Tesla has been at the cutting edge of electric vehicle technology for over a decade, revealing multiple vehicles that have propelled the EV revolution. Now, the company is only a fortnight away from unveiling its next new product, the Tesla Robotaxi which Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO is already labelling as “one for the history books”.
Tesla’s Robotaxi is expected to be unveiled in Los Angeles California on October 10 with the official invitation to shareholders going out earlier this week.
This car is expected to offer an Uber ride-hailing experience without the need for a driver and has the potential to revolutionise the transportation system globally.
Researcher and futurist, Tony Seba has previously told The Driven: “The day that we get level four, autonomous technology ready and approved by regulators, when that converges with on-demand, and electric transportation we will get what we call transportation as a service (TAAS).”
Without drivers, the cost to deliver the service would be far lower than current taxi or ride-hailing services with some estimating it to be lower than the cost of a bus ticket.
Seba has also alluded to these savings: “Some call it Robo taxi. Essentially, when that happens the cost per mile of transportation is going to drop by anywhere from 10 to 20 times.”
The Robotaxi is a product that Musk has been spruiking for years and the company has made great strides in offering its full-self-driving package to customers in North America.
Earlier this year, multiple sightings of a Tesla Model 3 spotted testing with no mirrors and new camera locations were sighted.
At the time of this sighting, it was unclear if the spotted car was being tested as part of the upcoming Robotaxi model which was set to be announced on August 8.
It was then pushed back by two months as Musk requested changes to its design and to showcase a few other innovations from the company.
Requested what I think is an important design change to the front, and extra time allows us to show off a few other things
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2024
With a lot hanging on this event for the company, this event will be watched closely by many including Tesla’s employees, policymakers, shareholders plus others looking at the future of cleaner transportation.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.