Tesla to unveil 'Robotaxi' on August 8, says Elon Musk

Currently, Full Self-Driving capability can be purchased with a new Tesla Model 3, for instance, for an additional $12,000 added to the car's roughly $40,000 purchase price

Elon Musk announced on April 5 that Tesla will introduce the 'Robotaxi'  on August 8. The billionaire boss of the electric carmaker did not provide details but posted on his X account: "Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8".

Tesla shares rose more than three percent in after-market trades following the post, after finishing the day down. Musk has long spoken about the work Tesla is doing on its systems for electric cars to drive themselves.

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Tesla's robotaxi reveal came on the heels of a Reuters report that the company had abandoned Musk's long-touted plan to manufacture an electric car model selling close to $25,000 to drive adoption in the mass market.

Musk fired off a post denying the report.

Tesla, in April 2019, said it expected to begin operating robotaxis by 2020. The company predicted the autonomous cars would last 11 years and drive 1 million miles, making the company and the car's operators $30,000 in profit each year.

Currently, Full Self-Driving capability can be purchased with a new Tesla Model 3, for instance, for an additional $12,000 added to the car's roughly $40,000 purchase price. It can be also be purchased on a subscription basis for up to $199 a month, depending on how the car was originally equipped.

Tesla sales fell sharply last quarter as competition increased worldwide, electric vehicle sales growth slowed, and price cuts failed to lure more buyers.