Tesla is preparing to launch its robotaxi service in San Francisco as soon as this weekend, Business Insider reported on Friday, citing an internal staff memo.

Tesla is facing a rough path ahead and will likely struggle unless Elon Musk fixes his public image, longtime investor Ross Gerber says.

For nearly a decade, it has been the holy grail for Tesla fans and the key to its mainstream future: a truly affordable electric car for the masses. After years of promises, delays, and speculation, the company confirmed on Wednesday that the long-awaited cheaper Tesla is finally moving from myth to reality.

Billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla outperformed Chinese rivals including BYD, Xiaomi and Huawei in a test of assisted driving technologies on China's highways, according to results published by TikTok owner Bytedance's auto unit Dcar.

Elon Musk warned that Tesla could face "a few rough quarters," as it weathers shifting tariffs and the end of EV tax credits in the US.

Tesla has said it will build cheaper cars and win approval for its self-driving software in Europe this year after seeing sales fall at the sharpest rate in at least a decade. Elon Musk's electric car firm told investors it had started "first builds of a more affordable model in June" while posting a slump in car deliveries and shrinking profits.

On an event page for a "Tesla Diner SoCal Protest," the organizer, Tesla Takedown, points to Musk's handling of X, saying it boosts conspiracy theories and extremist views. The page also calls out Tesla's Full Self-Driving feature as "fraud."