Elon Musk says Tesla will unveil its robotaxi on Aug. 8; shares pop

Tesla will reveal its robotaxi product on Aug. 8, CEO Elon Musk stated in a social media put up on X.

Musk has spoken concerning the robotaxi challenge for years, and it might symbolize a serious new enterprise for the carmaker as traders develop cautious of the corporate during a period of slowing growth.

Tesla shares rose over 3% in prolonged buying and selling after Musk’s tweet.

Musk shared the reveal date on Friday after Reuters reported that plans for Tesla’s extremely anticipated low-cost automotive mannequin had been scrapped. Musk accused Reuters of “mendacity.”

In 2015, Elon Musk informed shareholders that Tesla’s vehicles would obtain “full autonomy” inside three years. In 2016, he stated Tesla would in a position to ship considered one of its vehicles on a cross-country drive with out requiring any human intervention by the tip of the next yr.

Tesla nonetheless has but to ship a robotaxi, autonomous automobile or expertise that may flip its vehicles into “stage 3” automated autos. Nonetheless, Tesla gives superior driver help programs (ADAS), together with a regular Autopilot choice or premium Full Self-Driving “FSD” choice, the latter of which prices $199 monthly for U.S. subscribers or $12,000 upfront.

In a push for end-of-quarter gross sales, Musk not too long ago mandated that each one gross sales and repair employees set up and demo FSD for patrons earlier than handing over the keys. He wrote in an electronic mail to workers, “Virtually nobody truly realizes how properly (supervised) FSD truly works. I do know this may decelerate the supply course of, however it’s nonetheless a tough requirement.”

Regardless of its identify, Tesla’s premium choice requires a human driver on the wheel, able to steer or brake at any second.

Alphabet’s autonomous automobile unit Waymo operates industrial, driverless ride-hailing providers in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and is ramping up in Tesla’s residence base of Austin, Texas. Waymo additionally not too long ago struck a multi-year partnership with Uber and can put its robotaxis to make use of delivering meals for Uber Eats in Arizona. In China, Didi’s autonomous unit operates commercially in markets together with Guangzhou. Corporations together with Wayve within the U.Okay. and Zoox within the U.S. proceed testing their robotaxis.

Some firms have had a tricky time within the crowded market.

On Friday, Apple shuttered its self-driving unit and laid off about 600 individuals on Friday who had been related to the challenge. GM’s Cruise service beforehand provided self-driving automotive providers in San Francisco earlier than being wound down beneath regulatory scrutiny after an accident. Because the incident, Cruise’s robotaxi fleet has been grounded, native and federal governments have launched their very own investigations and Cruise management has been gutted.

At Tesla, “unveil” dates don’t predict a near-future date for a industrial launch of a brand new product. For instance, Tesla unveiled its absolutely electrical heavy-duty truck, the Semi, in 2017 and didn’t start deliveries till December 2022. It nonetheless produces and sells very few Semis to today.

– CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed reporting.