Tesla has reportedly postponed its highly anticipated robotaxi unveiling from August 8 to October, citing the need for additional prototype development and design refinements.
Bloomberg reports that Tesla has internally communicated a decision to delay the unveiling of its robotaxi by approximately two months. Originally scheduled for August 8, the event has been pushed back to October. According to sources familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the information, the postponement is intended to allow teams working on the project more time to build additional prototypes.
The design team at Tesla was reportedly instructed this week to rework certain elements of the robotaxi. This delay comes after CEO Elon Musk had set the initial August 8 date for the event months ago. The anticipation surrounding the robotaxi unveiling had contributed to an 11-day streak of gains for Tesla’s stock, adding more than $257 billion to the company’s market capitalization.
Following the news of the delay, Tesla’s stock closed 8.4 percent late in the week, marking its largest single-day drop since January. Conversely, shares of potential competitors in the ride-hailing industry saw significant increases. Uber Technologies Inc.’s stock rose 6.1 percent, while Lyft Inc. shares jumped 4.6 percent on the same day.
The concept of an autonomous taxi service has been part of Tesla’s plans for several years, dating back to Musk’s second “master plan” for the company in 2016. In recent months, Musk has prioritized the robotaxi project over the development of a more affordable electric vehicle model.
Tesla has been promoting its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) feature to customers, charging thousands of dollars for a suite of advanced driver assistance systems. However, FSD does not render Tesla vehicles fully autonomous and still requires constant driver supervision.
The delay in the robotaxi unveiling comes at a time when Tesla is experiencing a slowdown in its vehicle sales and production. The company reported a 6.6 percent decrease in car deliveries during the first half of the year, despite introducing the new Cybertruck model to its lineup. Additionally, Tesla’s vehicle production in the second quarter saw a 14 percent year-over-year decline, a move aimed at managing growing inventory levels.
Tesla has not publicly announced the delay, and CEO Elon Musk has not responded to requests for comment on the matter.
Read more at Bloomberg here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
