Tesla's Robotaxi Unveiling Disappoints Investors Amid Autonomous Vehicle Race

Investors should be wary of Tesla's robotaxi hype

Elon Musk has said Tesla's valuation could go as high as $5tn as it pivots to autonomous driving and artificial intelligence -- seven times its value today. The company's shares are down more than 10 per cent in the past week after its robotaxi event disappointed investors. But even if Tesla had delivered on the hype, should robotaxis be that big a deal for investors today? Despite recent declines, Tesla shares trade at 80 times forward earnings -- a steep premium to global peers. That reflects hopes that its heavy AI spending will make it a key beneficiary of a shift to fully self-driving cars and that the transformation will arrive fairly quickly. But the pay-off is likely to take much longer than expected, with the beneficiaries spread out over a wide range of industries and companies. Robotaxis have the potential to be transformative -- should they become mainstream. For that to happen, mass production and commercialisation must come first, which will mean many more years of development and testing. It could also require a whole new approach to car manufacturing. Musk did not provide details on the technology behind the robotaxis or how he would cut the cost of self-driving cars. The latter is key: carmakers need to offer a compelling cost advantage for customers and robotaxi operators to justify the cost per mile of an unproven technology. Critics have been sceptical about how soon Tesla's promised self-driving taxi, priced under $30,000 and less than its cheapest Model 3, will hit markets. It has taken Chinese tech group Baidu, which operates fully driverless cabs in China, seven years of development, extensive road testing and six generations of robotaxis to get its latest model down to around $28,500. For now, the economic argument for robotaxis remains weak. There is a limit to how low costs can go because of the high prices of the cameras, radars, chips and lidar sensors that are in them. Traditional automakers would need to invest heavily in software development to catch up. Mass adoption is also a long way off. Development and testing will take time. Addressing safety concerns will require even more. Operating driverless cars on highways and in urban environments, with pedestrians, animals and bicycles and other hard-to-predict obstacles, comes with a high safety bar. Meanwhile, fares for robotaxi rides are typically lower than for traditional cabs. Robotaxi networks, which also need to provide cleaning and remote assistance, are not yet profitable. Baidu's operation, which has completed 7mn rides as of July, has yet to break even, despite using its own robotaxis at rock-bottom prices. Waymo, which runs more than 100,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US, is also lossmaking. GM's autonomous vehicle business, Cruise, booked a $5.8bn loss from 2021 to 2023. With economic returns sufficiently uncertain, makers of self-driving cars will end up competing on cost for mass-market adoption. That could require a wholly different approach to making electric vehicles. Instead of each carmaker building their own from scratch, as Tesla is doing, outsourcing manufacturing will start making more sense. Standardising as much hardware production as possible and focusing on differentiation through software would squeeze costs down faster. Waymo, the driverless car company owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, is an example of the right path. It entered a partnership with Hyundai Motor this month to integrate Waymo's fully autonomous technology into Hyundai's EVs. Elsewhere, Foxconn, the world's largest contract assembler for Apple, has set up a platform to make tailor-made EVs on contract, offering autonomous driving modifications. Foxconn already supplies parts to EV makers including Tesla and makes EV car parts such as camera modules, electronic control units and sensors at high volumes. Its scale means stable, low-cost parts procurement for clients. Such EV outsourcing is expected to reach $144bn, or 3.2mn EVs, by 2030, according to Goldman Sachs. That also means new growth for suppliers of autonomous driving-related components, for which the total market is expected to hit as high as $80bn by 2030, according to McKinsey. Despite the impressive speed at which EVs and self-driving functions have progressed, great areas of the nascent technology, especially around safety and regulation, remain sketchy. Given all the present uncertainties, the adoption of robotaxis in everyday life is likely to remain slow and cautious. That path is one that investors should follow.

Tesla Stock Slides as Its Robotaxi Event Disappoints. Time to Buy or Bail? | The Motley Fool

Tesla's (TSLA 0.62%) highly publicized robotaxi event failed to impress investors, who sent its shares tumbling following the presentation. The stock had rallied over the past quarter in anticipation of the event, despite the electric vehicle (EV) market continuing to see decelerating sales. Investors must decide whether this is a buying opportunity or a time to sell Tesla stock. After earlier pushing back its robotaxi event, which was originally scheduled for August, Tesla gave spectators the first look at its new cybercab design: a sleek, two-seat vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals. Of course, the design immediately begs the question of why only two seats, eliminating any families or group of friends using a single vehicle for a trip. However, Tesla also introduced a 20-passenger robovan, which it said could transport sports teams. The company said consumers would be able to buy a cybercab for under $30,000. However, the two-seat vehicle market is pretty small and generally reserved to sports cars, where owners typically like the feel and drive of the car. Tesla will look to start producing the vehicles before 2027, although CEO Elon Musk acknowledged he tends to be optimistic. Meanwhile, the company gave no specs with regards to safety features, driving range, or the technology being used. Musk said he anticipates the company having unsupervised full self-driving (FSD) testing in California and Texas next year. However, no details were provided on any technology changes the company has made to make the leap to full FSD. Tesla's supervised self-driving technology has had many documented challenges and has been associated with hundreds of crashes. Meanwhile, before the event, Reuters published an article saying that Tesla's robotaxi hinged on a "black box AI gamble." Citing industry executives, autonomous vehicle experts, and a Tesla engineer, the news outlet said without Tesla using things such as radar and lidar, its technology struggles with less-common driving events. It also noted that with a black box end-to-end AI system, it can't identify what goes wrong when accidents occur in order to safeguard against future occurrences. Tesla's technology is cheaper, but a lot of questions remain about its safety. TechCrunch highlighted Tesla's history of overpromising and underdelivering when it comes to autonomous driving. It noted that Musk told Fortune in 2015 that Tesla was two years away from full autonomous driving, while in 2019, he said the company would have a million robotaxis on the road by 2020. In addition to revealing its new cybercab, Musk once again hyped Tesla's Optimus robot, which he has called the company's biggest opportunity. The robots are expected to cost between $20,000 to $30,000. At the event's afterparty, several robots served drinks and danced, which were apparently controlled by Tesla employees via remote control. Tesla's cybercab presentation was lax on details and given the company's past history, there is no guarantee its robotaxis will be on the road in 2027 as planned. Meanwhile, even if the company does get its approvals and is up and running, it will still be a few years behind Alphabet's Waymo, which is already offering paid rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, with plans to soon begin service in Austin. At the same time, Tesla's core EV business has been slumping. Overall EV industry sales growth is slowing, but Tesla has been seeing sales declines. Last quarter, it saw its deliveries fall 5%, while auto revenue dropped 7%. Meanwhile, the company's Q3 deliveries of 462,890 units came up short of the 469,828 that analysts had been expecting. Trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 68 times based on next year's estimates, viewed as a traditional automobile company, Tesla would be considered very overvalued given that traditional automakers are trading under 6 times. As such, much of the bullish case for Tesla relies on its robotaxi and robot ambitions. However, its robotaxi and robot event gave no clear answer that the company is closing in on its goals. Given its valuation, the struggles of its core business, and the questions surrounding its FSD technology, I'd bail on Tesla stock at current levels.

Tesla stock plunges after Elon Musk robotaxi event disappoints

Investors hoped Tesla's long-awaited robotaxi demonstration would deliver on substance and not just style. On Thursday, Elon Musk did show off real vehicles and humanoid robots who walked among guests -- not just a dancer dressed in a robot body suit, like at the company's "AI Day" three years ago -- but many analysts still left unimpressed. At a glitzy event at Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles, Musk offered big promises but few details, underlining the case of Tesla bears who see a grossly inflated share price. Rather than adding momentum to the stock's recent rise, the robotaxi unveiling proved a "sell the news" event that some analysts predicted as shares plunged over 7% Friday morning. The stock is now down around 11% this year, compared to the S&P 500's more than 22% gain. Tesla has already been booted off the so-called "Magnificent Seven" -- America's seven largest tech companies by market cap -- by surging semiconductor and software giant Broadcom. Even famous Tesla bulls like Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives said Musk and Tesla didn't offer enough specifics on how the company would execute its autonomous vision. "That will naturally weigh on shares this morning as a knee jerk reaction," he and colleagues wrote in a note. "That said, we strongly disagree with the notion that last night was a disappointment as we would argue the opposite seeing Cybercab with our own eyes and the massive improvements in Optimus which we interacted with throughout the evening." Musk has not shied away from the notion that he has staked the company's future on successfully delivering autonomous vehicles. He and Tesla bulls agree robotaxis could propel the company to a $5 trillion valuation, compared to roughly $700 billion now. Tesla is banking it can overtake companies like Alphabet-owned Waymo, which is already on roads, because of its vision to deliver a vehicle with a much cheaper price point that is not confined to a geofenced area, Morningstar's Seth Goldstein, an equity strategist at Morningstar and chair of the firm's electric vehicle committee, recently told Fortune. Musk unveiled 20 vehicles on Thursday, saying Tesla's "Cybercab" would be available for under $30,000, compared to about $250,000 for a single Waymo vehicle. Beyond saying the Cybercab would be ready for 2027 -- and admitting he has previously been a "little optimistic" with past timelines -- Musk did not say where the vehicle would be manufactured. The company did surprise attendees by also unveiling a "robovan" that can carry up to 20 people, though no production date or price were mentioned for the product. "The Cybercab demos were conducted on a movie set in a well-controlled environment, and were very similar to a slow & short amusement park ride," Wells Fargo analysts, who attended the event, wrote in note Friday morning. "Waymo is now hosting 100K rides per week in major cities, so we expected more from TSLA's demo." Tesla's autonomous vehicle strategy is based on further developing its "full self-driving software" (FSD), which still requires human supervision. Musk said some of Tesla's electric vehicles should feature "unsupervised FSD" in Texas and California next year. Many analysts emphasized, however, that there were no near-term updates on the software's progress or any data released to showcase improvement. Wells Fargo did acknowledge that the biggest positive were the Optimus robots, who milled about the event and served drinks, though they added that the economics around this product remain unclear. Any momentum Tesla's stock had heading into the event has now fizzled, and Tesla bears will likely continue to feel vindicated heading into the company's earnings call on Oct. 23. The stock plunged following July's earnings call, in which Musk largely failed to address questions around worsening profitability and instead mused on the company's future. For Tesla management, Goldstein explained, that's par for the course. "They tend to take a long-term view," he said, "and so if they have a couple bad quarters, they don't really care if the stock sells off." Musk's charisma and showmanship, along with glamorous product reveals like Thursday's event, have helped Tesla build a devoted fanbase of shareholders. In the short-term, at least, their loyalty will continue to be tested.

Is Tesla losing the robotaxi race?

Good morning. AI has played a big role in the research that won the Nobel Prizes for chemistry and physics, and yesterday it was announced that frequent AI commentator Daron Acemoglu won the Nobel Prize for economics. Is this more evidence of an AI halo? Or proof that AI is the real deal? Email me: [email protected]. Robotaxis Last Thursday, Tesla hosted a glitzy showcase of its future offerings. Investors and the press were served drinks by Tesla's humanoid Optimus robots, while Elon Musk gave the world its first official look at the "Cybercab" and "Robovan": driverless, pedal-less autonomous vehicles designed for Tesla's "robotaxi" fleet, which will allow riders to hail self-driving cars. The market was . . . disappointed. Tesla stocks fell 8.8 per cent on Friday, and only partially recovered yesterday: The reasons for disappointment varied (and were well documented by our colleagues in Alphaville). Little detail was provided about its cheaper Model 2, which investors had hoped might lift near-term earnings. Some felt the joyrides in the new vehicles were less than thrilling. And, as it turns out, the self-functioning robots were not so self-functioning. Others were let down by the robotaxi offering itself. A lot of Tesla's previous reports and press conferences have focused on Tesla's full self-driving (FSD) software and the rollout of its robotaxi fleet, particularly the latter's potential to obviate public transportation and unseat ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft -- both of which saw their stocks surge as Tesla's fell on Friday. As noted by our Lex colleagues, estimates for the expected value of the robotaxi market can range, but are very, very high: ARK Investments and Musk put it between $5tn and $8tn, while the more conservative RBC Capital Markets estimates it to be $1.7tn by 2040. In our piece from July, in which we tried to break down Wall Street's earnings expectations for Tesla, we attributed $32bn of revenues to FSD software sales and robotaxis by 2029. Tesla is not the only company trying to capture that market, though. It is up against Waymo, the autonomous driving company spun out of Google; Cruise, General Motors' autonomous ride-hailing service; and Zoox, Amazon's self-driving subsidiary. Is it possible that Friday's market reaction was proof of investors feeling that Tesla may be losing the race? Some things that stuck out from Thursday's presentation and investors' and analysts' reactions: Unhedged does not pretend to know whether Tesla will win the race for autonomous fleets. As SpaceX's booster-catching feat showed, Musk's companies often achieve things that were once thought to be impossible. And while it seem to us that these are pretty steep hurdles and evidence that Tesla may be falling behind, some analysts we spoke with actually saw these as strengths. For instance, Edison Yu of Deutsche Bank told us that although Tesla might need to raise the price of the Cybercab and add Lidar in the short term, its camera-based technology was a long-term edge: Waymo has taken a very long time to scale because, though it has some AI capabilities, it has to map entire cities and code for driving cases. That is hard, as opposed to running the data through a black box model like Tesla does. This will all come down to who can scale faster. Scaling software [such as Tesla's] is the more efficient and lucrative approach. Tesla already has a lot of training data from its semi-autonomous driving function. Once FSD is up and running and Cybercabs are under production, it may prove to be the safer offering and quickly capture market share. Wall Street's consensus estimate for Tesla's 2029 revenue has fallen $10bn since we wrote our piece in July. Though we will not get new estimates based on Thursday's event for a while, some investors think there will not really be an effect, as they already did not assume that Tesla would deploy its fleet in the next few years. Tom Narayan at RBC Capital Markets said, "2030 is not the bogey when we are dealing with robotaxi. It was disappointing to not get concrete numbers [on Thursday], but I don't have Optimus or Robotaxi [generating revenue] in my forecasts for a couple of years anyway."

