A Tesla Model 3 mule with very interesting cameras placed in several notable locations was spotted in Northern California ahead of the Robotaxi Unveiling Event in less than a month.
The Tesla Robotaxi will enable driverless ride-sharing and vehicle operation when it eventually hits the market, but there will be a new, next-generation platform upon which the car is built.
Ahead of the unveiling, Tesla seems to be testing several camera locations that could be utilized for Robotaxi performance assessments on the new Model 3 “Highland” design.
These images were shared with me through Blake M., a reader and friend of mine who lives in California:
A good friend of mine sent me these pictures of a @Tesla Model 3 mule with some interesting camera locations — any guesses? pic.twitter.com/UihdT8gSzq
— Joey Klender (@KlenderJoey) July 9, 2024
As you can see, there are three very interesting camera locations on this mule:
Rear Bumper:
B-Pillar and Side Repeater on Interesting Angle:
Front Bumper:
You’ll also notice that this vehicle is void of side mirrors, something Tesla was adamant on doing with the Cybertruck.
What it could be before the 8/8 Robotaxi Unveiling
Speculation is all we have to go on with this sighting, but with the timing of the vehicle appearing on public roads with these interesting camera locations, it seems Tesla could be preparing for the imminent unveiling of its Robotaxi for the event. Tesla has always used on-road and public road testing to gather more information about a soon-to-be-released product.
This is perhaps the most groundbreaking development in the Tesla story in some time. The Robotaxi fleet would not only enable driverless ride-sharing for owners to profit from, but it would also complete the Full Self-Driving suite.
We have to remember that Tesla is still a ways away from this, and it could be solved in one year or five years. It truly all depends on the suite’s development and how quickly a driverless, Level 5 Robotaxi could operate in traffic.
Tesla will officially offload its Robotaxi to the public on August 8. Until then, we will continue to dig for the latest developments in the Robotaxi’s development.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
