Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, recently announced that he will unveil the company’s purpose-built “robotaxi” prototype on October 10. This announcement comes after Musk had to delay the reveal that was initially planned for August 8. During Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call, Musk confirmed that the delay was due to his desire to redesign certain elements of the prototype.
According to Bloomberg’s original report, Musk’s decision to delay the reveal was driven by his intention to make important design changes to the front of the robotaxi. Moving the event back a few months allowed Tesla to not only improve the robotaxi but also add a couple of other features to the product unveil.
While not much is publicly known about what exactly Tesla will showcase, a small robotaxi prototype was illustrated in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Musk in 2023. Musk has previously discussed his vision of making the vehicle accessible to people through Tesla’s app, similar to how popular ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft operate. Additionally, he has claimed that once Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software reaches an advanced level capable of handling all driving tasks, Tesla owners will be able to put their own cars on the shared network. However, it is important to note that Tesla is still far from achieving this level of autonomy, despite its ambitious goals.
Musk has faced challenges in delivering fully self-driving vehicles as promised for several years. As a result, Tesla is currently facing lawsuits from owners and investigations from various government agencies. However, when asked about the timeline for offering the first unsupervised robotaxi ride, Musk expressed his belief that it could potentially happen by the end of this year. Nevertheless, he also acknowledged that it might not occur until 2025 and admitted that he tends to be overly optimistic with his predictions.
Overall, while Tesla’s robotaxi prototype reveal has been delayed, Musk’s commitment to improving and adding new features to the product demonstrates the company’s continued dedication to advancing autonomous driving technology. Despite the challenges faced and the uncertainties surrounding the timeline, Tesla remains at the forefront of the electric vehicle and self-driving industry.