Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY) shares plunged 5.08% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, extending the previous day's losses as investors continue to take profits following recent gains. This downward trend comes despite positive news surrounding the autonomous driving technology company's progress and potential partnerships.

The sell-off began on Tuesday when PONY's stock dropped 6.49% to close at $9.65 per share. Investors appear to be digesting recent announcements, including Pony AI's planned expansion into robotaxi services and its improving financial prospects. Chief Technology Officer Lou Tiancheng recently stated that the company is nearing profitability after significantly reducing material costs, now able to build its autonomous driving system for 70% less than before.

Despite the current downward pressure, Pony AI's long-term prospects remain intriguing. CEO James Peng revealed that the company is in talks with Tencent Cloud to potentially offer robotaxi services through WeChat and other applications, leveraging Tencent's massive user base and cloud infrastructure. However, it seems that investors are currently more focused on short-term gains and are adopting a cautious approach as they evaluate the company's execution of its new strategies in the competitive AI and autonomous vehicle markets.