Tesla's robotaxi event was long on Musk promises. Investors wanted more details.

Elon Musk said the company would start building the fully autonomous Cybercab by 2026 at a price of less than $30,000, and showed off a robovan capable of transporting 20 people around town - which he said would reshape cities by "turning parking lots into parks."For a businessman who perpetually struggles with broken promises, Elon Musk gave himself quite a to-do list Thursday night at Tesla's long-awaited Hollywood unveiling of its driverless robotaxis. His slew of announcements during a 20-minute presentation were short on practical details, which pushed the stock to close nearly 9% lower at $217.80 on Friday. After traversing the fake streets of the Warner Bros movie studio set in a sleek, silver two-door "Cybercab" prototype, he promised that the company's popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles would be able to operate without driver supervision in California and Texas by next year. Musk said the company would start building the fully autonomous Cybercab by 2026 at a price of less than $30,000, and showed off a robovan capable of transporting 20 people around town - which he said would reshape cities by "turning parking lots into parks." Later came the dancing humanoid robots that also mixed drinks at the bar, which Musk said Tesla will also eventually sell for $20,000 to $30,000 a piece. "I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind," he declared. Thursday night's electronic dance music-infused event had the signature trappings of Musk's salesmanship, but some Tesla investors and experts said they were hoping for more concrete details on how the company plans to transform from an automaker into an autonomous driving and artificial intelligence titan with a solid business plan. The stock, which has been pummeled since its record high in late 2021 by fears of cheaper EV rivals eating into Tesla's market share, is up over 30% since April, when Musk announced the shift to robotaxis. Still, shares are down nearly 16% over the past 12 months, compared with a nearly 33% increase in the broad-market S&P 500 index. "His vision is lovely, but somebody has to actualize it," said Ross Gerber, a Tesla shareholder and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. "For now, for the next 24 months, Tesla has to sell EVs. Why aren't we focused on that?" Gerber said he was happy to see products like the Cybercab and the robovan, but hoped to also see a more traditional, lower-priced mass-market vehicle that the company could sell in the near future. Musk had for years pledged to sell a car expected to start at about $25,000, a promise that investors saw as critical to winning new customers. Reuters reported exclusively on April 5 that Tesla had abandoned this project, initially sending Tesla shares down. Shares of ride-hailing firms Uber and Lyft closed about 11% and 10% higher, respectively, as analysts said the lack of details on Tesla's robotaxis eased competition worries for the companies. Years behind Tesla is aiming to leapfrog incumbent self-driving players, including Alphabet's Waymo, by pursuing a lower-cost technological path that Musk believes will allow the company to scale up its autonomous vehicles far quicker than rivals. Tesla's strategy is simpler and much cheaper than that of its rivals, but has critical weaknesses. Chief among those is that the AI technology underpinning its self-driving system makes it nearly impossible to pinpoint why a crash or other failure occurred - something that could concern regulators. "Tesla software is at least years behind where Waymo is. That's the hard part. No flashy vehicle design is going to change that," said Matthew Wansley, professor at New York's Cardozo School of Law. Tesla's rivals use similar AI and camera technology, but layer on so-called redundant systems and more-expensive sensors as a safety precaution. Ramesh Poola, co-chief investment officer at Creative Planning, which holds Tesla shares, said he was impressed by the presentation but "obviously, we were looking for more details on what exactly his future plans are going to be and how he's going to monetize this new AI and robotics." In particular, Poola said he anticipates regulators will pose a "major hurdle" to Musk's plans to shift to unsupervised autonomous driving by next year. Tesla's current "Full Self-Driving" driver-assistance feature cannot be operated safely without a human driver paying constant attention. "He's shown the prototypes and definitely there's some excitement around it," Poola said. But widespread adoption of autonomous Cybercabs, where riders can hail rides through an Uber-style app, are still "maybe three to four years away," he said. That is not necessarily a bad thing, Poola said, adding that he will be telling clients not to sell Tesla stock. "There are lots and lots of avenues to monetize this technology," he said. "Cybercab may not necessarily be next year, but down the road, the viability is there." Musk had said he planned to operate a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis that passengers can hail through an app. He made no mention of the app at Thursday's event. Tasha Keeney, director of investment analysis at Tesla investor ARK Investment Management, said she had been hoping for more specifics on the app. However, Keeney said she was encouraged by Musk's timeline of offering an unsupervised version of its full self-driving system in Texas and California next year. "If they can do that, I don't see why they wouldn't launch a robotaxi service soon after," she said.

Tesla finally unveils its long-awaited cybercab Robotaxi

Tesla reveals its long-awaited Robotaxi, along with a new Robovan and an upgraded version of its humanoid robot "Optimus". However, the event may not significantly boost Tesla's share prices due to the lack of information exceeding investors' expectations. Tesla unveiled its much-anticipated Cybercab Robotaxi at the "We, Robot" event, held at Warner Bros. Discovery studio in California. CEO Elon Musk presented a prototype of the Cybercab, which features no steering wheels or pedals and is expected to cost less than $30,000 (€27,000). Musk estimated the vehicle's average operating cost at just $0.20 (€0.18) per mile, and stated that consumers would be able to purchase one. The autonomous vehicle will rely on cameras and artificial intelligence for navigation. In addition to the Cybercab, Tesla also revealed the Robovan, an autonomous vehicle capable of seating up to 20 people, and an upgraded version of its humanoid robot, "Optimus". Musk commented: "With autonomy, you get your life back." Back in April, Musk had suggested that Optimus could be deployed in Tesla's factories by the end of 2024. Mass production of the Cybercab may commence in 2026, possibly earlier. Musk stated that Tesla aims to begin unsupervised Full-Self Driving (FSD) in Texas and California next year, using the Model 3 and Model Y. Previously, he had indicated that Tesla hoped to roll out FSD vehicles by early 2025, subject to regulatory approval, though he acknowledged that his timelines have often been too optimistic. Tesla has been grappling with weakening global demand for pure electric vehicles, as well as increased competition from Chinese car manufacturers. Its core business, car sales, has experienced year-on-year declines over the past two quarters. The Robotaxi launch is seen as a pivotal development for Tesla's future growth, marking a shift in focus from affordable car production to autonomous vehicles. However, the new focus may not be enough to convince investors of Tesla's growth potential. It remains uncertain whether Tesla will overcome its growth challenges before FSD vehicles contribute to the company's financial performance. The company still faces significant regulatory hurdles and will need to earn customer trust. Furthermore, Tesla's Robotaxi efforts lag behind competitors such as General Motors' Cruise and Alphabet-backed Waymo, both of which already have autonomous vehicles operating on public roads. The event did not deliver any groundbreaking announcements beyond what was expected, which may not be sufficient to bolster Tesla's share prices. Tesla's share performance has been underwhelming, down 4% year-to-date, compared to a 21% gain in the S&P 500. It is the only tech company in the Magnificent Seven group to record negative performance. Tesla's shares have fallen more than 7% since it reported disappointing third-quarter electric vehicle deliveries on 2 October. The company delivered 462,890 vehicles, a 6.4% year-on-year increase, but missed the forecasted 470,000 deliveries, or an 8% annual rise. This shortfall raises the risk of Tesla reporting its first-ever annual decline in car sales. Despite a 70% rally from its year-low in April, driven by optimism towards its affordable cars first-quarter earnings results, Tesla shares may still be overvalued. The company remains classified as a growth stock with a Price-to-Earnings (PE) ratio of 67, compared with Nvidia at 63 and Meta at 30. Its earnings per share (EPS) for the June quarter were $0.42, reflecting a 46% year-on-year decline. Tesla is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on 23 October, with analysts expecting a profit of $0.46 per share, representing a 13.2% annual decrease. Given these figures, Tesla's market valuation may still be inflated based on recent performance.

Tesla Is the Most Undervalued Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Right Now, According to a Top Wall Street Analyst. I'm Not Sure I Agree. | The Motley Fool

The company's Cybercab event was supposed to stoke enthusiasm for the company's future, but shares sank 8% the following day. Tesla (TSLA 0.62%) stock is down 12% in 2024, despite a raging bull market for the S&P 500 that has sent the index 23% higher this year. The company is grappling with sluggish electric vehicle (EV) sales amid growing competition and softening consumer demand across the industry. But last Thursday, Tesla held its "We, Robot" event where it unveiled the long-awaited Cybercab robotaxi, which will be powered entirely by full-self driving (FSD) software. Autonomous driving could be a $1 trillion opportunity for the company over the long term, according to Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. For that reason, Ives recently told CNBC he thinks Tesla is the most undervalued artificial intelligence (AI) stock in the entire market today. Here's why I disagree. Tesla delivered a record 1.8 million passenger EVs during 2023, which was a 38% increase from 2022. While it was a strong result, CEO Elon Musk has long said he wants to grow production 50% per year, on average, for the foreseeable future. That goal looks to be in jeopardy since deliveries aren't keeping pace. In fact, Tesla only delivered 1.3 million EVs during the first three quarters of this year, which is down 2.3% year over year. In other words, deliveries are on track for an annual decline for the first time since the company launched its flagship Model S in 2011. Demand appears to be softening across the EV industry right now as consumers opt for cheaper gas-powered vehicles amid tough economic conditions headlined by high interest rates. Plus, Tesla is facing a growing competitive threat, not only from legacy car manufacturers but from new, low-cost EV producers in countries like China. Tesla intends to launch a low-cost model of its own next year, which could sell for as little as $25,000. That could help reignite the company's sales growth. EV sales still account for 78% of Tesla's total revenue, so even though analysts like Dan Ives are focused on longer-term opportunities like FSD and the Cybercab, it's hard for investors to ignore the abrupt slowdown in the company's core business. Autonomous technologies like FSD are subsegments of AI. In fact, Tesla plans to spend $10 billion on data center infrastructure to train its FSD models this year alone. Those data centers will be filled with the very same graphics processing chips (GPUs) that are used to develop AI models like ChatGPT. Dan Ives isn't the only one who thinks FSD is a trillion-dollar opportunity for Tesla. Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management predicts the company will generate a whopping $1.2 trillion in annual revenue by 2029, with 63% attributable to FSD and the Cybercab. Tesla is likely to monetize FSD in three primary ways: Tesla might also sell Cybercabs to the public for around $30,000 each, which means practically anybody could buy a fleet of them and start their own ride-hailing business. Here's where things get murky. FSD is still in beta mode, which means Tesla customers can use it in their passenger EVs, but they must supervise it and be ready to take the wheel at all times. At the We, Robot event, Musk said the final, unsupervised version of FSD could be released next year, but he has been making that promise for the better part of a decade. FSD will have to clear numerous regulatory hurdles before Cybercabs are allowed to roam freely on American streets, and since the vehicle is due to go into production by 2027 (according to Musk), Tesla has a very narrow window to get the software ready. Tesla has generated $3.56 in trailing-12-month earnings per share, and based on its stock price of $217.80 as of this writing, it's trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 61.2. That's almost double the P/E ratio of the Nasdaq-100, which is currently 32.1. It also means Tesla's P/E ratio is on par with Nvidia's. But there's one problem: analysts believe Nvidia is on track to grow its earnings 139% in its current fiscal year, whereas Tesla's earnings are forecast to shrink 27% in 2024. In other words, Tesla should be substantially cheaper than Nvidia, at least based on these near-term estimates, which implies potential downside for the EV stock. In this context, it's hard to agree with Dan Ives' suggestion that Tesla is the most undervalued AI stock right now. The FSD software comes with regulatory risks, technological uncertainties, and even competitive threats from other companies like Waymo. As a result, nobody truly has enough information today to make an accurate forecast about its financial potential several years from now. That's probably why Tesla stock sank 8% immediately following the Cybercab reveal. If the company can't find a way to excite investors soon, there is a risk its stock could further decline, bringing its valuation more in line with that of the Nasdaq-100 and other leading names in AI.

