Tesla reportedly delaying its robotaxi reveal until October

Tesla won’t uncover its long-promised afloat autonomous robotaxi until October successful bid to springiness the company’s engineering squad much clip to physique and trial prototypes, Bloomberg reports.

The lawsuit was primitively acceptable for August 8th, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this twelvemonth amid questions astir the company’s commitments to much affordable electrical vehicles.

The hold has been communicated internally to Tesla employees but has yet to beryllium announced publicly, Bloomberg says. Musk has yet to station thing astir the hold connected X.

At an net call earlier this year, Musk reiterated his content that Tesla is not a accepted car institution but, actually, an AI and robotics company. Facing pointed questions from investors astir affordable EVs, Musk responded, “Really, we should beryllium thought of arsenic an AI robotics company. If you worth Tesla arsenic conscionable an car institution ... that’s conscionable the incorrect framework.”

Musk has been teasing the anticipation of a Tesla robotaxi for a agelong time. He speculated that Tesla owners would beryllium capable to gain gross from their personally owned autonomous cars by sending them retired to prime up and driblet disconnected passengers. And the institution adjacent previewed a ridehailing function built into Tesla’s app.

But galore of Musk’s predictions astir afloat autonomous vehicles have failed to travel true. Today, Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems necessitate drivers to wage attraction to the roadworthy and beryllium acceptable to instrumentality power erstwhile needed. Drivers are besides liable for immoderate crashes that hap erstwhile the operator assistance is engaged — and the institution is successful the midst of fighting several wrongful decease lawsuits that person stemmed from fatal crashes.

Meanwhile, Waymo and respective different companies are presently operating afloat autonomous robotaxis successful respective US cities.

In the net report, Tesla said the robotaxi volition beryllium “purpose built,” which is simply a word utilized successful the autonomous conveyance manufacture to picture vehicles built from the crushed up to beryllium self-driving and that often deficiency accepted controls similar steering wheels and pedals.