Elon Musk has announced that Tesla is set to unveil its much-anticipated robotaxi on August 8th. This autonomous vehicle is reportedly built on Tesla’s next-generation vehicle platform. The revelation coincided with reports from Reuters stating that Tesla had scrapped plans to develop a more affordable electric vehicle, which was expected to be priced around $25,000. Musk informed employees of the shift in focus towards an autonomous vehicle designed to render conventional vehicles obsolete.
Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2024
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Musk has long hinted at the concept of a Tesla robotaxi, showcasing a fully covered vehicle during a 2023 event introducing the company’s third Master Plan. He previously speculated that Tesla owners could earn revenue by allowing their autonomous cars to ferry passengers. This concept, dubbed the “Tesla Network” in Musk’s Master Plan Part Deux, envisaged owners seamlessly adding their vehicles to a shared fleet via the Tesla phone app to generate income during idle periods.
These ambitions expanded over time, with Musk envisioning over a million Tesla cars equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) hardware on roads by the following year. Despite Tesla’s FSD software not yet achieving full autonomy, Musk’s supporters highlight the progress made with features like Autopilot as evidence of Tesla’s pioneering role in the transition to AI-driven vehicles. However, critics raise concerns over Musk’s tendency to overstate the technology’s capabilities, citing numerous crashes involving vehicles using FSD and Autopilot, along with ongoing legal challenges.
The announcement of the robotaxi unveiling aligns with Tesla’s tradition of high-profile events, such as last year’s Master Plan and Cybertruck delivery event. With this development, a significant portion of Tesla’s plans for 2024 have come to light.