Tesla robotaxi event was long on promises, but investors wanted more details

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For a businessman who perpetually struggles with broken promises, Elon Musk gave himself quite a to-do list Thursday night at Tesla's long-awaited Hollywood unveiling of its driverless robotaxis. After traversing the fake streets of the Warner Bros movie studio set in a sleek, silver two-door "Cybercab" prototype, Musk promised that the company's popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles would be able to operate without driver supervision in California and Texas by next year. He said the company would start building the fully autonomous Cybercab by 2026 at a price of less than $30,000, and showed off a robovan capable of transporting 20 people around town - products he said would reshape cities by "turning parking lots into parks." Later came the dancing humanoid robots that also mixed drinks at the bar. Tesla will sell those, too, Musk said, eventually for $20,000 to $30,000 a piece. "I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind," he declared. Thursday night's electronic dance music-infused event had the signature trappings of Musk's salesmanship, but some Tesla investors and experts said they were hoping for more concrete details on how the company plans to transform from an automaker into an autonomous driving and artificial intelligence titan with a solid business plan. "His vision is lovely, but somebody has to actualize it," said Ross Gerber, a Tesla shareholder and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. "For now, for the next 24 months, Tesla has to sell EVs. Why aren't we focused on that?" Gerber said he was happy to see products like the Cybercab and the robovan, but hoped to also see a more traditional, lower-priced mass-market vehicle that the company could sell in the near future. Musk had for years pledged to sell a car expected to start at about $25,000, a promise that investors saw as critical to winning new customers. Reuters reported exclusively on April 5 that Tesla had abandoned this project, initially sending Tesla shares down. Musk responded by posting later that day on X that Tesla would unveil a robotaxi on Aug. 8, which was later delayed to October. 'YEARS BEHIND' Tesla is aiming to leapfrog incumbent self-driving players, including Alphabet's Waymo, by pursuing a lower-cost technological path that Musk believes will allow the company to scale up its autonomous vehicles far quicker than rivals. Tesla's strategy is simpler and much cheaper than that of its rivals, but has critical weaknesses. Chief among those is that the AI technology underpinning its self-driving system makes it nearly impossible to pinpoint why a crash or other failure occurred - something that could concern regulators. "Tesla software is at least years behind where Waymo is. That's the hard part. No flashy vehicle design is going to change that," said Matthew Wansley, professor at New York's Cardozo School of Law. Tesla's rivals use similar AI and camera technology, but layer on so-called redundant systems and more-expensive sensors as a safety precaution. Ramesh Poola, co-chief investment officer at Creative Planning, which holds Tesla shares, said he was impressed by the presentation but "obviously, we were looking for more details on what exactly his future plans are going to be and how he's going to monetize this new AI and robotics." In particular, Poola said he anticipates regulators will pose a "major hurdle" to Musk's plans to shift to unsupervised autonomous driving by next year. Tesla's current "Full Self-Driving" driver-assistance feature cannot be operated safely without a human driver paying constant attention. "He's shown the prototypes and definitely there's some excitement around it," Poola said. But widespread adoption of autonomous Cybercabs, where riders can hail rides through an Uber-style app, are still "maybe three to four years away," he said. That is not necessarily a bad thing, Poola said, adding that he will be telling clients not to sell Tesla stock. "There are lots and lots of avenues to monetize this technology," he said. "Cybercab may not necessarily be next year, but down the road, the viability is there." Musk had previously said he planned to operate a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis that passengers can hail through an app. He made no mention of the app at Thursday's event. Tasha Keeney, director of investment analysis at Tesla investor ARK Investment Management, said she had been hoping for more specifics on the app. However, Keeney said she was encouraged by Musk's timeline of offering an unsupervised version of its full self-driving system in Texas and California next year. "If they can do that, I don't see why they wouldn't launch a robotaxi service soon after," she said. (Reporting by Chris Kirkham in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Akash Sriram and Abhirup Roy; Editing by Brian Thevenot, Sayantani Ghosh and Christopher Cushing)

Wall Street Not Buying Elon Musk's Big Promises Ahead of Tesla's "Most Hyped" Event in Years

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is making a big gamble by branching out into the self-driving taxi business. And ahead of the automaker's highly anticipated Robotaxi event this Thursday, where it's expected to reveal its robotaxi car nicknamed the "Cybercab," many Wall Street analysts aren't feeling too optimistic about Tesla's prospects. Based on a roundup of investor opinions from Business Insider, a common concern is that Tesla could still be years away from being ready to operate a driverless taxi service. Garrett Nelson, a senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, argued in a note to BI that Tesla still has to surmount "numerous technological hurdles" -- not to mention regulatory ones -- before it can be potential competitor to companies like Waymo. It's hard to argue otherwise: the automaker has yet to deploy fully autonomous driving capabilities, and its flagship Full Self-Driving mode is still classified as a driver assistance system, meaning it isn't intended to operate without human intervention. Other firms are also doubtful about Tesla delivering a new car in the near future, even if the hype is strong the short term. "We wouldn't be surprised to see relative strength in the stock leading into the event. But can TSLA live up to expectations and sustain momentum post the event? We are less convinced on this front," analysts at the global investment firm UBS said in a note, per BI. And robotaxis aren't the only concern here: many investors hope that Tesla will finally unveil an affordable $25,000 EV that Musk has long promised, but aren't confident it'll happen this year. "We recognize the potential for this event to be a positive catalyst if TSLA were to reveal the car it intends to introduce in 2025 that includes a smaller form factor and a less expensive drivetrain," investment bank Truist Securities said in a note, as quoted by BI. "However, we see this as relatively unlikely." Not all Wall Street bigwigs are down on Tesla. Those bullish on the automaker are generally optimistic about not only its robotaxi initiative, but its inroads in the AI industry. "We believe Robotaxi Day will be a seminal and historical day for Musk and Tesla and marks a new chapter of growth around autonomous, FSD, and AI future at Tesla," the private financial services firm Wedbush Securities said, as quoted by BI. "We continue to believe Tesla is the most undervalued AI name in the market." Still, a little skepticism seems to be the order of the day outside the circle of Tesla devotees. Last week, Deepwater Management partner Gene Munster went on CNBC to warn that the Robotaxi event will be "light on details." Those expecting any real insights into Tesla's progress on its Robotaxi -- let alone an affordable $25,000 EV -- will probably be disappointed. Instead, expect it to be more of a "launch party," Munster said. One thing's for sure: there's a lot riding on what Tesla can show for itself on Thursday. "This is the most hyped event that Musk has had in almost a decade," Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Market, told BI. "They've been talking about autonomous driving, the Robotaxi, for about ten years. Now, we finally get to see what's underneath the hood."

Tesla robotaxi event was long on promises, but investors wanted more details

LOS ANGELES, Oct 10 (Reuters) - For a businessman who perpetually struggles with broken promises, Elon Musk gave himself quite a to-do list Thursday night at Tesla's (TSLA.O), opens new tab long-awaited Hollywood unveiling of its driverless robotaxis. After traversing the fake streets of the Warner Bros movie studio set in a sleek, silver two-door "Cybercab" prototype, Musk promised that the company's popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles would be able to operate without driver supervision in California and Texas by next year. Advertisement · Scroll to continue He said the company would start building the fully autonomous Cybercab by 2026 at a price of less than $30,000, and showed off a robovan capable of transporting 20 people around town - products he said would reshape cities by "turning parking lots into parks." Later came the dancing humanoid robots that also mixed drinks at the bar. Tesla will sell those, too, Musk said, eventually for $20,000 to $30,000 a piece. "I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind," he declared. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Thursday night's electronic dance music-infused event had the signature trappings of Musk's salesmanship, but some Tesla investors and experts said they were hoping for more concrete details on how the company plans to transform from an automaker into an autonomous driving and artificial intelligence titan with a solid business plan. "His vision is lovely, but somebody has to actualize it," said Ross Gerber, a Tesla shareholder and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. "For now, for the next 24 months, Tesla has to sell EVs. Why aren't we focused on that?" Gerber said he was happy to see products like the Cybercab and the robovan, but hoped to also see a more traditional, lower-priced mass-market vehicle that the company could sell in the near future. Musk had for years pledged to sell a car expected to start at about $25,000, a promise that investors saw as critical to winning new customers. Reuters reported exclusively on April 5 that Tesla had abandoned this project, initially sending Tesla shares down. Musk responded by posting later that day on X that Tesla would unveil a robotaxi on Aug. 8, which was later delayed to October. 'YEARS BEHIND' Tesla is aiming to leapfrog incumbent self-driving players, including Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Waymo, by pursuing a lower-cost technological path that Musk believes will allow the company to scale up its autonomous vehicles far quicker than rivals. Tesla's strategy is simpler and much cheaper than that of its rivals, but has critical weaknesses. Chief among those is that the AI technology underpinning its self-driving system makes it nearly impossible to pinpoint why a crash or other failure occurred - something that could concern regulators. "Tesla software is at least years behind where Waymo is. That's the hard part. No flashy vehicle design is going to change that," said Matthew Wansley, professor at New York's Cardozo School of Law. Tesla's rivals use similar AI and camera technology, but layer on so-called redundant systems and more-expensive sensors as a safety precaution. Ramesh Poola, co-chief investment officer at Creative Planning, which holds Tesla shares, said he was impressed by the presentation but "obviously, we were looking for more details on what exactly his future plans are going to be and how he's going to monetize this new AI and robotics." In particular, Poola said he anticipates regulators will pose a "major hurdle" to Musk's plans to shift to unsupervised autonomous driving by next year. Tesla's current "Full Self-Driving" driver-assistance feature cannot be operated safely without a human driver paying constant attention. "He's shown the prototypes and definitely there's some excitement around it," Poola said. But widespread adoption of autonomous Cybercabs, where riders can hail rides through an Uber-style app, are still "maybe three to four years away," he said. That is not necessarily a bad thing, Poola said, adding that he will be telling clients not to sell Tesla stock. "There are lots and lots of avenues to monetize this technology," he said. "Cybercab may not necessarily be next year, but down the road, the viability is there." Musk had previously said he planned to operate a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis that passengers can hail through an app. He made no mention of the app at Thursday's event. Tasha Keeney, director of investment analysis at Tesla investor ARK Investment Management, said she had been hoping for more specifics on the app. However, Keeney said she was encouraged by Musk's timeline of offering an unsupervised version of its full self-driving system in Texas and California next year. "If they can do that, I don't see why they wouldn't launch a robotaxi service soon after," she said. Reporting by Chris Kirkham in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Akash Sriram and Abhirup Roy; Editing by Brian Thevenot, Sayantani Ghosh and Christopher Cushing Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Chris Kirkham Thomson Reuters Chris Kirkham is a business reporter in Los Angeles who has covered topics including tobacco, worker safety, internet privacy and corporate sustainability efforts. Chris previously worked at The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times.

Elon Musk's Tesla is a victim of its own hype

For years, one of Tesla's (TSLA) most pronounced strengths has been its devoted retail investors who are willing to put their money where their mouth is. But that enthusiasm -- propelled by CEO Elon Musk's many promises -- has made Tesla a victim of its own hype. Tesla stock fell by about 8% in trading Friday morning -- the day after the Austin, Texas-based company's "We, Robot" event, which Musk first teased in April. The event was meant to be the culmination of years of Musk's comments about developing a robotaxi network, which go back at least to April 2019, and to demonstrate Tesla's future as an artificial intelligence firm, not an automaker. Read More: A 'Cybercab,' a surprise 'Robovan,' and a bartending robot: 5 takeaways from Tesla's robotaxi launch Instead, the event left many on Wall Street with more questions than answers. For some, "We, Robot" -- for all its spectacle -- was underwhelming. "In contrast to most investor events these days, this was more akin to a show followed by a big party," Deutsche Bank (DB) analysts wrote Friday morning. "While we are certainly believers in Tesla succeeding in autonomy and humanoid robotics, we generally came away underwhelmed by the lack of details disclosed and short length of the Cybercab demo ride." RBC Capital Markets (RY) analysts said investors surveyed at the event at Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) studio in California thought the event was light on real numbers, adding that the event "might have been underwhelming." Morgan Stanley (MS) called it "disappointing," while Nancy Tengler -- the CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments, a Tesla shareholder -- noted that the vagueness of the event would disappoint the market. "Something caused Tesla shares to rise +68% from their 52-week low of $142.05 on April 22 to close yesterday at $238.77 ahead of the company's much heralded Robotaxi Day -- and it sure wasn't the outlook for Tesla vehicle sales, earnings, or cash flow," J.P. Morgan (JPM) analysts wrote Friday, noting the rally must have been driven by enthusiasm for the event, which was "notably lacking in detail." The first red flag that the enthusiasm may be misplaced was the initial announcement of the event, the analysts wrote, referring to Musk's seemingly spur-of-the-moment tweet following his denial of a report that claimed Tesla would kill its $25,000 Model 2. The second was when the event was delayed to October from August, which Musk said was due to a needed design change and to show off "a few other things." At the event, Tesla gave investors a first look at its Cybercab, which comes with "butterfly wing" doors, has no steering wheel or pedals, and closely mirrors the 2022 concept art featured in Walter Isaacson's recent biography of Musk. But the model seems to only be able to comfortably fit two people, which may limit its success as a competitor to rideshare providers such as Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT). The CEO has previously laid out his vision for a robotaxi network as a "combination of Airbnb (ABNB) and Uber" with owners able to opt their cars into the service at their choosing and make money while sleeping. On Thursday, he seemed to encourage people -- especially current drivers for Uber and Lyft, who often aren't very wealthy -- to buy multiple Cybercabs. It's unclear whether or not Tesla would let its Cybercabs be used on non-Tesla networks such as Uber's or how the profits would be shared between a network operator and the car owner. Either way, J.P. Morgan analysts said, shifting from a Tesla-operated robotaxi network to selling those vehicles wouldn't be a welcome prospect. Tesla expects the Cybercab to eventually be available for sale to consumers at less than $30,000, but it won't enter production "before 2027," according to Musk. The company also revealed the Robovan, which can carry 20 people, although Tesla didn't provide any information related to cost, when the vehicle may enter production, or additional specifications. Some analysts had expected Tesla to show off a preview of the Model 2 on Thursday, but it received no mention from the company, which may be part of why shares are down. "Timing of Cybercab is still two plus years away, too far for the incremental investor to put much weight into the opportunity and the timing asks existing investors to continue the waiting game," Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster said Friday morning, adding that the EV maker's investors are waiting for other company results such as "improving margins, higher delivery growth rates and FSD [Full Self-Driving]." Despite the stock slide and the general negativity on Wall Street, Tesla retail investors popular on Musk's X are largely happy with the event's turnout. Tesla bulls are also still optimistic. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote that his team "strongly" disagrees that the event was a disappointment, stating it showed the Cybercab "is now a reality and not just talk." "Tesla is heading down an autonomous and robotics future and last night was taking the curtains off on this broader AI driven strategy a decade in the making," Ives wrote.

