By Aditya Soni (Reuters) -Tesla shares jumped 10% on Monday, lifted by the long-awaited launch of the company's robotaxi service that CEO Elon Musk has for years championed as a key driver of the electric vehicle maker's lofty valuation.

While no one was in the driver's seat of the Tesla robotaxis, a front-seat rider acted as a "safety monitor" during the trial.

Analysts said the "low-key" robotaxi launch highlights Tesla's big bid to compete with existing self-driving taxi operators in the US and China, as the sector grows. Musk congratulated Tesla's artificial intelligence and chip design teams on the launch in a post on X, writing that it was "culmination of a decade of hard work".