July 15 (Reuters) - Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on

Monday the automaker was taking extra time for its robotaxi

event for an important design change to the front of the vehicle

and "show off" some other things.

Musk did not disclose when the automaker would hold an event

to launch its robotaxi.

"Requested what I think is an important design change to the

front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things,"

Musk said on his X social media platform in a reply to a user

post discussing the event.

Shares of Tesla were up nearly 5% in afternoon trading.

Bloomberg News reported last week that the event, originally

set to be held on Aug. 8, had been delayed to October.

Musk had announced the August unveiling day after Reuters

reported on April 5 that Tesla had canceled its long-promised

inexpensive car and would continue developing self-driving

robotaxis on the same small-vehicle platform.

Musk has given minimal details about its robotaxi so far. He

has only said that some vehicles would be owned and operated by

Tesla, while others would be owned by individuals but rented out

on Tesla's network.