Elon Musk's 'We, Robot' event is on the horizon. Here's what you need to know

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is primed to unveil his company's efforts to produce a self-driving "robotaxi," either delivering a massive win for investors that justifies sacrificing a widely anticipated car -- or a major disappointment. Musk has been talking about developing a robotaxi network since at least April 2019, when he spoke about a fleet of autonomous Teslas that could drive customers around whenever their owners didn't need them. The next major update came in 2020 when the CEO said a robotaxi would be unveiled in 2023 and enter production in 2024, which didn't happen. But on Thursday, after another set of delays, Tesla seems prepared for what Musk has called a "product launch" of the robotaxi. Whether or not it's a successful launch akin to the 2012 unveiling of the Model X or falls flat like the infamous 2021 debut of Tesla's Optimus robot, which showed off a person dancing in a costume, is unknown to anyone without insider knowledge. The "We, Robot" event is scheduled to start at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT on Thursday at Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) movie studio near Los Angeles. While the studio floors will be flooded with Wall Street analysts, Tesla influencers, and investors, it will also be livestreamed on X, Musk's social media platform. Here's what you need to know. The robotaxi, nicknamed the Cybercab, is expected to be Tesla's first car that doesn't require a driver. The Austin, Texas-based company's electric vehicles offer some self-driving capabilities through its driver assistance software, but a driver is still required. Tesla's software, Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Autopilot, has also been the source of controversy and many headaches for Tesla, ranging from long-fought legal battles to accusations of false advertising. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reviewed 956 crashes where Autopilot was initially reported to be in use. The agency has launched more than three dozen investigations into accidents involving Tesla's software. According to Bloomberg News, the Cybercab is expected to have two front seats and two doors that open upward like "butterfly wings." That would line up with the concept art featured in Walter Isaacson's recent biography of Musk. Musk has also teased that his team will "show off a few other things" on Thursday, which has been linked by some to the three "mystery vehicles" included in Tesla's presentation at its annual shareholder meeting. Musk is also expected to discuss his firm's plans to develop and integrate FSD into its Semi truck, which has received a limited release, Bloomberg reports. Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster said last week he expects to see three vehicles, including the Cybervan" -- a rumored autonomous passenger van -- and the $25,000 Model 2, which has been reportedly scrapped. Munster expects to see a prototype of the robotaxi, along with previews of the other vehicles. Although Tesla isn't exactly a stranger to artificial intelligence or autonomy, it's still going to be behind some rivals. Companies, such as Google's (GOOGL) Waymo, have been operating autonomous vehicles for years, gathering data all the while, often without the controversies that have plagued Tesla. "Waymo is already way ahead of them, offering thousands of autonomous rides per week in several major cities, and Amazon's (AMZN) Zoox is on schedule to debut next year," GraniteShares CEO Will Rhind told Quartz over email. "In the robotaxi space, they don't have the first mover advantage and that could be costly if it takes them a year or more to officially launch their service." Tesla will also have to appeal to regulators and the broader public, which remains largely skeptical and even fearful of autonomous vehicles. Thursday's event will take place on a lot with private roads, which may partially be because Tesla has yet to apply for a deployment permit from Californian authorities, as GLJ Research analyst and Tesla critic Gordon Johnson points out. One positive for the company going into Thursday, as Tesla bull and Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a Wednesday note, is that it isn't exactly a slouch when it comes to collecting data. Tesla has more than 1.5 billion miles of FSD -- a level 2 automation system, meaning that it is only partially automated -- logged in its data centers. "There is clearly a number of hurdles and questions the industry/investors want to hear about including: insurance, cost of the vehicle, timing, regulatory approval timeline, and overall operations among other issues," Ives said of the event. In June, Musk pitched his vision for a robotaxi network as a "combination of Airbnb and Uber," since owners can opt their cars into the service at their leisure. He also reiterated his pitch to Tesla owners that they can make money on the self-driving fleet while sleeping, as the company would call cars to pick up customers of its potential ride-hail service through an app. "I'm highly confident that it will far exceed the value" of the monthly payments customers may have to pay for their cars, Musk said at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting. Tesla will take part of the revenue earned from the potential service -- which analysts say is likely years away -- while the rest will go to owners. A timeline for Tesla's eventual network is unclear, and something investors will be hoping Musk elaborates on Thursday. JPMorgan (JPM) analysts in June said they don't expect material revenue generation for years to come. Guggenheim Securities' Ronald Jewsikow told Yahoo Finance on Monday that a "real credible path to robotaxi commercialization in the next 12 to 24 months is extremely unlikely." Ark Investment Management has forecast a scenario where robotaxis account for 90% of Tesla's value by 2029, pushing the stock to as much as $3,100 per share. If a network isn't operational by that year, its price target would fall to about $350 per share. Ark CEO Cathie Wood earlier this week said she thinks analysts will have to positively revise their estimates for the robotaxi's effect on Tesla's profits, telling Yahoo Finance she expects 80% gross margins. "This is not if, it is when for Tesla. And for Tesla, it's also how quickly will they roll out?" Woods said. "How quickly will they go national, or even global, with their aspirations?"

Elon Musk's Tesla Robotaxi Reveal Is Filled With Glamour But Missing Details

"Elon Musk is trying to compete in the Tour de France on a tricycle," said a Tesla critic. During an event at a Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) studio in Burbank, Calif. yesterday (Oct. 10), Elon Musk unveiled Tesla (TSLA)'s long-awaited robotaxi and the company's vision for autonomous vehicles. The event was filled with flashy entrances, bartending robots and lofty promises but failed to deliver concrete timelines and details. Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter Sign Up Thank you for signing up! By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime. See all of our newsletters Musk started the presentation by driving through Warner Bros. Discovery's studio in Burbank, Calif. in a "Cybercab" prototype, a sleek two-door autonomous taxi with no steering wheel or pedals. "It's going to be a glorious future," said the Tesla CEO, who later touted robotaxis' potential impact on productivity, driving safety and green space. Autonomous cars will eventually become ten times safer than human-driven vehicles, claimed Musk, who said the advent of self-driving vehicles will reduce the need for parking lots and free up space for parks in cities around the world. Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD), a future version of FSD that will be fully autonomous and therefore classified as level 3 self-driving or above, will be rolled out across Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y in Texas and California next year and expand based on regulatory approval, said Musk. The Cybercab, meanwhile, will supposedly start production in 2026 with a price tag of less than $30,000 -- making them more affordable than the Model 3, which start at around $43,000. Despite Tesla's glamorous unveiling, investors were seemingly unimpressed by the company's ability to compete against robotaxi rivals like Alphabet (GOOGL)'s Waymo. Tesla shares fell by nearly 8 percent today (Oct. 11). The company's "latest version of Full Self-Driving travels 71 miles between critical disengagements, in contrast to Waymo's 17,311 miles," said Dan O'Dowd, a software entrepreneur and Tesla critic, in a emailed statement to Observer. "Elon Musk is trying to compete in the Tour de France on a tricycle." Some analysts, however, hailed Tesla's robotaxi as a pivotal moment in the electric vehicle-maker's transition towards autonomous driving. Yesterday's event "will mark the inflection point" in Tesla's journey to a broader player across A.I., robotics and disruptive tech, said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives in an investor note. The products unveiled during the event could eventually represent up to 20 percent of Tesla's overall profits by the end of the decade, he estimated. Can Tesla actually deliver on Full Self-Driving? But that's if Musk can actually come through on his promises. The billionaire has been setting timelines for level 3 self-driving for years now. Earlier this year, for example, he suggested that unsupervised FSD could hit the road by the end of 2024. The company's most recent plans to commercialize autonomous vehicles have been "vague" and "underwhelming," said Josh Beck of Raymond James in an analyst note, highlighting the company's "ambitious timelines." During yesterday's event, Musk repeated other declarations he'd made in the past, claiming Tesla users would soon be able to fall asleep at the wheel and wake up at their destination -- a statement he made back in 2019. "Musk's rhetoric at We Robot is merely a tired repetition of the same broken promises he made five years ago at Autonomy Day," said O'Dowd. Besides showcasing the Cybercab, Musk brought out another autonomous Tesla prototype known as the Robovan that can carry up to 20 people and was presented without details on timeline or pricing. In addition, he unveiled a trove of humanoid robots Tesla is working on, which eventually be available for less than $20,000 or $30,000 and can act as "your own personal R2-D2," referring to a fictional robot character from Star Wars. Known as Optimus, the robots will be able to babysit, walk dogs, mow lawns and get groceries, claimed Musk, who described them as "the biggest product ever" and one that will be sought after by all "8 billion people on Earth."

Tesla Shares Plummet Following Elon Musk's "Disappointing" Robotaxi Event

Unveiled Thursday night at a much-hyped event, Tesla's long-awaited robotaxi prototype -- which will still take years to hit the streets -- has seemingly failed to impress investors, as the automaker's stock plunged by 9 percent in premarket trading on Friday. After the markets opened, it evened out to a still sizeable 7.5 to 8.5 percent down, in what could be a sign of Elon Musk's diminishing power to woo Wall Street with his usual grand promises. Analysts have speculated that the reason for the stock drop is that Tesla's timeline for rolling out its new vehicle is dubious. Musk, whose promises come cheap these days, could only assure that the Cybercab would "probably" enter production in 2026 or "before" 2027, per Bloomberg -- which he hedged by admitting he tends to be "optimistic." Either way, that's still a lengthy wait even if you're willing to wave aside questions about Tesla's ability to deliver a fully autonomous car. Moreover, it doesn't provide investors with a short-term boon to cling onto. "Timing of Cybercab is still two plus years away, too far for the incremental investor to put much weight into the opportunity and the timing asks existing investors to continue the waiting game," Gene Munster, a partner at Deepwater Management, wrote on X. The lack of particulars may have also hurt Tesla's prospects -- something that analysts predicted would happen. "The only specific was the $30,000 for a Cybercab," Nancy Tengler, CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments and a Tesla investor, told Bloomberg. "The concepts were all grand. Is the idea super cool? Absolutely." That may have been more acceptable if Tesla shared any progress on what investors have most been looking forward to: the fabled, affordable $25,000 EV, which many see as essential for the automaker -- in dire need of a rebound after going all-in on the expensive but low volume Cybertruck -- to carve out more sales. But no updates were offered. Instead, audiences were treated to a "robovan" prototype -- a large, high-capacity vehicle that is essentially the opposite of the small, cheap car that everyone wanted. "We also didn't get any near-term updates on [Full Self-Driving] progress, or data reflecting improvement in the system," noted Barclays analysts, as quoted by CNBC. But it's not just Musk's robotaxi gamble that's falling flat at the moment. Tesla also failed to make the case that it's an AI company, Morgan Stanley analysts argued, per CNBC. This has implications for its self-driving tech as well, which hinges on Tesla's advances in AI. With all these huge unanswered questions with only vague assurances to meet them, perhaps it's best to remember that Musk once promised that Tesla would have one million, fully-driverless robotaxis on the road by 2020. "His vision is lovely, but somebody has to actualize it," Ross Gerber, a Tesla shareholder and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, told Reuters. "For now, for the next 24 months, Tesla has to sell EVs. Why aren't we focused on that?"

Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal be more style or substance?

Elon Musk's product reveals rarely, if ever, skimp on style. Investors are hope Tesla's long-awaited robotaxi unveiling on Thursday night at the Warner Bros. studio in Los Angeles will also deliver on substance. You can forgive Morningstar's Seth Goldstein, an equity strategist and chair of the firm's electric vehicle committee, for being a bit wary. At Tesla's "AI day" three years ago, Musk famously stepped aside to reveal the company's prototype for a humanoid robot -- a dancer sporting a skin-tight bodysuit. (In all fairness, a real version of the "Optimus" robot danced while walking on stage the next year.) This time around, Goldstein is expecting Tesla deliver to something tangible. After all, he noted, the decision to delay the event initially set for August was supposedly driven by the need to get more prototypes built. "I would hope we don't have, you know, people in robotaxi outfits jumping around the stage," he said. Among mega-cap tech names, no company divides opinion quite like Tesla. For bulls like Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives, Thursday marks a seminal moment in the history of Tesla as not just an electric vehicle manufacturer, but an artificial intelligence behemoth. "We continue to believe Tesla is the most undervalued AI name in the market," he and his colleagues wrote in a note Wednesday, "and we expect Musk & Co. to unveil some 'game changing' autonomous technology at this event." Other Tesla bulls agree with Musk that the robotaxi business will eventually translate to a $5 trillion valuation, up from its current market cap of $750 billion. Others are much less optimistic. Investor expectations are sky-high, notes Garrett Nelson, a senior equity analyst at CFRA Research. That raises the likelihood of shareholder disappointment and a "sell the news" reaction, he said. "In our opinion, there is an increasing disconnect between the stock's lofty valuation and the reality that TSLA's earnings growth has hit a wall -- and intermediate-term growth drivers are unclear," he wrote in a recent note. Amid a broader EV slowdown globally, Tesla's delivery numbers have fallen in recent quarters as the company deals with toughening competition, particularly in China. The ramp up in production of its Cybertruck has been slow, CFRA noted. Meanwhile, production of a more affordable vehicle than its current offerings -- the Model 3 sedan starts north of $42,000 before subsidies -- won't arrive until at least 2025. Meanwhile, recent earnings calls have been duds, with Musk focusing on long-term aspirations while analysts want to ask about falling revenue and margins. The stock is, unsurprisingly, down slightly for the year, compared to the S&P 500's 22% gain. As Fortune's Geoff Colvin wrote last week, Tesla's even been knocked out of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" -- America's seven largest tech companies by market cap -- by surging semiconductor and software giant Broadcom. While Tesla's stock sits roughly where it was four years ago, Broadcom's is up about 290% over that time. Musk has not been sheepish about staking the company's future on autonomous software. Currently, what Tesla calls "full self-driving" is considered a level two-plus autonomous product, per Goldstein. "It's like the best cruise control you've ever had," he said, "but you still have to be ready to turn off the cruise control and drive the vehicle again." The software has been involved in hundreds of crashes, leading to several lawsuits and scrutiny from regulators who say the design of "Tesla Autopilot" has made it especially prone to driver misuse. Tesla is banking that its approach to autonomous software, however, will differentiate its robotaxi from competitors that have struggled mightily to make this endeavor profitable. A single vehicle from Alphabet-owned Waymo costs roughly $250,000, Goldstein noted, and uses cameras, radar, and lidar to navigate city streets in places like San Francisco. Tesla, however, has gone all cameras, looking to train its AI software to drive and make decisions like a human -- but better. "They kind of wanted to take that approach, which, in theory, will allow them to take the car anywhere someone wants to go all over the world," Goldstein said. Goldstein is one of many, however, eager for more details about how Tesla will make Musk's vision a reality. Otherwise, Thursday's show could fall flat.

