On December 15th, Tesla shares surged to their highest level in nearly a year after CEO Elon Musk announced the electric car company was testing a robotaxi service that would not require a safety supervisor in the front passenger seat.

Tesla is currently valued at $1.53 trillion, the highest among automakers globally. Much of this valuation is related to investor expectations for self-driving technology and ambitions to develop humanoid robots, but the company’s primary source of revenue and profit currently still comes from the sale of electric vehicles.

Tesla shares surged to a one-year high following CEO Elon Musk's announcement - Image 1.

A Tesla Model Y travels on a highway near Oceanside, California, USA, on October 16. Photo: REUTERS.

Tesla shares at one point surged as much as 4.9%, reaching $481.37 per share, their highest level in nearly a year.

Previously, the stock had reached an all-time high of $488.54 on December 18 last year, driven by expectations that the administration of US President Donald Trump would ease regulatory barriers to self-driving cars.

Tesla launched a limited-scale robotaxi service in Austin, Texas in June, using upgraded Model Y vehicles equipped with full self-driving capabilities. The initial operation was limited to designated areas and included a safety supervisor in the passenger seat.

“The testing process is being conducted with no one in the vehicle,” Musk announced on social media.

Investors and analysts expect Tesla to ramp up testing and rapidly deploy fully autonomous taxis as the company prepares to launch the Cybercab next year.

Analyzing this trend, Seth Goldstein, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, commented: “The market is welcoming these developments, which is driving stock prices higher today.”

Tesla has long promoted plans to develop robotaxis and self-driving taxis, but numerous legal hurdles and technical issues have repeatedly delayed progress.

Besides Tesla, Alphabet’s Waymo unit is currently leading the field, with more than 2,500 commercial robotaxes operating in major US cities as of November. According to CNBC, Waymo is operating approximately 450,000 paid rides per week.