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LIVE BLOG: Tesla 10/10 “We, Robot” Robotaxi unveiling event

Credit: Nic Cruz Patane/X

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Tesla’s highly-anticipated 10/10 Robotaxi unveiling event, dubbed “We, Robot,” is finally here. To state that expectations are high for the Robotaxi would be an understatement, as CEO Elon Musk has been pretty open about the idea that the vehicle would be a huge player in Tesla’s future. 

“We, Robot” is being held at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, CA, with remarks expected to start around 7 p.m. PT. Seemingly highlighting the Robotaxi’s importance to Tesla’s overall potential, watch parties for the event are being held at selected showrooms, and a livestream of the occasion is available online. 

We will be closely following the updates from Tesla’s Robotaxi unveiling event in this live blog. We will also be publishing a number of articles focused on the key announcements at the event. I will be updating this article in real-time, so please keep refreshing the page to view the latest updates on this story. The first entry starts at the bottom of the page. 

20:30 PT – And with that, the demonstration rides in the Cybercab are starting! Thank you so much for staying with us for this live blog. We had a blast. Please check out our further coverage of “We, Robot’s” updates. Until the next time!

20:15 PT – Elon Musk shared an optimistic take on the future. “It will be the age of abundance,” Musk said.

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He notes that the Optimus robots would be walking alongside the attendees of the “We, Robot” event. The Optimus robots will serve drinks at the bar. “It’s a wild experience,” Musk said. “And with that, let’s party!”

20:13 PT – An army of Optimus Gen 2 units is now coming out. 

“If you extrapolate this, it will be something spectacular. Something you can own,” Elon Musk said. “At scale, this should cost somewhere around $20,000 to $30,000.” A video showcasing Optimus’ home uses is also showcased. “I think this will be the biggest product ever of any kind,” Musk said.

20:11 PT – Musk noted that with the advent of Robotaxis, parking lots could be reclaimed as parks. 

The Robovan (Robovin?) also takes to the stage. The vehicle could carry up to 20 people or transport goods. It’s Tesla’s high-density transport. 

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It looks extremely futuristic, and its cabin looks very spacious.

“The future should look like the future,” Musk said. 

20:09 PT – “Our autonomous future is here,” Musk said. He also noted that the attendees of the event would have an extended experience with the Cybercab, since the demonstration rides are pretty long. 

Musk also announced that the Cybercab will not have a NACS plug. It will use inductive charging instead. 

20:06 PT – Elon Musk reiterated that self-driving cars will be a lot safer than humans, because AI and Vision never gets distracted, or drinks. He reiterated the idea that all Teslas today will be capable for unsupervised FSD. 

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20:05 PT – Elon Musk noted that Tesla expects Unsupervised FSD by next year in Texas and California. “We’ll make this vehicle in very, very high volume,” Musk said, though customers can already experience the Robotaxi experience with the self-driving Model 3 and Model Y. 

Cybercab production is expected before 2027.

20:03 PT – The cost of autonomous transport would be so low, you can think of it as individualized mass transit, Musk said. It’s premium point to point transportation. 

Elon Musk also confirms that the Cybercab can be bought for personal use. “We expect its cost to be below $30,000. I think it will be a glorious future,” Musk said

20:00 PT – Musk notes that today’s transportation kinda sucks. It’s dirty and crowded and exhausting. Especially if you have to drive. If you have a Tesla, it’s a lot better due to FSD (Supervised). 

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“We’ll move from Supervised Full Self-Driving to Unsupervised Full Self-Driving,” Musk said. He also highlighted that cars tend to cost too much, especially if one were to consider that cars on average tend to get used just 10 out of 170 hours per week. An autonomous car can then be used about five times as much.

“With autonomy, you’ll get your time back,” Musk said, noting that autonomous cars will be ten times safer than human drivers.

19:58 PT – Elon welcomes everyone to the “We, Robot” party. He calls the Robotaxi the “Cybercab.” There’s 20 more in the event. 

“The vehicles are autonomous. No drivers. “We have 50 fully autonomous cars tonight,” Musk said. Driverless Model Ys are in the area as well. “I hope this goes well. We’ll find out,” Elon Musk joked.

19:54 PT – Elon Musk enters the stage. The Robotaxi is here! It is definitely Cybertruck-inspired. 

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19:53 PT – Ok, the event’s starting. Tesla just posted a disclaimer/disclosure. That’s new. Franz is taking the stage. “We’re here to experience a future that’s closer than you think,” Franz said.

19:45 PT – Nope, still waiting. X live viewers are now up to 2.3 million and YouTube’s livestream is up to 107k now though.

19:44 PT – Ok, the music has stopped in the livestream. Perhaps the event is starting now. 

19:41 PT – Elon Musk’s kids have chosen this opportunity to play in front of the stage. They seem to be having tons of fun.

19:38 PT – Elon Musk has confirmed that the attendee’s medical emergency has been addressed. The event will start shortly.

19:31 PT – Elon Musk seems ready, if any.

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19:30 PT – Looks like the medical emergency is over. The attendee is reportedly back on their feet, and medics are now clearing out.

19:24 PT – Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla is taking care of the attendee who had a medical emergency before officially starting the event. 

19:21 PT – Unfortunately, someone seems to have passed out. Emergency responders are catering to the attendee. Hope the attendee is alright.

19:18 PT – The X livestream now has 1.1 million viewers. 105k on YouTube.

19:15 PT – The event is now 15 minutes late. This is not very surprising since Tesla tends to start its events late. The anticipation is notable, though. In the event’s livestream, 882k are tuned in on X and another 101k are tuned in to YouTube.