Tesla's robotaxi event was long on Musk promises, but investors wanted more details

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks during an unveiling event for Tesla products in Los Angeles, Calif., Oct. 10. Reuters-Yonhap For a businessman who perpetually struggles with broken promises, Elon Musk gave himself quite a to-do list Thursday night at Tesla's long-awaited Hollywood unveiling of its driverless robotaxis. After traversing the fake streets of the Warner Bros movie studio set in a sleek, silver two-door "Cybercab" prototype, Musk promised that the company's popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles would be able to operate without driver supervision in California and Texas by next year. Musk said the company would start building the fully autonomous Cybercab by 2026 at a price of less than $30,000, and showed off a robovan capable of transporting 20 people around town - which he said would reshape cities by "turning parking lots into parks." Later came the dancing humanoid robots that also mixed drinks at the bar, which Musk said Tesla will also eventually sell for $20,000 to $30,000 a piece. "I think this will be the biggest product ever, of any kind," he declared. Thursday night's electronic dance music-infused event had the signature trappings of Musk's salesmanship, but some Tesla investors and experts said they were hoping for more concrete details on how the company plans to transform from an automaker into an autonomous driving and artificial intelligence titan with a solid business plan. Tesla shares fell 6 percent before the bell on Friday. The stock, which has been pummeled in recent years by fears of cheaper EV rivals eating into Tesla's market share, is up nearly 50 percent since April when Musk announced the shift to robotaxis. Still, shares are down 8 percent over the last year, compared with a 33 percent increase in the broad-market S&P 500 index. "His vision is lovely, but somebody has to actualize it," said Ross Gerber, a Tesla shareholder and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. "For now, for the next 24 months, Tesla has to sell EVs. Why aren't we focused on that?" Gerber said he was happy to see products like the Cybercab and the robovan, but hoped to also see a more traditional, lower-priced mass-market vehicle that the company could sell in the near future. Musk had for years pledged to sell a car expected to start at about $25,000, a promise that investors saw as critical to winning new customers. Reuters reported exclusively on April 5 that Tesla had abandoned this project, initially sending Tesla shares down. Shares of ride-hailing firms Uber and Lyft were up about 4 percent in premarket action, in a sign that Musk's announcements were not seen as a threat to the companies. 'Years behind' Tesla is aiming to leapfrog incumbent self-driving players, including Alphabet's Waymo, by pursuing a lower-cost technological path that Musk believes will allow the company to scale up its autonomous vehicles far quicker than rivals. Tesla's strategy is simpler and much cheaper than that of its rivals, but has critical weaknesses. Chief among those is that the AI technology underpinning its self-driving system makes it nearly impossible to pinpoint why a crash or other failure occurred -- something that could concern regulators. "Tesla software is at least years behind where Waymo is. That's the hard part. No flashy vehicle design is going to change that," said Matthew Wansley, professor at New York's Cardozo School of Law. Tesla's rivals use similar AI and camera technology, but layer on so-called redundant systems and more-expensive sensors as a safety precaution. Ramesh Poola, co-chief investment officer at Creative Planning, which holds Tesla shares, said he was impressed by the presentation but "obviously, we were looking for more details on what exactly his future plans are going to be and how he's going to monetize this new AI and robotics." In particular, Poola said he anticipates regulators will pose a "major hurdle" to Musk's plans to shift to unsupervised autonomous driving by next year. Tesla's current "Full Self-Driving" driver-assistance feature cannot be operated safely without a human driver paying constant attention. "He's shown the prototypes and definitely there's some excitement around it," Poola said. But widespread adoption of autonomous Cybercabs, where riders can hail rides through an Uber-style app, are still "maybe three to four years away," he said. That is not necessarily a bad thing, Poola said, adding that he will be telling clients not to sell Tesla stock. "There are lots and lots of avenues to monetize this technology," he said. "Cybercab may not necessarily be next year, but down the road, the viability is there." Musk had said he planned to operate a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis that passengers can hail through an app. He made no mention of the app at Thursday's event. Tasha Keeney, director of investment analysis at Tesla investor ARK Investment Management, said she had been hoping for more specifics on the app. However, Keeney said she was encouraged by Musk's timeline of offering an unsupervised version of its full self-driving system in Texas and California next year. "If they can do that, I don't see why they wouldn't launch a robotaxi service soon after," she said. (Reuters)

Lot of sci-fi smoke and mirrors: Investors, experts react to Tesla's robotaxi unveil

Oct 11 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab on Thursday showcased its long-awaited robotaxi with two gull-wing doors and no steering wheel or pedals, but the glitzy event was light on detail, disappointing investors who had hoped for more concrete plans. CEO Elon Musk, who has a record of missing projections - and himself said he tended to be optimistic with time frames - did not say how quickly Tesla could ramp up robotaxi production, clear inevitable regulatory hurdles or implement a business plan to leapfrog robotaxi rivals. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Below are comments from investors, stock market analysts and industry experts reacting to the robotaxi unveil: MATTHEW WANSLEY, PROFESSOR AT NEW YORK'S CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW "What Tesla showed tonight was a lot of sci-fi smoke and mirrors. What they haven't shown yet is software that has the capabilities of an automated driving system ... Musk has yet to prove that a vision-only approach for automation is viable. And he didn't address that issue tonight." "The big open question about Tesla is just the software is so far behind where the rest of the industry is today." Advertisement · Scroll to continue BRYANT WALKER SMITH, LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA "Tesla yet again claimed it is a year or two away from actual automated driving - just as the company has been claiming for a decade. Indeed, Tesla's whole event had a 2014 vibe, except that in 2014 there were no automated vehicles actually deployed on public roads. Now there are real AVs carrying real people on real roads, but none of them are Teslas. Tonight did not change this reality; it only made the irony more glaring." KC BOYCE, VICE PRESIDENT AT DATA ANALYTICS AND ADVISORY FIRM ESCALENT "I had pretty low expectations for the event, given Tesla's history of overpromising and under-delivering. In that sense, it met my expectations: it was a typical Tesla announcement, full of hype and light on details. " "The vision-only system Tesla has chosen handicaps their capabilities versus how Waymo and Cruise have chosen to approach autonomy. Despite that, Tesla has a potential advantage from its existing fleet and the 'vision' data available from that. Whether that data advantage is enough to close the sensor gap, I'm skeptical." BRIAN MULBERRY, CLIENT PORTFOLIO MANAGER,  ZACKS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT "When you're light on details the way that he (Musk) was, it's a little bit difficult to see what the measurable impact on earnings will be, at least in the near term." "We're overall kind of lukewarm on the event because the lack of detail certainly is concerning. The lack of detail for us means we didn't get any more clarity. So in terms of robotaxi revenues positively adding to earnings per share, we're still seeing it's six, seven, eight years away. That's what we take away from this." HANNAH YEE-FEN LIM, PROFESSOR, NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY "(The two-seater design) is not practical at all. The people who really need some sort of door-to-door service are maybe perhaps the elderly, the young, or those who cannot otherwise catch public transport. Just having that two seats, it's not going to work." "But really, the two-seater design is probably the least of the problems, because the technology is really not quite there yet. If (Musk) is saying that now there's no radar and no lidar ... I don't think it can sense the surroundings properly, and if you cannot sense the surrounding properly, no AI algorithm is going to help you drive that car safely." COLIN LANGAN, ANALYST AT WELLS FARGO "The Cybercab demos were conducted on a movie set in a well-controlled environment, and were very similar to a slow & short amusement park ride. Waymo is now hosting 100K rides per week in major cities, so we expected more from Tesla's demo." CRIJN BOUMAN, CEO OF EV CHARGING SOLUTIONS FIRM ROCSYS "The vehicle is one thing, but the other thing is the operation - how to run a profitable business ... The charging, the cleaning - all this stuff needs to be addressed." "The fundamental thing about the robotaxi is that you want the vehicle to be available almost 24-7. Every time it spends charging, it's not making revenue, so it's not making the vehicle profitable. So you need to have fast charging, and (inductive charging) is typically for a low-power context so it will take hours and hours to charge, so I wonder if they have a fast-charging option." Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Compiled by Deborah Sophia and Rishi Kant; Editing by Anil D'Silva Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Tesla's Musk to unveil robotaxis amid fanfare and skepticism

(Reuters) - Tesla is set to unveil its long-promised robotaxi in Hollywood late on Thursday and update investors on artificial intelligence projects, efforts CEO Elon Musk has bet will drive the electric vehicle maker's long-term growth. Enthusiasm around the event has been on display across social media, with screenshots of invites and speculation on what might be disclosed. But investors and analysts have flagged challenges with the technology and reined in expectations. Musk's plan is to operate a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis called Cybercabs that passengers can hail through an app. Individual Tesla owners will also be able to make money on the app by listing their vehicles as robotaxis. Thursday's event at the Warner Bros studio near Los Angeles, California, is titled "We, Robot" - an apparent nod to the "I, Robot" science-fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, but also echoes Musk's insistence that Tesla "should be thought of as an AI robotics company" rather than an automaker. Those attending will include investors, stock analysts and Tesla fans. Topping their list of questions will be how quickly can Tesla ramp up robotaxi production, at what cost, and, crucially, how much money it can make from the taxi business. Eyes will also be on progress the company has made with the partial automation software it markets as Full Self-Driving that company watchers expect to underpin its robotaxis. Musk could also give details on cheaper versions of Tesla's current EVs as well as updates on its humanoid robot Optimus. MISSED PROMISES Musk said in 2019 he was "very confident" the company would have operational robotaxis by the next year. After missed promises, Musk this year diverted his focus to developing the vehicles after scrapping plans to build a smaller, cheaper car widely seen as essential to countering slowing EV demand. Tesla is at risk of posting its first-ever decline in deliveries this year as buying incentives have failed to attract enough customers to its aging EV lineup. Steep price cuts meant to offset high interest rates have also squeezed profit margins. To convince investors that Tesla can keep up the blistering pace of growth it reported several quarters back, analysts said Musk needs to show a prototype and provide detailed plans on how Tesla can overtake rivals such as Alphabet's Waymo, which operates uncrewed robotaxis ferrying paying passengers in a few U.S. cities. Complicated technology and tight regulation have led to billion of dollars in loss for other companies attempting to crack the robotaxi market, forcing some to shut shop. Some are still pushing, including General Motors' Cruise, Amazon's Zoox and Chinese firms such as WeRide. Unlike expensive hardware such as lidar that others use, Musk is relying only on cameras and AI to run FSD to keep costs down. But FSD, which requires constant driver attention, has faced regulatory and legal scrutiny with at least two fatal accidents involving the technology. (Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Chris Cushing)

Tesla chooses a harder set of unanswered questions

NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Elon Musk's pronouncements about $700 billion valued Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab are often outrageously over-optimistic, but they used to be reasonably detailed. His pivot from chasing supremacy in selling cars to touting artificial intelligence-driven taxis raises a host of questions. The Thursday Cybercab unveiling left viewers hanging. The event featured dancing robots, hands-free rides around a test track, and a target to launch the no-steering-wheel vehicle "before 2027." Musk is running behind Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Waymo and others, which already run driverless taxis in limited areas. But the promise of his self-driving approach, focused on cameras using AI trained by its vast vehicle fleet, leans into Tesla's strengths. Waymo's sport gigantic rigs and costly sensors. Advertisement · Scroll to continue That should allow Tesla to undercut rivals. Morgan Stanley analysts figure its vehicles should cost $0.18 per mile before various operating expenses, or less than half Waymo's latest setup. Musk also promises Tesla will update existing cars for truly hands-free driving, a step up from current assisted autonomy. How he plans to do this is unclear. Waymo's expansion has been hard-won from local regulators; Tesla's approach drew investigations and lawsuits. Its existing autonomy software manages 69 miles between "critical" disengagements in city driving, according to crowdsourced data, opens new tab. Waymo reports, opens new tab achieving thousands of miles between disengagements - though varying data quality and definitions make comparison difficult. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Even if Musk clears these hurdles, the list of remaining questions is maddening. Will Tesla run its own app-based service? Or partner with, say, Uber Technologies (UBER.N), opens new tab, where Morgan Stanley reckons some 50,000 drivers may already use Teslas in North America? Does the Cybercab's two-seat design mean Tesla is relinquishing the 14% of rides with more passengers, judging by one study, opens new tab of New York City? Can a car be road-legal without a steering wheel? Tesla's story was once simpler than its valuation of roughly 42 times next-12-months' EBITDA, according to Visible Alpha, implies. In 2022, when Musk's previous target of outselling Toyota Motor (7203.T), opens new tab wasn't yet a distant memory, the company's valuation was reasonable, if you assumed 10 million eventual vehicle sales a year. Deliveries have now flatlined after last year's 1.8 million. Shifting to AI hype therefore makes sense - the valuation needs new justification. Musk's old problem had an obvious solution: better, cheaper cars, leaning on Tesla's proven manufacturing advantages. A 2023 investor day event laid out the path in detail. Last night, a car for the masses was missing. Instead, Musk plunged headlong into more difficult challenges, without clear answers. Follow @JMAGuilford, opens new tab on X CONTEXT NEWS Tesla unveiled its planned two-seat autonomous ride-hailing vehicle, dubbed the Cybercab, at an event in Los Angeles, California on Oct. 10. During a brief presentation, Chief Executive Elon Musk presented the vehicle, outlined plans to improve self-driving features in existing Tesla cars, and provided an update on in-development robot Optimus. Shares of the electric-vehicle company opened down roughly 8% on Oct. 11. Editing by Rob Cyran and Pranav Kiran Breakingviews Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time. Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.

