Elon Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that Tesla’s robotaxi would be revealed on August 8th. However, according to reports by Bloomberg, the unveiling has been postponed to October, giving fans two more months to wait.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been teasing the robotaxi since 2019. Back in April 2024, the company boss finally gave a specific date for the unveiling of the autonomous taxi-hailing platform. This was after a Reuters report that the company had abandoned the enigmatic, cheaper Model 2. However, it seems Musk was overoptimistic with the surprise announcement, as Bloomberg reports the date has been shifted to October.
According to the media outlet, the delay is caused by the team working on the robotaxi project. It has requested more time to make more prototypes.
Tesla hopes to rival Uber and Lyft with its robotaxi service. It plans to use purpose-built autonomous taxis that will have no steering wheel and navigate with the help of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. The company will allow existing Tesla owners to join the fleet of autonomous taxis, thereby generating revenue.
According to Forbes, the news of robotaxi’s delay has cost Musk a fortune. His net worth dropped by $11 billion after Tesla shares fell by about 7 percent.
While the robotaxi’s launch is delayed, Tesla is not sitting idle. The company is actively developing a sanitation system for the robotaxis, ensuring they are safe and clean for passengers.
