Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, revealed plans to unveil a ‘robotaxi’ on Aug 8 via a post on the social media platform X.
In a post on X, Musk stated, “Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8.”
Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2024
Previously, Musk has openly expressed his enthusiasm for self-driving vehicles, emphasizing their significance as one of Tesla’s key products.
According to CNN, Elon Musk previously stated that Tesla would produce a car devoid of human controls. Additionally, he mentioned that Tesla vehicles equipped with full self-driving capabilities would improve over time through software updates. Musk also envisioned these cars eventually operating as fully autonomous taxis, potentially generating income for their owners by providing taxi services independently.
Tesla has already surpassed several of Musk’s forecasts regarding the feasibility of actual self-driving capabilities. Back in April 2019, Tesla anticipated the launch of ‘robotaxi’ by 2020. Their projection included an expectation that the autonomous vehicles would remain operational for 11 years and cover 1 million miles, resulting in potential annual profits of $30,000 for both the company and the car operators.
Elon Musk has acknowledged that his predictions can occasionally veer off course. During an event in April 2019, he conceded, “The only criticism, and it’s a fair one, sometimes I’m not on time. But I get it done and the Tesla team gets it done,” as reported by CNN.
At present, individuals have the option to purchase full self-driving capability with a new Tesla Model 3 for an extra $12,000, in addition to the car’s approximate $40,000 base price. Alternatively, the full self-driving capability can be obtained through a subscription model for up to $199 per month, depending on the car’s initial configuration.
In small gray type, Tesla’s on-line description reads, “The currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous,” implying that it is not, in fact, capable of fully self-driving today.
During the third-quarter earnings call in 2023, Musk expressed his belief that the system would eventually render Tesla cars immensely valuable, he noted, “You can think of every car we sell or produce that has full autonomy capability as something that in the future may be worth five times what it is today.”
According to CNN, experts who have tested the system have indicated that it is currently far from achieving the ability to drive autonomously without human intervention. Kelly Funkhouser, the associate director of vehicle technology for Consumer Reports, conducted recent tests on the system. She expressed greater concern about the safety of the ordinary Tesla Autopilot, designed to offer more restricted driving assistance, especially on highways, than she did about the new system.
She said, “You’re not likely to tune out and become complacent or over-reliant on it.”
Funkhouser added, “In fact, I would say you’re potentially more alert.” CNN reported.
Several companies, such as Google’s parent company Alphabet’s subsidiary and GM’s subsidiary Cruise, are actively developing autonomous ride-sharing services. However, Cruise paused its testing operations following an incident where one of its self-driving cars struck and dragged a pedestrian. An internal investigation revealed that Cruise representatives hadn’t fully disclosed the incident to regulators. Consequently, the US Department of Justice launched an investigation into the matter. Meanwhile, Waymo recently recalled its vehicles after two separate incidents where its cars collided with the same tow truck within minutes of each other.
According to a report from the Financial Times on April 3, Tesla Motors is reportedly sending a team to scout locations in India this month for a potential electric car plant, estimated to cost between USD 2-3 billion. This decision follows India’s recent reduction in tariffs on higher-priced imported electric vehicles last month, provided that companies commit to manufacturing them within the country within three years.