Tesla stock rises on robotaxi service launch plans
Investing.com -- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares edged up 1% after-hours following reports that the electric vehicle giant is targeting a launch date of June 12 for its highly anticipated robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. According to a Bloomberg article citing an individual familiar with the matter, Tesla's move towards initiating its driverless vehicle service is a significant step in CEO Elon Musk's strategy to pivot the company towards autonomous technology and artificial intelligence.
The launch date, which has been internally discussed and is subject to change, aligns with Musk's previous statements that the service would commence by the end of June. Tesla has already conducted a successful test drive of a Model Y SUV on public roads in Austin without a driver, a landmark event as the company gears up for the public introduction of its robotaxi service. An engineer was present in the passenger seat during the test, but the vehicle operated autonomously without any remote control.
This progress represents a buildup to the public offering of the service, which has been preceded by trials with safety drivers transporting Tesla employees around Austin. Musk has emphasized that the robotaxi network, which will initially utilize consumer models and later a dedicated vehicle known as the Cybercab, will play a crucial role in Tesla's future business model.
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Trump sends Musk out of White House with gold key as they talk Diddy pardon, Macron slap and Tesla chief's black eye
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Contributor: DOGE was a good start. Trump needs to push further for real fiscal change
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And given that Musk himself once vowed to identify taxpayer savings in the trillions of dollars — albeit without much of a timeline attached to that pronouncement — it certainly is a bit disappointing. But consider some of the specific outrageous spending outlays identified by Musk's team as ripe for the cutting board, such as $382 million from alleged fraudulent unemployment benefits (as the Department of Labor had previously flagged) and astonishing extravagance on the foreign stage — for instance, $2 million to an organization in Guatemala advocating gender-affirming healthcare and $20 million to a 'Sesame Street'-inspired early childhood initiative in Iraq. Such ideologically driven spending is emblematic of what Vought, in a Newsweek op-ed written two years ago during the Biden-era presidential interregnum, described as the 'the scourge of a woke and weaponized bureaucracy.' The brief DOGE experiment, which uncovered tens of thousands of combined government contract and grant terminations that would shock the conscience of most Americans with any inclination toward sound fiscal stewardship, is proof that such a 'woke and weaponized bureaucracy' isn't merely speculative — it really exists. There is probably a lot more, furthermore, where that $175 billion in flagged waste came from. And Vought, who has worked with Musk since last year, is the right man to continue the mission once Musk fully returns to the private sector. There are now at least two additional steps that must be taken — one pressing short-term item and one more difficult longer-term item. The reconciliation budget in the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' that passed the House last week, and which is now pending before the Senate, did not incorporate the DOGE cuts. It seems there is a procedural reason for this: The DOGE cuts are technically post hoc rescissions of presently appropriated money, and rescissions of current outlays are typically subject to their own process. An obscure figure known as the Senate parliamentarian controls the process by which the annual reconciliation budget bill — a favored tool because it permits a Senate majority to bypass the chamber's legislative filibuster — can pass muster. And Capitol Hill Republicans apparently fear that including the DOGE rescissions would endanger President Trump's desired bill. But without Congress actually enacting the DOGE cuts into law, history will show this entire exercise to have been largely futile. Accordingly, Vought and the White House's Office of Management and Budget must, following the reconciliation bill's passage and enactment into law, transmit a fresh rescission package to Speaker Mike Johnson's desk. It is extraordinarily important that the Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress demonstrate not merely that they can identify excessive spending but also that they are willing to cut it. The longer-term problem is thornier. While DOGE has served a useful function, and while Vought's office can probably identify a good amount more in the way of 'woke and weaponized bureaucracy' cost-cutting measures, it is a matter of basic mathematics that something more will be needed to begin to rein in America's soaring annual deficits and our shocking national debt. The Republican Party of Donald Trump has moved in a strongly populist direction on issues of political economy. On many fronts, such as antitrust and industrial policy efforts to reshore vital supply chains, such a shift is very much welcome. But at some point, both Republicans and Democrats alike are going to have to find some way to come together and put our entitlement programs — above all, Medicare and Social Security — on a path to sustainability. The political optics of being perceived as 'cutting' either of these programs are simply horrible, so any attempt at reform will not be easy. But it must be done anyway, as the recent Moody's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating makes starkly clear. The longer we wait, the more credit downgrades and interest payment spikes we risk. Basic game theory suggests that neither party will want to blink first. Recall the 2012-era political ads accusing then-GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan of throwing grandmothers off cliffs. The politics are nasty, divisive and radioactive. But this must get done. So we'll have to find some way to force everyone to do it together. And in the meantime, as a down payment, let's just make sure DOGE's crucial work was not done in vain. Josh Hammer's latest book is 'Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West.' This article was produced in collaboration with Creators Syndicate. @josh_hammer If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
