On Thursday, the CEO of Tesla and noted elegant jumper Elon Musk will take the stage to show off the company's “Cybercab”-style robotaxi plans. Although the vehicle we see is not expected to be a fully functional product, Tesla investors and fans are hoping for a working prototype or other signs that the company can navigate the technological and regulatory hurdles it will face. You can see the event in an x. x.com/i/broadcasts/1YqJDkbjazvGV” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:livestream;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:3;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>live broadcast at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
With Cybercab, Musk is aiming for a fully autonomous vehicle that runs on a Tesla ride-sharing network. Owners will also reportedly be able to make their cars available to the network to function as autonomous taxis, compared to a “combination of Airbnb and Uber.”
The CEO started talking about the robotaxi plan years ago. However, it gained greater prominence earlier this year when Tesla reportedly shelved its plans for an entry-level electric vehicle, often called the “Model 2,” in favor of the autonomous ride-sharing project.
Unlike its competitors Waymo, Cruise and Zoox, Tesla's current automation is based on cameras and artificial intelligence. Reuters grades that Musk will try to improve the technology quickly enough to “break” the highly regulated industry. No matter what is promised at the event, you may want to take the CEO's promises with several grains of salt (if not Cybertruckloads). In April 2019, Musk said: “If we fast forward a year, maybe a year (and) three months, we will have over a million robotaxis on the road.”
Here we are in 2024 (which, as you may have noticed, is not, in fact, 2020) and Tesla doesn't have a single robotaxi on the road.
cabling grades that the company does not have a stand-alone permit in California and has reportedly not communicated with the state's AV regulators about testing. Waymo, Zoox, the embattled Cruise and Apple (no longer in the autonomous vehicle business) have logged thousands of miles testing their autonomous vehicles in the Golden State. Waymo is the only company in the US that currently operates robotaxis commercially.
You can tune the x.com/i/broadcasts/1YqJDkbjazvGV” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:livestream;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:14;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>live broadcast to see what Musk and company have in store at 10 pm ET / 7 pm ET on Thursday.
