A blurry photo of a heavily camouflaged vehicle driving around the Warner Bros. movie studio surfaced last night, sparking speculation that it is Tesla's legendary robotaxi that will be revealed next month.
With its canary-yellow wrap and clearly manipulated shape, it's hard to glean much information about the robotaxi from this sighting alone. Everything about this photo should be taken with a grain of salt, including the tires, the squared-off rear end, the strange (lidar?) roof bulge, and the pesky hood indentations. Not everything is as it seems.
According ElectrificationThe photo was first posted to Reddit by u/boopitysmopp, who is said to be a Warner Bros. employee. (The post has since been deleted and the Reddit user has since removed their profile, so the employment claim could not immediately be verified.) In the photo, another Tesla vehicle can be seen following behind.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Tesla was planning to unveil its robotaxi on a 110-acre lot, containing more than two dozen sound stages, including fake suburban cities.
The yellow camouflage is certainly a nice touch, especially if Tesla is going to continue using the “cybertaxi” nomenclature that Elon Musk first mentioned on a recent earnings call. After all, nothing says “taxi” like an unpleasant shade of yellow.
The overall size of the vehicle appears small, but possibly comparable to a Tesla Model 3. And the original Reddit post noted that the rear had a full-width taillight that appeared to be inspired by the Cybertruck.
Other important questions, such as whether the vehicle will have traditional controls like a steering wheel and pedals, can't be answered immediately with this photo. Hopefully, more spy photos will surface soon so we can get a better idea of what Musk and company are planning.
