Tesla CEO Elon Musk declared on Friday that the company will unveil its eagerly anticipated robotaxi on August 8.
“Tesla Robotaxi unveil on August 8,” Musk posted on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) without sharing details about the project.
Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2024
Musk’s Vision for Autonomous Vehicles
Shares of the billionaire’s Austin, Texas-based electric vehicle manufacturer increased more than 3% in after-market dealings following his announcement.
Tesla stated in April 2019 that it anticipated robotaxis to start running by 2020. The company also projected that these autonomous vehicles will last 11 years, travel 1 million (10 lakh) miles, and generate $30,000 (about ₹25,00,000) in profit annually.
Tesla will produce a car that people can drive without assistance, according to statements made by Musk in the past. The businessman, who was born in South Africa, has previously stated that firm vehicles with Full Self-Driving (FSD) capacity will progressively get “better and better at driving” through software upgrades.
Tesla’s FSD Features
In a March post on X, he wrote, “Models with FSD will be superhuman to such a degree that it will seem strange that humans drove cars, even while exhausted and drunk!”
Additionally, he said that Tesla owners with FSD-equipped cars will be able to use their vehicles as robotaxis.
Presently, the new Tesla Model 3 is the only vehicle that can perform fully autonomous driving. Customers will need to spend an additional $12,000 (about ₹10 lakh) for this on top of the Model 3’s around $40,000 (approximately ₹33,00,000) buying price. As an alternative, a subscription to the FSD is available for $199 (about ₹16,600) per month.
