Tesla’s Robotaxi to be shown on August 8, Musk says
Elon Musk announced on his X social media page that Tesla is going to introduce a robotaxi service on August 8. Musk has repeatedly publicly stated that the Autonomous Driving Function (FSD), which has been in beta testing for a long time, could potentially generate income for owners of Tesla electric vehicles that will work as autonomous taxis. Despite Musk’s history of ambitious promises that often fail to materialize, this latest development appears to be moving forward, The Verge reports.
On the same day that Musk made this statement, Reuters reported that Tesla had abandoned plans to create a more affordable electric car, which was supposed to cost about 25,000 euros. It seems that Musk has decided to focus the company’s efforts on improving autonomous driving, which could make other cars unnecessary.
Musk has been talking about the concept of a robotaxi for years, hinting at a future in which Tesla owners could lend their cars to a shared fleet and earn money while their electric car works autonomously and carries other passengers. However, Elon Musk’s ambitious timetable for introducing full self-driving (FSD) technology has been met with skepticism and criticism, especially in light of safety and regulatory concerns.
Whether Tesla will be able to solve the main problems of autonomous driving that could hinder the creation of a robotaxi service will be revealed on August 8.
We remind you that other attempts to create an autonomous taxi service have not achieved significant success. In particular, the Cruise autonomous car division of the parent company General Motors was forced to recall 950 robotaxis after an accident with a pedestrian. After that, a series of investigations began against the company, and General Motors decided to reduce investments in the division.