, but on the technology powering them. Tesla is betting its entire autonomous strategy on its camera-based Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, a departure from competitors like Waymo that rely on expensive sensors like LiDAR and radar.

For the launch, Tesla invited a handful of influencers and fans for the first rides. Unsurprisingly, their reviews were ecstatic.

“Screw it, I’m going to extend my stay in Austin another day,” posted Sawyer Merritt, a Tesla investor and one of the first riders. “I want to take some more Tesla Robotaxi rides.” When asked if he preferred the experience to Uber, his answer was simple: “Robotaxi.”

Robotaxi.

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 23, 2025

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, was also invited. His takeaway was overwhelmingly positive. “There was a Tesla Operator sitting in the front passenger seat of the Robotaxi, but they were not permitted to comment on anything nor did they influence the car in any way,” Ives wrote. “To really put it into perspective, there was a moment where we drove up a narrow road going up a hill with cars parked on both sides with oncoming traffic and people opening their car doors into the road and the Robotaxi masterfully maneuvered with patience and safety among this chaos.”

Ives, who sees this as the start of a “$1 trillion autonomous journey,” concluded that Tesla “exceeded” his expectations and “has lit the spark for autonomous driving.”