Dive Brief:
- Tesla will unveil its robotaxi on Oct. 10, roughly two months later than originally anticipated, the automaker projected as part of its Q2 earnings.
- During the company’s July 23 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk disclosed he wanted to make some “important changes” that he believes will improve the product. Tesla will “add in a couple other things for the product unveil,” he said.
- “Though timing of Robotaxi deployment depends on technological advancement and regulatory approval, we are working vigorously on this opportunity given the outsized potential value,” the company said in its Q2 presentation.
Dive Insight:
Musk expressed his hope that Tesla’s first robotaxi rides could happen in 2025, but recognized he might be overconfident.
“I guess that's really just a question of, ‘When can we do unsupervised Full Self-Driving?’ It's difficult, obviously, my predictions on this have been overly optimistic in the past,” he said during the company’s earnings call, referring to the company’s autonomous vehicle software.
The launch of Tesla’s robotaxis hinges on the regulatory approval of its Full Self-Driving software, rather than its technology limitations, Musk said. He teased Tesla would ask regulators in China and Europe to approve supervised Full Self Driving "pretty soon," and expects to receive a greenlight by the end of the year.
While discussing the technology behind robotaxis, Musk also took a chance to contrast Tesla's Full Self Driving software with the high-density mapping technology used by Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors Co.’s Cruise.
“Their ability to expand rapidly is limited,” Musk said of Tesla’s robotaxi competitors. “Our solution is a general solution that works anywhere. It would even work on a different earth.”
Notably, GM recently announced it was forgoing the production of its Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle in favor of the Chevrolet Bolt, citing regulatory challenges. The Origin design did not include a steering wheel or pedals, so passengers would not be able to take control during an emergency.
Tesla has not released any images of its robotaxi design, so it’s unclear if it will have passenger controls. But Musk confirmed it will be built at Giga Texas, which also manufactures the Model Y and Cybertruck, according to Tesla’s website.
