Tesla stock wobbles as the company rolls out early robotaxi invites

Tesla shares wavered on Friday as investors eyed the company's move toward its highly anticipated robotaxi event.
The stock rose as much as 3% to $332.36 before paring gains and falling by about 1%. The stock is down 21% in 2025.
Tesla is poised to enter the self-driving car market by launching its robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, with early invites for the service rolling out Friday morning.
The electric vehicle maker has been preparing for the event for months, keeping investors on edge as they await a fresh catalyst for the stock to gain amid falling vehicle sales in 2025.
Influencers and popular Tesla personalities on X shared screenshots of emails they received Friday morning, revealing their invitations to test Tesla's self-driving vehicles.
"As an Early Access rider, you can be among the first to use our new Robotaxi App and experience an autonomous ride within our geofenced area in Austin," an invitation posted on X reads. "Through this exclusive preview, you'll have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback on our Robotaxi service."
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a well known Tesla bull, described Tesla's robotaxi launch as the start of a "golden age of autonomous growth."
"Taking a step back we view this autonomous chapter as one of the most important for Musk and Tesla in its history as a company...as we believe the AI future at Tesla is worth $1 trillion to the valuation alone over the next few years," Ives wrote in a note on Friday, reiterating an outperform rating and a $500 price target for Tesla stock.
Tesla stock has been volatile this year, but it's up sharply since its April lows, partly on excitement for the robotaxi launch. Investors have been concerned about falling Tesla sales, as well as Musk's political activities, which some shareholders believe have harmed the brand.

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