#Socialites, would you hop into a self-driving RoboTaxi from Elon Musk‘s company Tesla? The Billionaire Tesla CEO (and owner of X) recently announced that his long affinity for self-driving vehicles isn’t stopping anytime soon. In fact, on Friday (April 5), Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal that Tesla will unveil its RoboTaxi product on August 8. He simply wrote, “Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8.”
For years leading up to his announcement, Elon Musk has spoken about Tesla’s RoboToxi, evenly falsely hinting at its arrival several times. However, with its current promised unveiling it could represent a major new business for the carmaker as investors continue to grow wary of the company’s recent slow growth.
At the end of March, CNBC reported that Tesla shares plummeted 29% in the first quarter, marking its worst period for the stock since the end of 2022, and the third steepest quarterly drop on record (since the company went public in 2010). With increased competition from China and disruptions in Europe, investors in the electric vehicle maker have become more concerned about the company’s auto sales.
RELATED: Elon Musk Says Neuralink’s First Human Patient Can Move Computer Mouse ‘By Just Thinking’
Following Musk’s tweet teasing the RoboTaxi, shares rose over 4.8% in extended trading. To note, Musk’s tweet also arrived after Reuters reported that Tesla’s highly anticipated low-cost car model had been scrapped. The publication claimed sources told them that the company canceled its long-promised inexpensive car that investors have been banking on to drive the growth of the company. After the report, Tesla’s shares went down by 6%.
However, Musk addressed the headline and accused Reuters of “lying,” and then made his RoboTaxi announcement, which, again, rose shares by 4.8%. According to Forbes, as of Friday evening, Musk’s net worth was estimated to be about $189.2 million, making him the third wealthiest person in the world.
RELATED: Don Lemon Says Elon Musk Canceled His Talk Show From Premiering On X
Since 2015, Elon Musk has been telling his shareholders that Tesla’s cars would eventually become “fully autonomous” within three years. In 2016, he further claimed that by the end of 2017, the company would be able to send one of its cars on a cross-country drive without needing any human intervention.
Then in 2019, Musk said that by the middle of 2020, Tesla’s autonomous system would be so good that drivers won’t even need to pay attention to the road. When 2020 came, the Tesla CEO said the company was “very close” to achieving “level 5” autonomous driving technology. And as recently as last year (2023), Musk again said Tesla was “very close to achieving full self-driving without human supervision.” He further claimed the company would produce a “fully autonomous vehicle” at some point “later this year,” however, the RoboTaxi product still hasn’t arrived.
Although Tesla offers advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) — including a standard Autopilot option or premium Full Self-Driving (FSD) option (which costs $199 per month for U.S. owners or a flat $12,000) — Tesla still has yet to produce a RoboTaxi, autonomous vehicle, or any technology that can convert its cars into “level 3” automated vehicles.
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!
View this post on Instagram
The post Elon Musk Says Tesla Is Releasing Self-Driving RoboTaxi This Year appeared first on Hollywood Unlocked .
Getty Images