Why Elon Musk Delayed The Tesla Robotaxi Event

Musk said the event will happen later than expected but didn't say exactly when.

By: Tim Levin

Jul 15, 2024 at 3:38pm ET

Add InsideEVs as a preferred source in Google

Comment

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed in an X post on Monday that an event meant to showcase Tesla's design for an autonomous taxi will happen later than previously announced. Musk said he asked for "an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things."

Musk first announced the event in April, saying that the time that Tesla would show off a robotaxi—potentially called the CyberCab—just a few months later on August 8. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Tesla planned to delay the event to October so that the automaker could build additional prototypes.

In Monday's post, Musk didn't specify when the event will actually take place. It's also unclear what the "few other things" he noted are. These could have to do with the robotaxi or the other AI-related efforts that Musk is increasingly obsessed with, like Tesla's Optimus robot.

Tesla has touted big plans for self-driving cars for many years now, but it hasn't delivered yet. The automaker sells an add-on feature called "Full Self-Driving," but it requires driver supervision as it navigates the world and is far from perfect.

Tesla Cybercab Render Inside

Musk envisions a self-driving taxi network that uses both purpose-built robotaxis—the vehicle we were expecting to see for the first time in August—as well as cars from Tesla customers who opt in. The CEO has said that Tesla's future rides on its ability to deliver self-driving technology. And Wall Street agrees, rewarding Tesla with a market capitalization that's several times that of its automaker peers.

What do you think?

View

Comments

As far as Musk sees it, the robotaxi is central to Tesla's future as a tech and AI company. Investors and fans are surely hoping it's worth the wait.

Contact the author: tim.levin@insideevs.com