Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, has announced the delay of the robotaxi unveiling to October to incorporate significant design enhancements.
Key Design Enhancements Announced
On Monday, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, hinted that the carmaker would delay the unveiling of its robotaxi in order to improve the vehicle's front end and "show off" a few other features.
According to MSN, when asked when the carmaker will host an event to unveil the robotaxi, Musk remained tight-lipped. The event, which was originally scheduled for August 8th, has been postponed to October, according to Bloomberg News last week.
In response to a user's post about the event on his social media site X, Musk said:
Without going into detail, a source close to the situation stated on Friday that the robotaxi event had been postponed.
Challenges in Autonomous Driving Systems
Analysts on Wall Street and Tesla investors have pointed out that there are a number of technical and regulatory roadblocks on the way to building robotaxis and autonomous driving systems, so it would not be surprising if the introduction of the robotaxi was delayed.
Musk made the August reveal announcement the day after Reuters reported on April 5 that Tesla had scrapped its long-promised affordable car and will instead focus on creating self-driving robotaxis on the same platform as its tiny vehicles.
So far, the robotaxi has been shrouded in secrecy, even though the CEO is worth billions. He only mentioned that Tesla owned and ran some vehicles while individuals owned and rented out others through Tesla's network.
Impact on Stock Market
On Monday, Musk formally endorsed Donald Trump for president of the United States, which sent Tesla's stock soaring on the prospect that he might ease regulatory clearances for robotaxis and autonomous driving systems if elected.
After failing to meet his goals for self-driving vehicles on many occasions, Musk stated in 2022 that Tesla plans to mass-produce a robotaxi devoid of a steering wheel and pedal by 2024.