Tesla stock rose 2% on Tuesday. All eyes are on Austin, Texas, ahead of the company's June robotaxi service launch.

Eventually, investors will have to ask what comes after the event, for Tesla's car business and its self-driving taxis.

June is expected to be a significant month for Tesla. Elon Musk's EV maker is expected to launch an AI-trained driverless taxi service at some point this month.

It's as important an event as the 2017 launch of the Model 3 or the 2020 launch of the Model Y. Those vehicles brought EVs to the masses and propelled Tesla sales and earnings higher. Investors hope the same thing happens when Tesla cars start to drive themselves. Tesla's driver assistance software is highly advanced, but drivers still need to pay attention to the road when using it.

That's about to change, although the ramp of service should be slow, with only a handful of cars picking up paying passengers with no drivers, according to Musk. Eventually, Musk believes any relatively new Tesla will be able to be used as a robotaxi. That's a fleet measured in the millions across many states.

"Prepare for the tech to develop far faster than the policies can keep up," wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas in a Monday report, adding that state-by-state autonomous vehicle regulations are inconsistent. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently said he wants a national standard, but one doesn't exist yet.

"The intersection of AI and robotics will transform the economy, geopolitics, and societal structure," added Jonas. (A self-driving car with an AI brain is essentially a robot on wheels.) "Comparisons between the propagation of AI and nuclear proliferation are accurate, in our view, and will require a robust and flexible regulatory framework to balance innovation, national security, and public health and safety."

Jonas rates shares Buy. He has a $410 price target for shares. Only $75 of that price target comes from the core auto business. Much of the rest comes from Tesla's efforts tied to AI applications such as self-driving cars and robotics.

That's a big job for regulators to tackle in the coming months. For now, investors want to see Tesla's June robotaxi launch go smoothly.

After the robotaxi launch, attention should turn to Tesla's planned lower-priced model, dubbed Model Q by some speculators, which is expected in the second half of 2025 and could help boost sales growth. Tesla sold about 1.8 million cars in 2024, roughly flat with 2023. Wall Street doesn't expect sales to grow in 2025.

Gary Black, One Global exchange-traded fund co-founder and long-time Tesla bull, suggested on Tuesday that Tesla should develop a smaller, more conventional truck to complement its Cybertruck, which is essentially a lower-volume, luxury vehicle. That would add to Tesla's total addressable market. Black estimates the global market for smaller trucks is about 6 million units a year, or roughly 7% of total global light vehicle sales.

It's an interesting idea. Black recently said he sold his Tesla shares, believing the stock was due for a pause after rising more than $100 from April lows. It's the first time since 2021 that he hasn't held shares. His price target for Tesla is $310.