Tesla set to unveil 'Cybercab' robotaxi after long wait amid doubts about its self-driving technology

Expectations are high for the long-awaited unveiling of Tesla's robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night. Too high for some analysts and investors. The company, which began selling software it calls "Full Self-Driving" nine years ago that still can't drive itself, is expected to show off the so-called "Cybercab" vehicle, which may not have a steering wheel and pedals. The unveiling comes as CEO Elon Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Some analysts are predicting that it will be a historic day for the Austin, Texas, company as it takes a huge step toward a long-awaited robotaxi service powered by AI. But others who track self-driving vehicles say Musk has yet to demonstrate Tesla's system can travel safely without a human driver ready to step in to prevent crashes. "I don't know why the headlines continue to be 'What will Tesla announce?' rather than 'Why does Tesla think we're so stupid?'" said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles. He doesn't see Tesla having the ability to show off software and hardware that can work without human supervision, even in a limited area that's well-known to the driving system. "We just haven't seen any indication that that is what Tesla is working toward," Walker Smith said. "If they were, they would be showcasing this not on a closed lot, but in an actual city or on an actual freeway." Without a clear breakthrough in autonomous technology, Tesla will just show off a vehicle with no pedals or steering wheel, which already has been done by numerous other companies, he said. "The challenge is developing a combination of hardware and software plus the human and digital infrastructure to actually safely drive a vehicle even without a steering wheel on public roads in any conditions," Walker Smith said. "Tesla has been giving us that demo every year, and it's not reassuring us." Many industry analysts aren't expecting much from the event either. While TD Cowen's Jeff Osborne expects Musk to reveal the Cybercab and perhaps the Model 2, a lower-cost electric vehicle, he said he doesn't expect much of a change on self-driving technology. "We expect the event to be light on details and appeal to the true long-term believers in Tesla," Osborne wrote in a note. Musk's claims on the readiness of Full Self Driving, though, will be crucial "given past delays and ongoing scrutiny" of the system and of Tesla's less-sophisticated Autopilot driver-assist software. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, Osborne wrote. Plus, he wrote that in TD Cowen's view the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who is bullish on Tesla stock, wrote in an investor note that robotaxi event, dubbed "We, Robot," by the company, will be a new chapter of growth for Tesla. Ives expects many updates and details from Tesla on the robotaxi, plus breakthroughs in Full Self Driving and artificial intelligence. He also is looking for a phased-in strategy for rolling out the robotaxis within the next year, as well as a Tesla ride-sharing app, and demonstrations of technology "designed to revolutionize urban transportation." Ives, whose organization will attend the invitation-only event at the Warner Bros. studio, wrote that he also expects updates on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, which the company plans to start selling in 2026. "We believe this is a pivotal time for Tesla as the company prepares to release its years of Robotaxi R&D shadowed behind the curtains, while Musk & Co. lay out the company's vision for the future," Ives wrote. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items.

Uber stock jumps, Tesla stumbles after Elon Musk's Cybercab reveal

Tesla's big technology showcase appears to have missed the mark after an underwhelming series of announcements and reveals at the company's Oct. 10 "We, Robot" event in Hollywood, California. The company's stocks have taken a nearly 8% hit in the wake of the event while rival Uber's are up by almost 9% at the time of writing. Related: Musk's robotaxi reveal could be make-or-break moment for Tesla Autonomous vehicles and the "Optimus" humanoid robot were at the center of the event that saw the reveal of two new Tesla prototypes: "Cybercab" and "Cybervan." The vehicles were shown off without steering wheels or other means of human control. Unfortunately, Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave no indication during the event that Tesla has managed to develop the underlying technology necessary to support fully autonomous driving. Instead, as Cointelegraph reported, he repeated the same rhetoric he's issued for years concerning the safety and economic viability of owning a fully autonomous vehicle without describing or showcasing any progress toward machine autonomy. Cybercab and Cybervan The two major reveals during the event were the long-anticipated robotaxi, dubbed "Cybercab," and another purportedly autonomous vehicle aptly dubbed "Cyberbus." According to Musk, Cybercab will cost less than $30,000 and will launch within the next two years. He positioned the vehicle as a safer form of transportation that will relieve traffic congestion, save lives, and allow anyone who owns one to participate in a future autonomous ride-sharing economy. Cybervan, another vehicle in the style of Cybercab and Cybertruck -- highlighted by their resemblance to a video game asset without a "skin" add-on -- was also introduced. The autonomous people carrier will purportedly carry up to 20 passengers. The company gave no timeframe for its launch. According to Musk, however, fully autonomous driving will finally roll out for current Tesla owners with the Full Self Driving software package and subscription in 2025, but only in Texas and California. Both states already allow autonomous vehicle testing in specific areas. It's unclear whether Tesla has been given additional permission to operate its products fully autonomously statewide in either state or if the company is simply joining the existing pilot programs. Optimus and autonomy Tesla's Optimus was, ultimately, the star of the show. The company brought several humanoid robots to the event and some interacted with attendees. Some played games of "rock, paper, scissors," others held conversations and a cadre of five robots performed a choreographed dance routine inside a glass dome. The demonstrations seemingly impressed the crowd but, based on the technology displayed throughout the event, Tesla didn't appear to demonstrate any progress in the fields of robotics, autonomous vehicles, or artificial intelligence. The AI industry has seen numerous examples of rudimentary robots able to hold conversations and conduct humanlike interactions with people. Hanson Robotics' "Sophia," for example, was capable of similar conversational abilities as far back as 2016 when it was built. And myriad videos exist showcasing Boston Dynamics' Atlas and Spot robots performing choreographed displays of speed, power, agility, and entertainment. Ultimately, Musk promised a future where Optimus would operate as a "friend," who helped out with day-to-day life: "It can be a teacher, babysit your kids. It can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks. Whatever you can think of, it will do." But Tesla gave no details on how or when this would be achieved. Nor has the company addressed the regulatory challenges or safety concerns involved with producing a consumer robotics device capable of acting autonomously.

Tesla's Musk to unveil robotaxis amid fanfare and skepticism

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab is set to unveil its long-promised robotaxi in Hollywood late on Thursday and update investors on artificial intelligence projects, efforts CEO Elon Musk has bet will drive the electric vehicle maker's long-term growth. Enthusiasm around the event has been on display across social media, with screenshots of invites and speculation on what might be disclosed. But investors and analysts have flagged challenges with the technology and reined in expectations. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Musk's plan is to operate a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis called Cybercabs that passengers can hail through an app. Individual Tesla owners will also be able to make money on the app by listing their vehicles as robotaxis. Thursday's event at the Warner Bros studio near Los Angeles, California, is titled "We, Robot" - an apparent nod to the "I, Robot" science-fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, but also echoes Musk's insistence that Tesla "should be thought of as an AI robotics company" rather than an automaker. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Those attending will include investors, stock analysts and Tesla fans. Topping their list of questions will be how quickly can Tesla ramp up robotaxi production, at what cost, and, crucially, how much money it can make from the taxi business. Eyes will also be on progress the company has made with the partial automation software it markets as Full Self-Driving that company watchers expect to underpin its robotaxis. Musk could also give details on cheaper versions of Tesla's current EVs as well as updates on its humanoid robot Optimus. MISSED PROMISES Musk said in 2019 he was "very confident" the company would have operational robotaxis by the next year. After missed promises, Musk this year diverted his focus to developing the vehicles after scrapping plans to build a smaller, cheaper car widely seen as essential to countering slowing EV demand. Tesla is at risk of posting its first-ever decline in deliveries this year as buying incentives have failed to attract enough customers to its aging EV lineup. Steep price cuts meant to offset high interest rates have also squeezed profit margins. To convince investors that Tesla can keep up the blistering pace of growth it reported several quarters back, analysts said Musk needs to show a prototype and provide detailed plans on how Tesla can overtake rivals such as Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Waymo, which operates uncrewed robotaxis ferrying paying passengers in a few U.S. cities. Complicated technology and tight regulation have led to billion of dollars in loss for other companies attempting to crack the robotaxi market, forcing some to shut shop. Some are still pushing, including General Motors' (GM.N), opens new tab Cruise, Amazon's (AMZN.O), opens new tab Zoox and Chinese firms such as WeRide. Unlike expensive hardware such as lidar that others use, Musk is relying only on cameras and AI to run FSD to keep costs down. But FSD, which requires constant driver attention, has faced regulatory and legal scrutiny with at least two fatal accidents involving the technology. Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Chris Cushing Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Akash Sriram Thomson Reuters Akash reports on technology companies in the United States, electric vehicle companies, and the space industry. His reporting usually appears in the Autos & Transportation and Technology sections. He has a postgraduate degree in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds. Akash's interests include music, football (soccer), and Formula 1.

Tesla shares fall after Elon Musk's glitzy 'Cybercab' event disappoints

Tesla shares fell 7.5 per cent on Friday, wiping almost $40bn from the carmaker's market valuation, after Elon Musk's much-hyped Robotaxi event disappointed investors with a lack of detail about a planned fleet of autonomous "Cybercabs". The plunge in the stock left Tesla as the worst performer on the S&P 500. However, the group remains the most valuable car company in the world, with a market capitalisation of almost $700bn. Musk, the world's richest man, promised the new two-seated vehicle would be available for less than $30,000 and be on US roads by the end of 2026, if it secures regulatory approval. But he did not provide details on the technology behind the robotaxis, nor how he would bring down the cost of the self-driving vehicles. "We found Tesla's Robotaxi event to be underwhelming and stunningly absent on detail," said Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi. Information about "new products, offerings, and timeframes were absent, and product introductions were largely consistent with expectations", he added. At the glitzy "We, Robot" event at Warner Bros Studios in Los Angeles on Thursday, Musk also unveiled a prototype for a 20-person Robovan and predicted that artificial intelligence-powered Optimus humanoid robots would be "the biggest product ever of any kind". But the unveiling focused more on design, branding and his idiosyncratic vision of the future and less on the technology advances needed for Tesla to achieve it. Jefferies analyst John Colantuoni described the event as "toothless" and predicted rivals such as Waymo and Uber would benefit as a result. He added that "Tesla did not provide verifiable evidence of progress" towards the technology needed, "which makes it difficult to assess feasibility of the targets outlined at the event". Uber stock rose 9 per cent on Friday. Tesla's shares had risen 45 per cent in anticipation of the unveiling since Musk announced a "robotaxi day" on April 5. Musk has said the group's pivot to autonomous driving and AI could take its valuation as high as $5tn, about seven times its current market value. Another disappointment for investors was Musk's failure to unveil a more affordable electric vehicle, known unofficially as the Model 2, which will be priced at $25,000, to revive its ageing product portfolio.

