Following a report last week that said Tesla was delaying its upcoming Robotaxi unveiling event, originally scheduled for August 8, CEO Elon Musk has now confirmed the delay, citing an “important design change.”
After Bloomberg reported that Tesla would be delaying its Robotaxi event, Musk chimed in on Monday on X, saying that some “extra time” will let the company share a few other details. While Musk didn’t disclose when the new event would be, he did corroborate the user he was responding to in saying that he “requested what I think is an important design change to the front.”
Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2024
Previous reports suggested that Tesla would be aiming for a rescheduled Robotaxi event in October, though it’s not yet clear whether or not this is accurate.
Last week, Musk denied reports that Tesla was tapping Uber founder Travis Kalanick for its Robotaxi team, simply saying that the claim is “false.” The response came after Musk followed Kalanick on X at the beginning of the month, stoking speculation of some kind of partnership between the two parties.
Earlier this month, Tesla also patented an automatic interior sanitation system for the Robotaxi, with many pointing out that such a system could be crucial for a driverless vehicle with a ride-hailing service.
Tesla has also previously teased its ride-hailing app for the upcoming Robotaxi platform, featuring navigation details, climate controls, and a summon button for ordering a Robotaxi.
The Robotaxi has long been anticipated, and has played a crucial role in the company’s future expectations for software-level valuation. The system is set to be based on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, which is currently available to owners of the company’s vehicles as a Supervised, camera-based driving software.
Eventually, FSD is expected to get good enough at driving that it will become safer than human drivers, and will eventually not require driver supervision. While this is likely many years out, the concept is also behind the Robotaxi, which is eventually expected to be an entirely driverless ride-hailing platform.
Tesla’s Robotaxi unveiling event sets the tone for 2030 and beyond: Morgan Stanley
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