Elon Musk, the high profile chief executive officer of Tesla and SpaceX, has rekindled excitement around self-driving Teslas by announcing a robotaxi reveal on August 8. This comes despite a history of missed deadlines and ongoing concerns about the capabilities of Tesla’s current Full Self-Driving software.
The announcement, made on Musk’s social media platform X, offered no details about the robotaxi itself. However, Musk has previously described a future where Teslas operate as autonomous taxis, generating income for their owners.
Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2024
This vision has been a recurring theme for Tesla, with promises of robotaxis by 2020 falling short. The company’s current Full Self-Driving software, despite its name, requires active driver supervision and has been criticized by experts for lacking true autonomy.
Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that in a recent buzz the company was reported to scrap its plans of building a cheaper EV, sometimes referred to as the Model 2, in favor of focusing on self-driving robotaxis. However, Musk denied the claims and reiterated that the project to make budget-friendly cars, which many believed would be priced around $25,000, is still on tracks.
It is possible that the upcoming robotaxi reveal is likely intended to just generate excitement for Tesla, potentially boosting its stock price at a time of sluggish EV sales. Whether the Tesla’s autonomous taxi will meet the new deadline and also lives up to the hype remains to be seen. With several companies, including Waymo and Cruise, also developing autonomous ride-sharing services, the race to self-driving cars continues.
Elsewhere, Alphabet-owned self-driving car company Waymo begun driverless robotaxi service in Los Angeles last month and further plans to expand its autonomous taxi service in Austin later this year. This expansion marked Austin as the fourth city to host Waymo’s commercial driverless service, joining Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