Elon Musk readies the robotaxi he is betting Tesla's future on

By Dana Hull, Kara Carlson and Ed Ludlow, Bloomberg News The Tribune Content Agency Elon Musk went all-in to get robotaxis onto roads, sacrificing a widely anticipated cheaper car, gutting teams focused on other projects and downplaying Tesla Inc.'s sales slowdown. So when Musk finally unveils autonomous taxi prototypes late Thursday, the chief executive officer will have a lot to prove. He's promised nothing short of a new era for transportation, in which Teslas with empty driver seats zip around with paying passengers, making money for their owners while they're asleep or at work. For all of Musk's years of premature predictions that autonomous Teslas were just around the corner, investors have bid up the company's shares in recent months in anticipation of a product that's actually ready, or at least close to it. Meeting those expectations will require credible plans to leapfrog the likes of Alphabet Inc.-backed Waymo, which leads a field of companies already offering driverless rides. "If they just show something that doesn't actually demonstrate the technology, a prototype of a vehicle that doesn't move, that's going to go over like a lead balloon," said Gene Munster, managing partner of growth-investment firm Deepwater Asset Management. The event Tesla has dubbed "We, Robot" - a likely nod to Isaac Asimov's I, Robot collection of short science-fiction stories - is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. California time at Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s movie studio near Los Angeles. Wall Street analysts and many of Tesla's most prominent influencers are among those invited to attend. -Musk has referred to the event's showpiece product as Tesla's purpose-built robotaxi, or Cybercab. It's expected to differ from the carmaker's other models in that human drivers won't need to be present to operate the car. -Tesla's robotaxis likely will use a combination of cameras and computing power to navigate the roads. While self-driving vehicles from General Motors Co.'s Cruise and Waymo also rely on laser-based sensors known as Lidar, Musk has dismissed them as too expensive and unnecessary. Design -Tesla has kept the final design of the robotaxi under wraps, but the vehicle is expected to have two front seats and two doors that open upward like butterfly wings, according to people familiar with the matter. -There's a chance Tesla also reveals another new car. Some investors believe that Musk will showcase some kind of robovan that can carry a dozen people or more, or be used as an autonomous delivery vehicle. Technology -For the Cybercab to work, Tesla will need to make major strides in artificial intelligence. -Thousands of existing Tesla owners have for years been paying thousands of dollars for a suite of features the company markets as Full Self-Driving, or FSD. The company's driver-assistance features require constant supervision and don't make its vehicles autonomous. -The CEO is also expected to talk about Tesla's plans to develop FSD for its Semi truck, and how he sees the technology being used to haul cargo, two people familiar said. However, there won't be any demos of the Semi using FSD at the event, the people said, asking not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak. Regulation -Assuming Tesla can pull off the necessary technological breakthroughs, it will need regulatory approval to launch. -Tesla notably opted to hold its robotaxi unveiling at a Warner Bros. lot with non-public roads. Offering a commercial passenger service with autonomous vehicles in California requires a deployment permit Tesla hasn't applied for. Its competitors are further ahead in this respect. Business model -Musk has described the service he wants to offer as working something like a combination of Uber Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc. (Joe Gebbia, an Airbnb co-founder, joined Tesla's board two years ago.) -Individual Tesla owners would be able to lend their vehicles to a Tesla fleet when they're not using them. Those cars would be supplemented by the purpose-built robotaxi to meet demand. Optimus -Musk has been focused on expanding the capabilities and eventually producing a humanoid robot, called Optimus. -Given the "We, Robot" event name, the CEO is expected to give some sort of update on the product, which he's said will be manufactured in limited quantities starting next year. Cheaper cars -Although much of the hype leading up to the event revolves around the robotaxi, Tesla has a more immediate issue: it's on track to record its first ever annual vehicle sales decline. -Tesla delivered just shy of 463,000 cars and trucks in the third quarter, missing analyst estimates. The company has had little to say about more affordable models first teased in April and slated for production next year. -The company has said these vehicles will be built on existing production lines, so they could just be cheaper versions of its best-selling Model 3 sedan or Model Y sport utility vehicle.

Tesla is unveiling its long-awaited robotaxi amid doubts about the technology it runs on

Expectations are high for the long-awaited unveiling of Tesla's robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night. Too high for some analysts and investors. The company, which began selling software it calls "Full Self-Driving" nine years ago that still can't drive itself, is expected to show off the so-called "Cybercab" vehicle, which may not have a steering wheel and pedals. The unveiling comes as CEO Elon Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Some analysts are predicting that it will be a historic day for the Austin, Texas, company as it takes a huge step toward a long-awaited robotaxi service powered by AI. But others who track self-driving vehicles say Musk has yet to demonstrate Tesla's system can travel safely without a human driver ready to step in to prevent crashes. "I don't know why the headlines continue to be 'What will Tesla announce?' rather than 'Why does Tesla think we're so stupid?'" said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles. He doesn't see Tesla having the ability to show off software and hardware that can work without human supervision, even in a limited area that's well-known to the driving system. "We just haven't seen any indication that that is what Tesla is working toward," Walker Smith said. "If they were, they would be showcasing this not on a closed lot, but in an actual city or on an actual freeway." Without a clear breakthrough in autonomous technology, Tesla will just show off a vehicle with no pedals or steering wheel, which already has been done by numerous other companies, he said. "The challenge is developing a combination of hardware and software plus the human and digital infrastructure to actually safely drive a vehicle even without a steering wheel on public roads in any conditions," Walker Smith said. "Tesla has been giving us that demo every year, and it's not reassuring us." Many industry analysts aren't expecting much from the event either. While TD Cowen's Jeff Osborne expects Musk to reveal the Cybercab and perhaps the Model 2, a lower-cost electric vehicle, he said he doesn't expect much of a change on self-driving technology. "We expect the event to be light on details and appeal to the true long-term believers in Tesla," Osborne wrote in a note. Musk's claims on the readiness of Full Self Driving, though, will be crucial "given past delays and ongoing scrutiny" of the system and of Tesla's less-sophisticated Autopilot driver-assist software. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, Osborne wrote. Plus, he wrote that in TD Cowen's view the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who is bullish on Tesla stock, wrote in an investor note that robotaxi event, dubbed "We, Robot," by the company, will be a new chapter of growth for Tesla. Ives expects many updates and details from Tesla on the robotaxi, plus breakthroughs in Full Self Driving and artificial intelligence. He also is looking for a phased-in strategy for rolling out the robotaxis within the next year, as well as a Tesla ride-sharing app, and demonstrations of technology "designed to revolutionize urban transportation." Ives, whose organization will attend the invitation-only event at the Warner Bros. studio, wrote that he also expects updates on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, which the company plans to start selling in 2026. "We believe this is a pivotal time for Tesla as the company prepares to release its years of Robotaxi R&D shadowed behind the curtains, while Musk & Co. lay out the company's vision for the future," Ives wrote. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items. © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Tesla Wants A Robotaxi Business. The 'Business' Part May Be The Hardest

Big questions remain about how Tesla would actually stand up a robotaxi business that could compete with the likes of Waymo and Uber. Elon Musk has been making huge promises about self-driving cars for about a decade. And yet, Teslas still can't drive themselves. On Thursday, Tesla's CEO will have his best chance yet to lay out a clear vision and prove to the world that he isn't all talk. The automaker is set to reveal its most-hyped new vehicle in years: a purpose-built autonomous taxi that could serve as the backbone of a future Tesla-operated ride-hailing service. Yet Tesla still needs to address big questions about how its robotaxi network would practically work, and whether it can be a significant profit driver in the near term. The answers, should they come at Tesla's event or in coming years, will define whether the robotaxi network becomes a legitimate business or just another example of Musk's bluster around AI. Tesla's ambitious business model raises thorny questions. Musk envisions that Tesla will operate some "Cybercabs," while also allowing owners of regular Teslas to deploy their vehicles to an Uber-like network and earn side income. Moreover, Tesla has said it doesn't want its autonomous vehicles to be limited to small geographical areas like competitors are. Google's Waymo, the gold standard for robotaxis in the U.S., operates in growing regions of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin. Even if Tesla could someday update its Model 3s, Model Ys and Cybertrucks to grant them autonomous capability, will owners actually sign up in droves like Musk expects them to? Or will the additional upkeep, wear and tear and risk of damage outweigh the potential benefits? Who will take the blame if a Tesla gets into a crash? Who pays for insurance? "While consumers may be enticed by the idea that their vehicle asset can make money for them when the vehicle is not in use... is an individual really ready to let the Model Y they spent ~$45,000 on be used by strangers?," UBS analysts said in a September research note. "We believe human behavior may be difficult to overcome." Meanwhile, Tesla has not started on the basics of what it needs to do to launch a driverless taxi network safely, said Alex Roy, a former executive at the now-defunct self-driving startup Argo AI and a cofounder at New Industry VC, a venture capital firm. Waymo spent years conducting human-supervised and then driverless testing in the areas it operates in. Only after that did it start opening things up to paying customers. Tesla has not started driverless testing in the most obvious places for a taxi business, like airports, much less across the entire United States, Roy said. "Until we have seen driverless Teslas doing testing with airport pickup and drop-off curbside somewhere, there isn't really much of a business to be had," he said. "That's how you scale a robotaxi business profitably." Busy airports are particularly challenging environments for autonomous vehicles, Roy added, and they're also a key source of revenue. Accordingly, Roy doesn't think Tesla's event will reveal anything that can be commercialized soon. "I expect it to be a narrative-supporting spectacle," he said. Next, there's the vehicle itself. One of Musk's most-used catchphrases is the following: "Prototypes are easy. Production is hard." Parading around a one-off demonstration vehicle is one thing. Actually building it at a meaningful scale is another ballgame entirely. And Tesla doesn't have the strongest track record when it comes to punctuality. It unveiled the flashy Roadster supercar in 2017, and that car still doesn't exist. JPMorgan analysts learned from Tesla's investor relations team earlier this year that the Robotaxi will use Tesla's next-generation manufacturing process. That means the robotaxi is still "some years away," the analysts said in a June report. Tesla will almost certainly hit regulatory hurdles, too, particularly if it wants to deploy a vehicle that's far outside the bounds of federal motor vehicle safety standards. Musk has said the taxi won't have a steering wheel or pedals -- but such a vehicle could also lack required design elements like mirrors. Cruise, General Motors' robotaxi outfit, recently scrapped plans to deploy a driverless pod called the Origin, citing regulatory uncertainty. (Though it's got other, more pressing problems, too.) Zoox, Amazon's self-driving outfit, landed in hot water with regulators after it self-certified its own bidirectional driverless pod. That being said, Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina specializing in automated vehicles, said Tesla's main headwind isn't regulations -- it's actually creating driverless technology and a business around it. "These are not the questions that are facing Tesla," he told InsideEVs. "It would be like if Tesla announced that it was thinking about going to Mars, and we were asking about whether OSHA regulations apply." From there: How will Tesla get riders to participate? The automaker has shown preliminary designs for an Uber-like app, and we may learn more about that on Thursday evening. But it won't necessarily be straightforward for Tesla to manage that kind of business or get people to switch away from their preferred ride-hailing app. Waymo, for its part, struck a deal to add its cars to the Uber platform in Austin and Atlanta, and some industry watchers think Tesla would be wise to do the same. The UBS analysts noted that a partnership like that could help Tesla both manage and market its robotaxis. Those most bullish on Tesla have high hopes this will all work out. Ark Invest, a firm invested in Tesla and one of its most optimistic boosters, said it expects the automaker to launch a robotaxi service by late 2025. By 2029, it projects that business will bring Tesla some $750 billion annually, catapulting the company to a market capitalization of $8.2 trillion. (That's more than Apple and Microsoft, the top two most valuable public companies, combined.) Although Tesla makes nearly all its money by selling cars, that narrative about AI has propelled it to a valuation of over $750 billion, way more than any other auto company. Others aren't convinced it will be so quick or easy. "We believe wide-scale Tesla robotaxi deployment is unlikely within the coming years," UBS analysts said in their September report. "That is not to say Tesla isn't making technological progress, but Tesla needs to show that the tech is ready and safe, deal with a myriad of local regulations (city by city), and (potentially) figure out logistics and operations of a transportation network company (TNC)." The research firm S&P Global does not expect robotaxi services to be widespread before 2035. For the foreseeable future, the firm believes the robotaxi industry will grow but remain limited to hyper-local areas by technological, regulatory and economic constraints. After years of hype, there's been a growing realization among automotive players that making a business out of autonomous driving will be more difficult, time-consuming and costly than they had anticipated, said Jeremy Carlson, the firm's associate director of autonomous driving research. Developing and deploying autonomous taxis requires enormous upfront investments, and scaling up is tough, he said. Waymo recently announced it's serving up 100,000 rides per week. So it's generating some revenue, but isn't profitable yet. In July, Alphabet said it would commit another $5 billion to the project. JPMorgan analysts said they don't expect Tesla's Robotaxi business to generate "material revenue" for years to come. They said Tesla's success all depends on whether its bet on cheaper self-driving technology (cameras and AI instead of the more conventional LiDAR, radar and maps) pays off. That approach could be a "home run or ineffective," they said. That brings us to the real question mark here. The ins and outs of a Tesla robotaxi network are fun to ponder, but it all ultimately hinges on if -- and when -- Tesla can create safe autonomous vehicles. "On a long enough timeline, the success of any technology is 100%," said Roy, the former autonomous vehicle executive. "Whether it can be a business is determined by how long that takes."

