'One of the Most Important Events': Is Tesla Finally Revealing Its Robotaxi with Full Self-Driving?

Elon Musk has been promising that Tesla's robotaxis will soon get — for over a decade.

"I cognize I'm the boy who cried [Full Self Driving]," Musk said connected Tesla's second-quarter 2023 net call successful July 2023. "But man, I deliberation we'll beryllium amended than quality by the extremity of this year."

At the "We, Robot" arena connected Thursday astatine 7 p.m. PT, Musk is expected to showcase a Tesla robotaxi, aliases a car that tin thrust itself without quality supervision, for the first time. There's a batch riding connected the arena — investors person precocious expectations and want to spot the robotaxis successful action.

Wedbush Securities expert Dan Ives told CNN that "We, Robot" could beryllium for Tesla what the iPhone was for Apple; it could beryllium "one of the astir important events" held by the company, Ives stated.

Related: Tesla Sales Show Demand Could Be Speeding Up For Electric Cars

Tesla will apt show a "Cybercab" robotaxi prototype designed particularly for an autonomous EV fleet. In August 2022, Musk described a afloat self-driving strategy that combines Airbnb and Uber. Just for illustration Airbnb hosts rent retired their properties, Tesla owners could rent retired their cars erstwhile they're not utilizing them. The self-driving cars past run connected a ride-sharing level for illustration Uber for anyone to access.

Elon Musk successful September 2024. Photo by Jean Catuffe/GC Images

With immoderate self-driving announcement it makes connected Thursday, Tesla will person to show that it tin compete pinch existing robotaxi companies, for illustration Alphabet-owned Waymo, which made 50,000 paid trips per week arsenic of May pinch its driverless fleet.

The barroom is besides precocious for afloat autonomous vehicles. Tesla states connected its website that "full autonomy" requires "reliability acold successful excess of quality drivers" done "billions of miles of experience" and "regulatory approval."

Tesla's most caller net report released earlier this period showed its champion numbers each twelvemonth pinch 462,890 deliveries, indicating that request is up for its EVs. Musk stated successful April that new, more affordable Tesla EVs were connected the measurement by "early 2025 if not precocious this year."

Related: What Is Elon Musk's New Master Plan For Tesla? Original Blueprint Disappears From Tesla's Website After 18 years

Tesla has 2 driving features currently available pinch the acquisition of a caller car: Autopilot, which autosteers and matches postulation velocity and comes pinch each caller Teslas, and Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which helps the car alteration lanes, park, and extremity astatine postulation lights for $99 per month aliases $8,000 for a one-time purchase.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigated Autopilot and recovered that it was progressive successful at slightest 13 crashes pinch astatine slightest 1 death. The Autopilot sanction whitethorn mislead drivers into believing that the strategy is much autonomous than it is, the agency stated.

Here's erstwhile the "We, Robot" arena is happening and really to watch it.

When Is the Tesla Event

Tesla's "We, Robot" is scheduled for October 10 astatine 10 p.m. ET aliases 7 p.m. PT. The arena was previously scheduled for August 8 but was taxable to a two-month delay.

How to Watch the Tesla Event

Tesla is live-streaming the event from Burbank, California connected X.