Elon Musk Sets New Date for Tesla Robotaxi Reveal

Elon Musk announced that he would unveil Tesla’s purpose-built “robotaxi” prototype at an event on October 10, following the cancellation of a previous plan to unveil it on August 8

Musk stated that Tesla will also exhibit “a few additional items,” but he did not clarify the nature of these items.

The comments made during Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday largely corroborate Bloomberg’s initial report regarding the delay, which asserted that Musk’s desire to redesign specific prototype components was the primary driving force. Musk verified earlier this month that he requested an “important design change to the front.”

During the call, Musk stated, “Relocating it back a few months enabled us to enhance the robotaxi and incorporate a few additional features for the product unveil.”

The Tesla robotaxi, along with the “unsupervised” full self-driving software that Musk claims will operate, is the company’s future focal point. He laid off over 10% of Tesla’s global staff earlier this year to reorganize the company to focus on developing artificial intelligence-powered products, including a “balls to the wall” drive toward autonomy.

However, the AI-focused future impeded the company’s primary profit center of selling EVs. Tesla announced on Tuesday that its second quarter of 2024 profit was $1.5 billion, a 45% decrease from the same period in the previous year.

Tesla reported a $622 million restructuring charge that weighed down its earnings, even though a record $890 million in regulatory credit sales padded that profit. Automotive revenues decreased by 7% to $19.9 billion despite a 2% increase in total revenues year over year.

This performance follows Tesla’s already challenging start to the year, which included a 55% year-over-year decline in profit during the first quarter.

The company is considering selling fewer electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024 than in 2023, which would be a remarkable reversal of its previous growth trajectory. Tesla has attempted to mitigate this by informing investors that it is amid “two major growth waves.” The company is banking on the new Cybertruck, which is both polarizing and costly, and on uncertain future models that could be sold at a reduced MSRP to increase sales.

Musk, however, asserts that this is all “in the noise.” He emphasized on Tuesday’s call that Tesla’s long-term value is rooted in autonomy and autonomy alone. The company’s humanoid robot initiative, Optimus, which was unexpectedly postponed this week, is included. However, it primarily revolves around Musk’s most persistent pledge, which he has yet to fulfill: autonomous vehicles.

In light of this, Musk endeavored to direct investors’ attention to the October 10 event. There is limited public knowledge regarding Tesla’s forthcoming demonstrations; however, Walter Isaacson’s biography of Musk from 2023 contained an illustration of a diminutive robotaxi prototype.

Musk has discussed the possibility of enabling individuals to access the vehicle through Tesla’s applications, such as Uber and Lyft. He has also asserted that Tesla owners can add their vehicles to the shared network once the company has developed its Full Self-Driving software to the point where it can manage all types of driving. However, this is still a long way off, despite the nomenclature.

Tesla is under investigation by numerous government agencies and is being sued by owners due to Musk’s failure to deliver on his commitment to fully autonomous vehicles despite years of assurances.

Musk stated during the call that Tesla may be able to provide its first unsupervised robotaxi transport by the end of the year. However, he also stated that it can occur in 2025 and that his predictions are “overly optimistic.”