Tesla CEO Elon Musk has signaled the automaker would take more time to unveil its robotaxi so it can incorporate an important design change to the front of the vehicle and “show off” some other things.
According to Reuters, Musk did not disclose when the automaker would hold an event to launch its robotaxi. Bloomberg News had reported last week the event, originally set to be held on 8 August, had been delayed to October.
“Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things,” Musk said on his X social media platform in a reply to a user post discussing the event.
Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2024
A person familiar with the matter last Friday told Reuters the robotaxi event had been delayed without elaborating.
With the road to developing robotaxis and autonomous driving systems facing several engineering and regulatory hurdles, Wall Street analysts and Tesla investors had noted a delay in the robotaxi launch would not be a surprise, Reuters observed.
Musk had announced the August unveiling day after Reuters reported on 5 April that Tesla had canceled its long-promised inexpensive car and would continue developing self driving robotaxis on the same small vehicle platform.
The billionaire CEO had given minimal details about the robotaxi so far, the latest report added. He has said only some vehicles would be owned and operated by Tesla while others would be owned by individuals but rented out on Tesla’s network.
Reuters noted Tesla shares jumped on Monday after Musk publicly endorsed Donald Trump in the US presidential race, fanning hopes that a potential Trump administration could make it easier for Tesla to secure regulatory approvals for robotaxis and autonomous driving systems.
Musk had said in 2022 Tesla expected to mass produce a robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedal by 2024, after missing his targets for self driving vehicles multiple times, Reuters noted.
