Elon Musk says Tesla will unveil its robotaxi on Aug. 8; shares pop

Tesla will reveal its robotaxi product on Aug. 8, CEO Elon Musk stated in a social media submit on X.

Musk has spoken in regards to the robotaxi challenge for years, and it might signify a significant new enterprise for the carmaker as buyers develop cautious of the corporate during a period of slowing growth.

Tesla shares rose over 3% in prolonged buying and selling after Musk’s tweet.

Musk shared the reveal date on Friday after Reuters reported that plans for Tesla’s extremely anticipated low-cost automotive mannequin had been scrapped. Musk accused Reuters of “lying.”

In 2015, Elon Musk instructed shareholders that Tesla’s automobiles would obtain “full autonomy” inside three years. In 2016, he stated Tesla would capable of ship one in all its automobiles on a cross-country drive with out requiring any human intervention by the tip of the next 12 months.

Tesla nonetheless has but to ship a robotaxi, autonomous car or expertise that may flip its automobiles into “level 3” automated automobiles. Nonetheless, Tesla gives superior driver help methods (ADAS), together with an ordinary Autopilot choice or premium Full Self-Driving “FSD” choice, the latter of which prices $199 monthly for U.S. subscribers or $12,000 upfront.

In a push for end-of-quarter gross sales, Musk not too long ago mandated that every one gross sales and repair workers set up and demo FSD for patrons earlier than handing over the keys. He wrote in an electronic mail to staff, “Almost no one actually realizes how well (supervised) FSD actually works. I know this will slow down the delivery process, but it is nonetheless a hard requirement.”

Regardless of its title, Tesla’s premium choice requires a human driver on the wheel, able to steer or brake at any second.

Alphabet’s autonomous car unit Waymo operates business, driverless ride-hailing providers in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and is ramping up in Tesla’s house base of Austin, Texas. Waymo additionally not too long ago struck a multi-year partnership with Uber and can put its robotaxis to make use of delivering meals for Uber Eats in Arizona. In China, Didi’s autonomous unit operates commercially in markets together with Guangzhou. Corporations together with Wayve within the U.Ok. and Zoox within the U.S. proceed testing their robotaxis.

Some firms have had a troublesome time within the crowded market.

On Friday, Apple shuttered its self-driving unit and laid off about 600 individuals on Friday who had been related to the challenge. GM’s Cruise service beforehand provided self-driving automotive providers in San Francisco earlier than being wound down beneath regulatory scrutiny after an accident. Because the incident, Cruise’s robotaxi fleet has been grounded, native and federal governments have launched their very own investigations and Cruise management has been gutted.

At Tesla, “unveil” dates don’t predict a near-future date for a business launch of a brand new product. For instance, Tesla unveiled its absolutely electrical heavy-duty truck, the Semi, in 2017 and didn’t start deliveries till December 2022. It nonetheless produces and sells very few Semis to at the present time.

– CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed reporting.