Billionaire tycoon and Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the long-rumored fully automated taxi service will arrive later this summer.
‘Tesla Robotaxi will be unveiled on 8/8,’ Musk posted on his social media platform
The announcement comes amid growing customer dissatisfaction with the launch of Tesla’s new futuristic-looking electric vehicle (EV), the Cybertruck, which has faced numerous safety and performance complaints from early adopters and fans.
But Musk also made similar ‘robotaxis’ promises five years ago this month, at a Tesla expo. EV maker’s investor day held in Palo Alto, California campus.
Musk told investors at that April 2019 event that he was “very confident” Tesla would have its autonomous robotaxis on the roads as early as next year, 2020.
The billionaire tech mogul then showed off a Tesla ride-sharing app.
‘Tesla Robotaxi will be unveiled on 8/8,’ Tesla mogul Elon Musk posted on his social media platform
But Musk made similar promises five years ago this month, at Tesla’s Autonomy Day with investors at the electric vehicle maker’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California. Above, Musk was pictured getting into a Tesla outside a hotel in Beijing, China.
In April 2019, Musk said he was “very confident” that Tesla would have autonomous “robotaxis” on the roads starting in 2020. Above, Musk in 2019 shows a mockup of Tesla’s ride-sharing app.
Musk said Tesla began developing fully autonomous driving technology in 2016 with the idea of ​​launching a ride-sharing service.
It would operate by repossessing consumers’ leased Model 3s once their contract expires and then repurposing those vehicles for the new ride-sharing service.
In doing so, Musk said Tesla believed it could quickly scale the number of robotaxis to about one million in operation by 2020.
Musk then compared Tesla Network to a combination between Uber and Airbnb.
The company, it said at the 2019 event, would plan to receive between 25 and 30 percent of the revenue generated per ride on the Tesla Network.
It’s unclear what aspects of this proposal remain intact five years later, or how credible Musk’s August 8, 2024 debut date will prove to be.
Musk’s announcement via X on Friday came just hours later a Reuters exhibition revealed the billionaire’s plans to overrule Tesla’s design team, which had previously convinced him to develop an affordable electric vehicle priced at $25,000.
The “half-price” electric car was due to go into production starting next year and investors saw it as the saving grace that could rescue the struggling automaker.
Musk jokes about the lucky symbolism of Tesla’s robotaxi with a fan on his social site
Tesla’s share price fell more than 5 percent, according to the Reuters article on Friday, but began to gradually recover. The company’s stock is one of the worst performers in the S&P 500 this year.
Also earlier this week, Tesla’s share price also fell, after it was reported that the company missed delivery estimates for the first quarter of 2024.
Competition has also increased with Chinese rivals such as BYD, an electric vehicle maker that began corporate life as a battery maker in the mid-1990s.
BYD has recently launched an ultra-affordable consumer electric vehicle in China. at a starting price of $10,000.
Seemingly joking with his fans on the social media site he now owns, Musk noted on in the year. from the Dragon.’