By Al Root
Tesla shares rose Monday after the company said its robo-taxi business was operating in another city.
Shares of the electric-vehicle maker rose 1.5% to $399.51, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively.
The move came after Tesla announced robo-taxis were available in Miami from July 3.
It's the third state for Tesla's robo-taxi service, which was launched in Austin, Texas, about a year ago. Tesla operates in a few Texas cities as well as San Francisco.
Investors have been very keen to see Tesla robo-taxis proliferate across the country. Expansion, however, has been slow, with Tesla saying safety is the priority.
The pace of expansion is one reason Tesla stock has fallen about 13% this year heading into Monday. Investors appear to be waiting for Tesla's artificial intelligence efforts to yield material sales and earnings. Tesla doesn't expect needle-moving numbers from robo-taxis until 2027 at the earliest.
Along with AI-trained robo-taxis, Tesla is building AI-trained humanoid robots. Investors would like an update about those as well. CEO Elon Musk recently shared a small update, posting a picture of himself walking the new robot manufacturing line in Fremont, California, on July 1.
Tesla recently stopped producing the Model S and Model X at its Fremont plant, deciding to convert that capacity to a robot-making facility.
Tesla isn't selling its robot, called Optimus, yet. Investors would probably settle for seeing version three of the robot, which might happen later this year.
Investors will have a chance to ask Musk and management about robo-taxis and robots on the company's second-quarter earnings conference call slated for July 22.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
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