Elon Musk weighed in Monday on Tesla’s event introducing the robotaxi getting moved back, saying he had 'requested what I think is an important design change to the front.'
Elon Musk weighed in Monday on Tesla’s event introducing the robotaxi getting moved back.
"Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things," the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s CEO said on X.
Just a few days earlier, a Bloomberg report had suggested Tesla had decided on a deferment of Tesla’s robotaxi event from Aug. 8, when it was initially slated to occur.
Tesla has previously indicated the event, highly-anticipated among investors, would involve showing its purpose-built Cybercab and providing other details of its autonomous robotaxi plans.
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Unnamed sources told Bloomberg newly requested design alterations and prototype production drove Tesla’s decision to put off the unveiling. It could instead take place in October, according to the report.
In an X post on July 13, the day Tesla held its 2024 annual stockholder meeting, the EV maker teased "more details" on the robotaxi would come "later this summer" without specifying a date.
That post featured a photo of what appeared to be the "summon" button for a ride-hailing function that Tesla said in April would eventually be incorporated into the company’s app.
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"There will be some number of cars that Tesla owns itself and operates in the fleet," Musk said of Tesla’s envisioned autonomous ride-hailing service in April while participating in the EV maker’s first-quarter earnings call. "There will be some number of cars, and then there will be a bunch of cars where they’re owned by the end user."
The users would have the ability to "add or subtract their car to the fleet whenever they want" and "decide if they want to only let the car be used by friends and family, or only by 5-star users, or by anyone at any time" before calling it back to them for personal use, Musk explained at the time.
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The purpose-built Cybercab is slated to use a "revolutionary ‘unboxed’ manufacturing strategy," according to Tesla’s first-quarter shareholder presentation.
Once it ultimately makes its debut, Tesla’s robotaxi service would presumably compete with ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft.
Musk and Tesla have both said they believe the world is "headed for" an "electric" and "autonomous future."
