Electric vehicle giant Tesla is gearing up to officially unveil the long-awaited autonomous driving car model, widely known as “Tesla Robotaxi,” on August 8, 2024.
The imminent debut of the Tesla Robotaxi marks a significant advancement in the company’s efforts to reach full autonomy this year.
Elon Musk teases Robotaxi debut on August 8
Chief Executive Elon Musk recently announced on his social media platform X that Tesla will finally introduce the new Robotaxi on August 8, 2024.
As expected, this significant development hyped up many Tesla investors and enthusiasts.
However, there were also skeptics who continued to doubt Tesla and Elon Musk’s Robotaxi plans. For instance, X user @TaylorOgan reminded the Tesla boss of its previous announcement during an event that “all Teslas built after 2016 are robotaxis.”
Tesla fan @FutureIsTesla defended the American electric vehicle giant, emphasizing that there’s no point in giving up even after failing multiple times.
Interestingly, the announcement comes just hours after the Tesla boss denied Reuters‘ report that the company would ditch its $25,000 electric car plans to make way for the Robotaxi.
Tesla’s self-driving car venture
Tesla initially announced plans to develop a self-driving people carrier in 2016, but details have been scarce. Fortunately, Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography gave us an idea of how the Robotaxi would look like late last year, along with several early sketches of a “gen 3” car.
The biography noted that the Tesla boss was very determined to develop an autonomous robotaxi without pedals or a steering wheel. However, his associates encouraged him to work on a cheaper “global car” to boost the brand’s efforts to hit its ambitious 50% annual growth rate goal.
Tesla previously confirmed that the upcoming Robotaxi and $25,000 EV will use the same next-gen platform the company internally developed. However, there is still not enough information about the differences between the two next-gen Tesla EVs regarding design and engineering.
Significance of next-gen EVs
The next-gen EVs are critical for the American electric vehicle giant’s growth as its investors continue to worry about its business in recent years. Tesla’s share prices have declined about 33% since the beginning of 2024.
Its Q1 2024 sales were also below Wall Street’s expectations, demonstrating the first negative decline in years. These recent setbacks intensify the pressure on Tesla, especially with the new lower-cost model launches from Chinese rivals in the US.
All that said, Tesla is in dire need to bring its next-gen EV models in the market to defend its dominant position in the electric vehicle market.
Considering that Tesla will first introduce the Robotaxi, it remains vague whether the $25,000 car will arrive. Nonetheless, it seems that Tesla only plans to prioritize the Robotaxi before the $25,000 “Model 2.” Despite this, it does not mean the company will ultimately abandon its plans to launch a mass-market offering.
