Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, acknowledged on Monday that the widely anticipated event to reveal a robotaxi by the company is likely to be delayed beyond the initial August 8th date. Musk did not specify a new date for the event, but indicated in a post on X, his social media platform, that a design change to the front of the vehicle was requested, allowing for the showcasing of additional features. A request for comment from Tesla on the matter was made on Monday.
Recent reports from Bloomberg News suggested that the robotaxi unveiling would be postponed until October due to modifications requested by Musk. This news initially caused Tesla’s shares to drop by 8% on that day, but they have since rebounded and were up nearly 3% in afternoon trading on Monday. Despite experiencing a more than 40% decrease earlier in the year, Tesla’s shares have surged by over 80% since reaching a 52-week low in April.
Elon Musk has long championed Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” system, which he envisions will enable a fleet of robotaxis to generate revenue for the company and Tesla owners by utilizing electric vehicles that would otherwise be parked. Since the “Full Self Driving” hardware became available for purchase in late 2015, Musk has been promoting self-driving vehicles as a key growth driver for Tesla. The system is currently undergoing testing on public roads by numerous owners.
However, according to investigative records, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 75 accidents and one fatality involving the “Full Self Driving” system. It remains uncertain whether the system was responsible for these incidents. Tesla, headquartered in Austin, Texas, has emphasized that the system cannot operate autonomously and that human drivers must be prepared to intervene whenever necessary.
