LOS ANGELES _ Tesla Motors Inc.'s stock price rose in trading Monday after Chief Executive Elon Musk unveiled what he called "dramatic improvements" to the electric-car maker's Autopilot semi-autonomous driving technology.
The Palo Alto automaker's gain _ its shares jumped nearly 2 percent to close at $198.30 _ was one positive note after Musk said he and his companies suffered "one of the worst weeks ever."
Musk also is chief executive of rocket maker SpaceX, based near Los Angeles, and of rooftop solar-power giant SolarCity Corp., based in San Mateo, Calif. SolarCity's stock also advanced Monday, rising 6.1 percent to close at $17.80 a share. SpaceX is privately held.
Musk originally said he would announce the Autopilot changes Aug. 31. But the day ended with no word, and the next morning a SpaceX rocket exploded on the launchpad, putting the Autopilot news on hold longer.
That added to other concerns about Musk's empire, including Tesla's plan to acquire SolarCity for $2.6 billion in Tesla stock and the automaker's plan to roll out a new car, the Model 3, in late 2017.
Musk said Sunday that Tesla's controversial Autopilot technology would rely more on radar to help the car see better and avoid collisions.
The announcement came after several Autopilot-related crashes, including a fatal Florida collision in May in which a Tesla Model S using Autopilot slammed into a big rig after apparently failing to distinguish between the white truck and the bright sky behind it.
The crash is still being investigated by federal safety regulators.
Another Autopilot upgrade, called Autosteer, would repeatedly warn drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel.
In Sunday's conference call with reporters, Musk described the aftermath of the SpaceX explosion and other problems contributing to a terrible week.
"It's just been a lot," Musk said. "We are still getting a lot of flak for the whole SolarCity thing, which I think is unreasonable, and there is a lot of effort to solving Autopilot."
"There is a lot of effort on the Model 3 development and getting the factory, bringing up the factory for the Model 3 and, yeah, and then the rocket exploding," he said. "One of the worst weeks ever, really."
Musk is also trying to head off cash-flow problems. In a securities filing last week, Tesla said it would need to raise additional money by year's end to finance the deal for SolarCity, which sells, leases and installs rooftop energy systems.
The deal has been widely criticized since Musk proposed the merger in June. Critics suggested that it would be a bailout of SolarCity by Tesla investors.
SolarCity's cash base is rapidly shrinking, even as Tesla must pay out $422 million to bondholders this quarter. However, SolarCity announced Monday that it raised an additional $305 million from investors to help its financing needs.
Tesla plans to start shipping the Model 3, a line of electric cars priced starting at $35,000 each, by the end of 2017 _ though probably not in high volume.
The automaker is also building a $5-billion battery factory in Nevada.
