Elon Musk said on Friday that Tesla will unveil a robotaxi this summer. This announcement coincides with obstacles to the widespread use of self-driving cars caused by safety worries.
The billionaire CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer merely stated in a post on X that the “Tesla Robotaxi unveil” will take place on August 8 without offering any further information.
After closing the day lower, Tesla shares increased by over three percent in after-market trading subsequent to the post.
Tesla is working on systems that will allow electric cars to drive themselves, something that Musk has long boasted about.
Tesla models with FSD (Full Self-Driving) “will be superhuman to such a degree that it will seem strange in the future that humans drove cars, even while exhausted and drunk!” he said in a post on X in March.
Musk has also said that owners of Tesla vehicles with FSD will be able to have their cars serve as robotaxis, rather than remain idly parked.
Despite its potential, rollout of self-driving vehicles in the United States has been tentative and rocky so far as both regulators and the public voice safety concerns.
San Francisco has been a testing ground for the technology.
Robotaxis from Google’s Waymo in the city have been targeted by vandals opposed to autonomous vehicles, while GM-owned Cruise indefinitely suspended its robotaxi service at the end of October after several accidents sparked a crackdown by California regulators.
Tesla’s “autopilot” feature has also come under scrutiny, facing accusations the marketing of the feature oversold its actual capabilities.
Following a Reuters story claiming that Tesla had shelved Musk’s long-standing proposal to produce an electric car model priced at nearly $25,000 in order to promote mass market adoption, the company unveiled the robotaxi.
Musk responded to the report with a post.
This week, Tesla revealed significantly lower first-quarter auto sales despite an unimpressive forecast for electric vehicle demand, while established brands like Toyota saw increased sales thanks to better US inventories.
Musk’s auto behemoth revealed that worldwide deliveries decreased by 8.5 percent during the quarter, partly due to a sluggish sales environment in China, where it contends with fierce competition from regional producers of electric vehicles.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called the quarterly results “an unmitigated disaster.”
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