Tesla To Debut Robotaxi On June 22, Grow Virtual Power Plant And More

In a video that’s going viral, President Donald Trump announced plans to impose an immediate ban on the production of Tesla cars in the United States, adding that Elon Musk can’t be allowed to “make money in this country” anymore.

Don’t fret, all this came courtesy of a fake video generated using artificial intelligence (AI).

That’s right, miscreants have once again used the technology to try to spread fake news—which a lot of people might believe to be true—by exploiting the recent feud between the two individuals.

Over the past week, one of the hottest topics on social media has been the posts published by the President and Musk targeting each other, which all began when Musk severed ties with his role in the Trump administration.

At one point, Trump also said he was going to send his red Tesla away from the White House.

However, things have since cooled down, and President Trump even praised the automaker. “I like Tesla,” said Trump at a meeting about California’s electric vehicle (EV) regulations.

Although the storm seems to have passed, it came at a cost for Tesla, wiping out $152 billion from its market value in a single day, taking its total fall for the year to $380 billion. The only silver lining to this was that the carmaker rallied to gain 4% by closing on Friday and over 14% by Tuesday.

The situation remains delicate, just like Tesla’s robotaxi plans.


The company is scheduled to take the first steps to fulfill its long-standing dream of debuting its robotaxi by hitting the roads of Austin, Texas—where lies its headquarters—beginning June 22.

This date is also tentative, as the company is cautious about safety. “We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift. First Tesla that drives itself from factory end of line all the way to a customer house is June 28,” said Musk in a post on X.

However, Tesla recently successfully tested its first-ever Model Y robotaxi with no one in the driver’s seat, among other tests in Austin, and plans to deploy around 10 to 20 such AVs in the city that will operate in a limited area and under remote human supervision.

These vehicles were said to be using a new version of Tesla's advanced driver assistance software (ADAS), called Full Self-Driving (FSD).

Yet, public safety officials are nervous about the launch, especially considering how Texas isn’t too stringent about autonomous vehicle (AV) regulations. This is in comparison to California, which is a tougher cookie to crack—and Tesla’s next planned robotaxi launchpad. The company also plans to launch its robotaxi services in other states soon.

Furthermore, Tesla faces competition from competitors such as Waymo, WeRide, Uber, and others in the robotaxi sector.


Over the past few years, Tesla has been facing stiff competition from Chinese automaker BYD in the EV market, where the latter managed to take the lead in number of sales.

Yet, in May 2025, Tesla was named the top-selling EV in the country for the month. The achievement came as the company observed a year-on-year decrease of 38.05% in sales for its Model Y—Model Y sold 24,770 units in May 2025, compared to 39,985 units in May 2024. Still, the feat is a 23.95% improvement from the 19,984 units it sold in April 2025.

In the U.S., Tesla has raised the price of its Model X by $5,000, without providing any specific reason for the increase, a move that follows a hike of its Model S in Canada earlier in the year.


In moves related to other technology, Tesla revealed that it plans to expand its virtual power plant (VPP) business in Japan. This includes providing companies with free storage batteries and remotely managing them to help balance energy supply and demand, as per a report by Nikkei.

Having started the system in Miyakojima city, Okinawa, Tesla will grow the business in collaboration with leasing company Fuyo General Lease and energy company Global Engineering.

Other than this, the company also sued a former engineer of Tesla’s humanoid robotics program, Optimus, for allegedly stealing trade secrets that helped launch a rival company.

Zhongjie “Jay” Li, who worked at Tesla from August 2022 to September 2024, was accused of downloading confidential data related to Optimus on two different personal smartphones. Additionally, Li also researched “humanoid robotic hands” on his workplace computer while gathering information about venture capital and other startup funding sources.

“Less than a week after he left Tesla, Proception was incorporated. And within just five months, Proception publicly claimed to have ‘successfully built’ advanced humanoid robotic hands—hands that bear a striking resemblance to the designs Li worked on at Tesla,” read the complaint.

This development follows the departure of the head of engineering for the Optimus humanoid robot program, Milan Kovac, who was with the company for over nine years. Kovac said his decision was influenced by personal motives, not professional reasons.

So far, it seems Tesla is fighting battles of diverse issues in multiple sectors—robotaxis, EVs, and humanoid robots.

Do you think Tesla will be able to succeed in the robotaxi sector despite existing competition leading the pack?

Let us know in the comments below!