Mark your calendars: Tesla CEO Elon Musk prompt this afternoon that his electrical automaker goes all-in on autonomous car tech—and that Tesla’s robotaxi might be unveiled on August 8.
The announcement, posted by Musk on X Friday afternoon, capped off a bizarre day of stories and counter-reports that despatched Tesla’s inventory on a rollercoaster experience, slipping down 6 factors on the day earlier than recovering in after-hours buying and selling. Earlier within the day, Reuters reported Tesla had canceled long-gestating plans to develop an reasonably priced electrical car for the lots. The “subsequent era” car is broadly considered key to the electrical automaker’s survival, particularly as competitors heats up within the EV house. As an alternative, the information company reported, Tesla would deal with constructing a robotaxi, which might use a lot of the identical {hardware} because the low-cost car.
However Musk logged onto X to disclaim a minimum of a part of Reuters’ story. “Reuters is mendacity (once more),” he posted, with out specifying what the information company acquired unsuitable. Hours later, he appeared to verify a part of the report by posting that Tesla’s subsequent product launch would deal with robotaxis.
The obvious pivot is stunning for just a few causes.
Tesla has promised, however has not delivered, actually self-driving expertise for years. In 2016, Tesla stated that each one the corporate’s automobiles could be shipped with the {hardware} essential to drive itself—permitting drivers to nap and even ship their automobiles cross-country with out anybody inside.
In a “grasp plan” posted by Musk that yr, he outlined a (nonetheless) futuristic state of affairs wherein Tesla house owners may share their autonomous automobiles with others. “When true self-driving is accepted by regulators,” he wrote, prospects would “be capable to add your automotive to the Tesla shared fleet simply by tapping a button on the Tesla telephone app and have it generate revenue for you when you’re at work or on trip.” In 2019, Musk instructed a room stuffed with buyers that by the following yr, the automaker would have “over one million Tesla automobiles on the highway with full self-driving {hardware}.” That did not occur.
In the meantime, Tesla’s driver help tech, known as “Full Self-Driving,” is technically solely a “stage 2” on the five-point autonomy scale, which means the automotive can solely pilot itself with driver supervision. Tesla’s newest self-driving software program replace is the primary to not be labeled as “beta” by the automaker.
Nonetheless, Tesla’s driver help expertise has been closely criticized by the US’ transportation security watchdog, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board. A two-year investigation by the nation’s high highway security regulator concluded late final yr with a dedication that Tesla’s expertise could possibly be misused by drivers as a result of it didn’t pressure them to pay adequate consideration whereas driving. Tesla, which stated it did not agree with regulators’ evaluation, pushed out fixes to prospects through over-the-air software program updates. Tesla maintains that its driver help options are safer than human drivers.
What’s extra, different autonomous car builders have confronted critical rising pains within the final half-decade. A expertise that was as soon as touted as “simply across the nook” proved each more durable and far more costly than as soon as deliberate. In the present day, years after most main auto and tech producers pledged self-driving software program, only a few main gamers stay. After billions of {dollars} in devoted analysis and growth, and greater than 7 million miles pushed, Google spinoff Waymo solely offers paid taxi rides in two cities—Phoenix, Arizona, and San Francisco—although it plans to launch in Los Angeles, Austin, Texas, and the broader San Francisco Bay Space quickly. One other robotaxi competitor, Basic Motors’ Cruise, has put its total service on pause after a driverless taxi struck and injured a pedestrian, which led to a conflict with California regulators. If Tesla desires to roll out robotaxi service in every single place its automobiles are offered, its plans might be much more formidable than these opponents’, who’ve been engaged on the issue of autonomy for years.