MARKET REPORT: £60 billion wiped from Tesla as ‘Robotaxi’ launch fails

Tesla’s value fell by around £60 billion after the launch of its self-driving Robotaxis fell flat.

At a much-hyped event, electric carmaker boss Elon Musk revealed plans to put the Cybercab into production before 2027.

He said the vehicle, which is designed without a steering wheel or pedals, will cost less than £23,000.

Tesla has described its self-driving cars as a cross between Uber and Airbnb, with owners acting as hosts for their autonomous vehicles when picking up and dropping off fares.

But investors were unimpressed and shares fell as much as 10 percent in early trading in New York, wiping out around £60 billion of Tesla’s value.

“We found Tesla’s Robotaxi event disappointing and stunningly absent of details,” said Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi.

“Musk has outlined a consistent vision and promise of autonomy for nearly a decade, and we and investors had hoped that last night’s event would provide a detailed roadmap to get there. But details were scarce to non-existent.’

Analysts at Wedbush Securities said the “elephant in the room” was the lack of any discussion about Tesla’s upcoming Model 2 car next year.

Back in London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent, or 15.92 points, to 8253.65 and the FTSE 250 gained 0.3 percent, or 56.56 points, to 20764.93.

Vistry’s top shareholder has increased his stake in a much-needed vote of confidence after a dismal week for the housebuilder.

US investment company Browning West – whose founder Usman Nabi joined Vistry’s board in January – bought almost £7.5m worth of shares.

That increased its stake in the FTSE 100 company – previously known as Bovis Homes – from 8.16 percent to 9.08 percent. Shares rose 2.4 percent, or 22 cents, to 923 cents, but are still down 30 percent this week. The stock crashed on Tuesday after the housebuilder warned profits would take a £115 million hit because it had underestimated development costs.

Recruitment agency Hays reported a 14 percent drop in group fees in the first quarter to the end of September. But industry-wide hiring challenges have pushed the company to continue cutting costs across its business. Shares fell 1.1 percent, or 0.95p, to 84.8p. Qinetiq won a three-year contract with a potential value of £150 million from the Ministry of Defense (MoD).

The company will provide the Ministry of Defense’s Defense Digital organization with technical and program support to help the British Army communicate while on the frontline.

Qinetiq has received an initial £39 million from the deal, which comes with an option to extend for a further two years. Shares rose 0.8 percent, or 3.4p, to 450.2p.

Fund manager Premier Miton warned that investor confidence has been shaken by ‘significant uncertainty’ ahead of the budget at the end of the month.

Customers withdrew £133m of cash in the fourth quarter to September 30. Despite this, Premier Miton’s assets rose 9 percent to £10.7 billion after a strong summer. Shares rose 2.6 percent, or 1.5p, to 60p.