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19:13 PT – Thanks so much for the shoutout Steve! You rock!

19:10 PT – Now there are two helicopters hovering overhead!

19:08 PT – The Musk family are here to support Elon. Hello there, Kimbal and Tosca! Mom Maye Musk is here too.

19:03 PT – If the Cybertruck unveiling gave “Blade Runner” vibes, the Robotaxi event is definitely giving “Westworld” vibes. Futuristic, but not dystopian. I personally prefer it.

19:00 PT – The livestream is live! Let’s go! On the other hand, these graphics are starting to become a standard for Tesla events.

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18:59 PT – One minute to go, everyone!

18:58 PT – There will most definitely be demonstration rides tonight, as per Elon Musk.

18:56 PT – Tesla sure knows how to entertain its guests. Good vibes all around.

18:54 PT – Tesla set up its stage behind a road. Attendees speculate that this road may be where the Robotaxi will come out.

18:50 PT – Tesla knows what it’s doing. We haven’t seen a party like this in a while. Last nine minutes!

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18:46 PT – Tesla is LOCKED IN on this event. So. Much. Attention. To. Detail.

18:45 PT – It’s 15 minutes before the remarks at “We, Robot” are expected to start, and the energy is positively electric. Unveiling the Robotaxi at Warner Brothers Studios Burbank may have been a genius move, because the vibe here is real.

Check out the YouTube livestream of the event below.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Insurance officially expands to new U.S. state

Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.

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Credit: Tesla Insurance

Tesla Insurance has officially expanded to a new U.S. state, its thirteenth since its launch in 2019.

Tesla has confirmed that its in-house Insurance program has officially made its way to Florida, just two months after the company filed to update its Private Passenger Auto program in the state. It had tried to offer its insurance program to drivers in the state back in 2022, but its launch did not happen.

Instead, Tesla refiled the paperwork back in mid-October, which essentially was the move toward initiating the offering this month.

Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.

It has expanded to new states since 2019, but Florida presents a particularly interesting challenge for Tesla, as the company’s entry into the state is particularly noteworthy given its unique insurance landscape, characterized by high premiums due to frequent natural disasters, dense traffic, and a no-fault system.

Tesla partners with Lemonade for new insurance program

Annual average premiums for Florida drivers hover around $4,000 per year, well above the national average. Tesla’s insurance program could disrupt this, especially for EV enthusiasts. The state’s growing EV adoption, fueled by incentives and infrastructure development, aligns perfectly with Tesla’s ecosystem.

Moreover, there are more ways to have cars repaired, and features like comprehensive coverage for battery damage and roadside assistance tailored to EVs address those common painpoints that owners have.

However, there are some challenges that still remain. Florida’s susceptibility to hurricanes raises questions about how Tesla will handle claims during disasters.

Looking ahead, Tesla’s expansion of its insurance program signals the company’s ambition to continue vertically integrating its services, including coverage of its vehicles. Reducing dependency on third-party insurers only makes things simpler for the company’s automotive division, as well as for its customers.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving gets sparkling review from South Korean politician

“Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about.”

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Credit: Soyoung Lee | X

Tesla Full Self-Driving got its first sparkling review from South Korean politician Lee So-young, a member of the country’s National Assembly, earlier this week.

Lee is a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee in South Korea and is a proponent of sustainable technologies and their applications in both residential and commercial settings. For the first time, Lee was able to utilize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology as it launched in the country in late November.

Her thoughts on the suite were complimentary to the suite, stating that “it drives just as well as most people do,” and that “it already feels like a completed technology.”

Her translated post says:

“Finally, today I got to experience Tesla FSD in Seoul. Thanks to the Model S sponsored by JiDal Papa^^, I’m truly grateful to Papa. The route was from the National Assembly -> Mangwon Market -> Hongik University -> back to the National Assembly. Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about. Once it actually spreads into widespread use, I feel like our daily lives are going to change a lot. Even I, with my license gathering dust in a drawer, don’t see much reason to learn to drive a manual anymore.”

Tesla Full Self-Driving officially landed in South Korea in late November, with the initial launch being one of Tesla’s most recent, v14.1.4.

It marked the seventh country in which Tesla was able to enable the driver assistance suite, following the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.

It is important to see politicians and figures in power try new technologies, especially ones that are widely popular in other regions of the world and could potentially revolutionize how people travel globally.

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Tesla dispels reports of ‘sales suspension’ in California

“This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.

Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has dispelled reports that it is facing a thirty-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued a penalty to the company after a judge ruled it “misled consumers about its driver-assistance technology.”

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the California DMV was planning to adopt the penalty but decided to put it on ice for ninety days, giving Tesla an opportunity to “come into compliance.”

Tesla enters interesting situation with Full Self-Driving in California

Tesla responded to the report on Tuesday evening, after it came out, stating that this was a “consumer protection” order that was brought up over its use of the term “Autopilot.”

The company said “not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem,” yet a judge and the DMV determined it was, so they want to apply the penalty if Tesla doesn’t oblige.

However, Tesla said that its sales operations in California “will continue uninterrupted.”

It confirmed this in an X post on Tuesday night:

The report and the decision by the DMV and Judge involved sparked outrage from the Tesla community, who stated that it should do its best to get out of California.

One X post said California “didn’t deserve” what Tesla had done for it in terms of employment, engineering, and innovation.

Tesla has used Autopilot and Full Self-Driving for years, but it did add the term “(Supervised)” to the end of the FSD suite earlier this year, potentially aiming to protect itself from instances like this one.

This is the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” naming. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was vocally critical of the use of the name “Full Self-Driving,” as well as “Autopilot.”

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