For a decade, Elon Musk has championed the idea that one day Tesla cars will drive themselves as robotaxis. On October 10, the company plans to reveal a “dedicated robotaxi” design at an invitation-only event in Los Angeles.
Despite years of bold predictions and missed deadlines, fans of the company are holding out hope that Musk will finally deliver. Regardless of what the company showcases at its robotaxi day, experts are skeptical of the company’s strategy, citing its Auotpilot and Full Self-Driving technology as a barometer for Tesla’s progress, or lack thereof.
While Tesla has been developing its autonomous vehicles, competitors like Google-owned Waymo and Chinese companies like Pony.ai and Baidu have already launched commercial robotaxi services.
With U.S. EV sales growth slowing, there’s a lot riding on Tesla’s potential pivot to autonomy. CNBC explores whether the company is ready for robotaxis and if Musk’s vision for driverless Teslas will become a reality anytime soon.
Correction:
2:41 The event date is mislabeled. The correct event is the Tesla Annual Shareholder Meeting, which occurred on June 13, 2024.
Chapters:
3:18 Ch 1 – Tesla’s vision for autonomy
6:33 Ch 2 – Full self-driving
10:13 Ch 3 – Realizing the robotaxi
15:34 Ch 4 – Sizing up the robotaxi competition
Produced and Shot by: Andrew Evers
Additional Reporting: Lora Kolodny
Edited by: Andrew Evers, Erin Black
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Additional Camera: Katie Tarasov, Lisa Setyon
Graphics by: Jason Reginato
Narration: Robert Ferris
Additional Footage: Cruise, Getty Images, Tesla, Waymo, Zoox
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Will Tesla Robotaxis Live Up To 10 Years Of Development And Hype?
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