Upcoming Test Drive of Tesla's Robotaxi
Elon Musk recently tweeted that Tesla will unveil its long-promised robotaxi on August 8th, 2024. The upcoming autonomous vehicle is reported to be built on Tesla's next-generation vehicle platform.
This comes just hours after Musk claimed Reuters lied about Tesla scrapping plans for their $25,000 electric car and refocusing entirely on robotaxis instead.
The announcement timing is notable as Tesla's electric vehicle sales and profits have slowed. The company and its CEO may be looking to other products to boost sales or at minimum maintain share prices. Tesla is clearly positioning its robotaxi aspirations as the next big thing, but it remains to be seen if August's unveiling includes a real world test drive or just more renders and promises. Car buyers will reserve judgement until an actual product hits the roads.
Debunking Doubts Around Tesla's Robotaxi Plans
Earlier
this April, a Reuters report citing three anonymous sources and
internal documents stated Tesla had cancelled plans to build their
cheaper $25,000 electric car.
Instead, the report suggested
Tesla would refocus resources towards the planned robotaxi, which was
set to use the same smaller EV platform intended for the low-cost car.
Elon
Musk tweeted on his social media site that Reuters had outright 'lied'
without any evidence provided to rebut specifics. A few hours later
though, Musk posted on Twitter that Tesla's Robotaxi would launch on
August 8th.
Reports have long circulated about Tesla working on
both vehicles concurrently. But Musk has wavered on prioritizing an
ordinary car versus one without steering wheels or pedals, despite not
yet producing a fully autonomous vehicle according to Walter Isaacson's
Musk biography.
By staking a firm unveil date, Tesla aims to put
doubts to rest. But Observer's will wait until an actual product
demonstration to believe the robotaxi vision is becoming reality.
Taking a Spin in Tesla's Robotaxi
According
to Isaacson's bio, Musk rejected engineer pleas to reference
traditional steering wheel cars in mid-2022. Even as he pressed forward,
top designer Franz von Holzhausen and VP of engineering Lars Moravy
kept a more standard version alive as a 'shadow project'.
Musk
has promised Tesla autonomous capability for years. In 2016, he said
cross-country driverless travel would happen by late 2017, but it
didn't. Then in 2019, he pledged their first robotaxi as part of a
larger autonomous ridesharing vision for 2020 - also missed.
A
few years on, Musk now claims steering wheel-less, pedal-free robotaxis
specifically will launch this year. Only time will tell if August's
rumored unveiling includes an actual demonstration ride. While
skepticism is understandable given past timelines, Tesla is clearly
positioning its robotaxi aspirations as the next big thing - provided a
real world test drive backs up all the hype.
Taking a Spin in Tesla's Highly-Anticipated Robotaxi
All
Tesla vehicles come standard with their Autopilot driver assistance
branding. For an additional $12,000, owners can purchase Full
Self-Driving or FSD - a feature CEO Elon Musk has for years promised
will one day deliver full autonomous driving abilities.
However,
Tesla cars cannot actually drive themselves. Instead, FSD includes some
semi-automated driving features still requiring drivers remain ready to
take control, like Summon parking. It also offers Navigate on
Autopilot, an active guidance system navigating between highways and
handling intersections, with city street steering supposedly coming.
So
Musk unveiling Tesla's robotaxi for August fits their typical pattern
of hosting at least two hype-building events annually. Last year saw the
Master Plan party and Cybertruck deliveries. Now we know of at least
half the year's plans. While skepticism is understandable given autonomy
challenges, Tesla aims to showcase how close these driverless dreams
may be to reality with a test ride enabling event. Will this finally be
the big Tesla autonomy reveal? Many will be watching closely to see if
the robotaxi rolls as promised.