RoboFlop: Tesla's Cybercab Event Torched By Analysts And Investors

CEO Elon Musk has vowed to make Tesla into an AI and robotics powerhouse, but proof of this plan feels in short supply. Now that the dust has settled from Tesla's big autonomous driving and robotics event on Thursday evening, the wider reaction to it can probably be summed up in two words: "That's it?" The We, Robot event saw the unveiling of the Tesla Cybercab, the surprise debut of the Tesla Robovan and more details about CEO Elon Musk's vision of an "age of abundance" brought about by artificial intelligence and automation. It was meant to be a "make or break" moment for Tesla and its stock price as it seeks to convince investors and the wider public that it has what it takes to go from being an electric car company to a bonafide AI powerhouse. However, the roughly 20-minute event -- which saw Musk narrate a video presentation before offering a crowd of supporters brief test rides in a highly controlled Hollywood backlot -- was big on vision but extremely light on technical details. And Wall Street has not responded very kindly to what Planet Earth watched on Thursday. "Did the 'We, Robot' event meaningfully advance the narrative of Tesla as an AI company?" reads one particularly scathing report co-authored by Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas, normally a reliable Tesla bull. "We were overall disappointed with the substance and detail of the presentation. As such, we anticipate $TSLA to be under pressure following the event." The authors weren't wrong; Tesla's stock price closed 8% down on Friday evening. Morgan Stanley's analysts had the same questions about Tesla's approach to autonomy and AI that journalists and the wider public did: details on improvements to the Full Self-Driving software suite, more information on how Tesla plans to take an actual on-demand taxi service to market, and how this AI-driven approach to training cars to operate autonomously might actually work. None of those things came up in any meaningful sense during the presentation. That starts with the Cybercab itself. "Other than the mention of inductive charging, there was no detailed discussion about the capabilities of Cybercab including technology (Inference hardware? Sensor suite? Lidar? L4/L5?), range, safety, utility, flexibility/configurations, etc.," the report said. "Many have remarked that it looks like the 'Model 2' prototype repackaged as an autonomous vehicle." Indeed, widespread wireless charging from the automaker that built what is objectively the industry-standard EV infrastructure alone would be a huge deal. But Musk offered no details about how that might work, what the charging speeds and times could be, or how it could be implemented across the wider lineup. Morgan Stanley's analysts did give credit to Tesla for announcing that "fully autonomous unsupervised FSD" is planned for the Model 3 and Model Y would start in Texas and California next year. "If approved, California will be of particular note given its comprehensive data-reporting standards, which we should be able to compare to Waymo," the report said. However, "Again, there was no demonstration of or updates to the latest advancements of FSD technology, no mention of any go-to-market strategy in a ridesharing service or supporting economic inputs for investors to dig into." The report indicated that it wasn't even clear whether the Robovan or Cybercab were operating fully autonomously on their closed course. It was even less generous to the Optimus robots serving drinks and mingling with the crowd: "It is our understanding that these robots were not operating entirely autonomously, but relied on tele-ops (human intervention) so it was more a demonstration of degrees of freedom and agility," the report said. Morgan Stanley's analysts were hardly alone in their assessment. Former Waymo CEO John Krafcik said the Cybercab's design looked "more playful than serious," and questioned how it might be usable for people with disabilities. The Google-owned company has had driverless taxis on the road for years now and is quickly expanding into other cities. Simply put, a Waymo taxi in San Francisco will do more right now than any Cybercab seemed capable of at Thursday's event. CNBC reports that Jeffries, Barclays, Piper Sandler and other firms were similarly underwhelmed, with analysts at the latter saying, "most trading-oriented firms will be underwhelmed by the robo-taxi unveiling." As always, stock price isn't everything when it comes to defining the electrified, connected and increasingly automated future of transportation. But in this case, it kind of was. Tesla's stock price powers nearly everything in Musk's world, including his own higher ambitions to one day leave it. And Tesla has been widely reported to be less focused on new, affordable electric models than it is on AI and robotics, so if this event was meant to set the company on that course, it likely fell short. It also needed the boost because while it remains the U.S. leader in EV sales, its market share is falling quickly to rivals who have newer electric models in the pipeline while Tesla may or may not. The brevity and lack of detail at the event may also raise more questions about Musk's focus on Tesla, a bone of contention with many investors, owners and fans for more than a year now. Besides his numerous other ventures including SpaceX, xAI, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and, according to the New York Times, relocating to Pennsylvania to direct large parts of former President Donald Trump's reelection effort, it feels less clear than ever how focused the CEO is on his only publicly traded company. At any rate, if this is really the direction Musk intends to take Tesla in, he has as much to prove now as he did on Thursday morning.

Elon Musk's Tesla rolls out robotaxis in gamble on 'black box' AI...

Tesla aimed to stun investors Thursday night with its long-awaited "robotaxi unveil," a potential milestone after a decade of Elon Musk's unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving vehicles. The automaker unveiled a prototype called the "Cybercab" -- which Musk described as capable of "supervised full self-driving" -- rather than a road-ready driverless taxi. "There's no steering wheel or pedals so I hope this goes well," the founder said as 20 of the cars drove around without any people inside at the event at Warner Brother Studios. "We'll find out! He said he expects the robotaxis to be rolled out "before 2027" at a cost of under $30,000, he added. Convincing regulators and passengers of the vehicle's safety could prove much harder and take much longer -- while its main competitors, such as Alphabet's Waymo, are expanding robotaxi fleets they're already operating in select cities today. Tesla has to date pursued a different technological path than all of its major self-driving rivals -- one with potentially higher rewards but also higher risks to both its business and its passengers, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen executives, consultants and academics specializing in self-driving technology and three former Tesla autonomous-vehicle engineers. Tesla's strategy relies solely on a combination of "computer vision," which aims to use cameras the way humans use eyes, with an artificial-intelligence technology called end-to-end machine learning that instantly translates the images into driving decisions. That technology already underpins its "Full Self-Driving" driver-assistance feature that, despite its name, can't be operated safely without a human driver. Musk has said Tesla is using the same approach to develop fully autonomous robotaxis. Tesla's competitors -- including Waymo, Amazon's Zoox, General Motors' Cruise and a host of Chinese firms -- use the same technology but typically layer on redundant systems and sensors such as radar, lidar and sophisticated mapping to ensure safety and win regulatory approval for their driverless vehicles. Tesla's strategy is simpler, and much cheaper, but has two critical weaknesses, industry executives, autonomous-vehicle experts and one of the Tesla engineers told Reuters. Without the layered technologies used by its peers, Tesla's system struggles more with so-called "edge cases" -- rare driving scenarios that self-driving systems and their human engineers struggle to anticipate. The other major challenge: The end-to-end AI technology is a "black box," the Tesla engineer said, making it "nearly impossible" to "see what went wrong when it misbehaves and causes an accident." The inability to precisely identify such failures, he said, makes it difficult to safeguard against them. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on its technology. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang used the same "black box" description in an interview to describe the weaknesses of end-to-end technology, without specifically addressing Tesla's system. End-to-end artificial intelligence involves training a computer to make decisions directly from raw data, with no intermediate steps requiring additional engineering or programming. Nvidia, the world's leading producer of AI-computing chips, also uses end-to-end technology in autonomous-driving systems it's developing and plans to sell to automakers. But Nvidia, Huang told Reuters, combines that approach with more conventional computing systems and additional sensors such as radar and lidar. The end-to-end technology usually -- but not always -- makes the best driving decisions, said Huang, which is why Nvidia takes a more conservative approach. "We have to build the future step-by-step," he said. "We cannot go directly to the future. It's too unsafe." Tesla's ability to deliver robotaxis has taken on heightened importance this year as its sales and profits have declined amid softening electric vehicle demand globally and fierce competition from rising Chinese EV makers. If Tesla can overcome the technical challenges of its autonomous strategy, the payoff could be enormous. While competitors like Waymo already have robotaxis on the road, they're operating far more expensive vehicles in relatively small, comprehensively mapped zones. Tesla aims to sell affordable robotaxis that can drive themselves anywhere. Musk has a long history of bold promises about self-driving cars. In 2016, he predicted drivers would be able to summon their vehicles from across the country within two years. In 2019, Musk predicted Tesla would produce operational robotaxis by 2020. The announcement of this week's robotaxi reveal came on April 5, the day Reuters exclusively reported that Tesla had abandoned plans to build a $25,000 electric vehicle for the masses known informally as the Model 2, initially sending Tesla shares down. Musk responded by posting later that day on his X social-media platform: "Robotaxi unveil on 8/8," sparking intense investor speculation. Tesla later delayed the event until this week. That April day marked a fundamental shift in Musk's stated priorities. He had previously promised to make Tesla a Toyota-sized EV giant, an expectation that underpinned Tesla's soaring stock price, making it the world's most valuable automaker. Now he vowed to dominate self-driving tech. Abrupt cost-cutting measures followed, including mass layoffs, as Musk diverted investment away from EV-manufacturing priorities such as battery development, gigacasting, and expansion of the automaker's Supercharger network. The retreat from mass-market EVs only intensified investor pressure on Tesla's autonomous-vehicle development. Musk leaned into the scrutiny, saying in April that anyone doubting Tesla will "solve autonomy" shouldn't invest in the company. Nicholas Mersch, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments, a Tesla investor, said Musk "has a lot of convincing to do." Still, Mersch called Musk's autonomy strategy a "really bold bet" with a potentially immense payoff, even if it takes Tesla substantially more time to crack the code. "You have to keep the big picture in mind, in terms of how much iterative innovation is happening" at Tesla, he said. "I wouldn't discount them." For now, unlike its robotaxi competitors, Tesla only offers semi-autonomous solutions in its "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving" features. The naming and marketing of those systems have sparked investigations and lawsuits over whether Tesla has put drivers at risk by overstating its vehicles' self-driving capabilities. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation published in April found that 542 crashes, including 14 with fatalities, had occurred in Tesla vehicles with Autopilot or FSD engaged between January 2018 and August 2023. Putting Autopilot and FSD into high-volume models, however, does give Tesla a distinct competitive advantage: A massive trove of data, collected by cameras on millions of vehicles, that it can analyze and use to develop self-driving tech. Two of the former Tesla engineers said the relatively low cost of its technology enables the massive scale of its data collection, compared with relatively tiny fleets of competitors like Waymo. One of the engineers said Tesla's high-resolution cameras cost far less than lidar and could eventually allow the automaker to produce fully autonomous vehicles customers can afford. Lidar uses lasers to produce three-dimensional images of a vehicle's surroundings as it navigates around obstacles. Speaking to analysts and investors this summer, Musk boasted of "exponential" improvement and predicted Tesla might achieve unsupervised driving "by the end of this year," adding that he would be "shocked if we cannot do it next year." Sasha Ostojic -- a former driverless car engineer and software development executive at Nvidia, Cruise and Zoox -- said he believes it will take Tesla at least "three-plus years" just to match the level of autonomous driving Waymo achieves today. Ostojic now advises a Palo Alto venture capital firm, Playground Global, on technology investments. "I don't see Tesla converging toward truly 'eyes off, brain off'" autonomous driving, he said, "on the timelines Elon Musk has been promising."

What You Need To Know Ahead of Tesla's 'Robotaxi' Event

UPDATE -- Oct. 9, 2024: This article has been updated to reflect more recent share price information. Tesla (TSLA) is expected to unveil its autonomous "robotaxi" on Thursday, after the event was delayed from its original date in August, with analysts expecting a number of updates from the electric vehicle (EV) maker. Deutsche Bank and Wedbush analysts wrote recently that they expect to see a demo of the vehicle, rumored to be called the "Cybercab," along with projections of how much the robotaxi will cost to operate, where it will be produced and be available, and what Tesla's version of a ride-sharing app could look like. The analysts also said they expect that Tesla could show a new, lower-cost vehicle that has been a company goal for years, along with other updates on its self-driving software, its Optimus humanoid robot, and more. Wedbush analysts, reiterating an "outperform" rating with a $300 price target, said they "continue to believe Tesla is the most undervalued AI name in the market," and see the robotaxi unveiling as a "seminal and historical day" in its history. Deutsche Bank analysts, who have a "buy" rating and a $295 price target, said they are optimistic headed into the event, but recognize that high expectations could lead investors to "sell the news" following the event. Overall, analysts are more divided on Tesla stock. Of the 19 analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, nine have "buy" ratings, seven have "hold," and three have "sell" ratings, with an average price target at $220.44, nearly 9% below Wednesday's close at $241.05 a share. Tesla shares have largely recovered after a substantial selloff in the first half of the year, but remain about 3% lower for 2024 so far.

Tesla is unveiling its long-awaited robotaxi amid doubts about the technology it runs on

DETROIT (AP) -- Expectations are high for the long-awaited unveiling of Tesla's robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night. Too high for some analysts and investors. The company, which began selling software it calls "Full Self-Driving" nine years ago that still can't drive itself, is expected to show off the so-called "Cybercab" vehicle, which may not have a steering wheel and pedals. The unveiling comes as CEO Elon Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Some analysts are predicting that it will be a historic day for the Austin, Texas, company as it takes a huge step toward a long-awaited robotaxi service powered by AI. But others who track self-driving vehicles say Musk has yet to demonstrate Tesla's system can travel safely without a human driver ready to step in to prevent crashes. "I don't know why the headlines continue to be 'What will Tesla announce?' rather than 'Why does Tesla think we're so stupid?'" said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles. He doesn't see Tesla having the ability to show off software and hardware that can work without human supervision, even in a limited area that's well-known to the driving system. "We just haven't seen any indication that that is what Tesla is working toward," Walker Smith said. "If they were, they would be showcasing this not on a closed lot, but in an actual city or on an actual freeway." Without a clear breakthrough in autonomous technology, Tesla will just show off a vehicle with no pedals or steering wheel, which already has been done by numerous other companies, he said. "The challenge is developing a combination of hardware and software plus the human and digital infrastructure to actually safely drive a vehicle even without a steering wheel on public roads in any conditions," Walker Smith said. "Tesla has been giving us that demo every year, and it's not reassuring us." Many industry analysts aren't expecting much from the event either. While TD Cowen's Jeff Osborne expects Musk to reveal the Cybercab and perhaps the Model 2, a lower-cost electric vehicle, he said he doesn't expect much of a change on self-driving technology. "We expect the event to be light on details and appeal to the true long-term believers in Tesla," Osborne wrote in a note. Musk's claims on the readiness of Full Self Driving, though, will be crucial "given past delays and ongoing scrutiny" of the system and of Tesla's less-sophisticated Autopilot driver-assist software. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, Osborne wrote. Plus, he wrote that in TD Cowen's view the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who is bullish on Tesla stock, wrote in an investor note that robotaxi event, dubbed "We, Robot," by the company, will be a new chapter of growth for Tesla. Ives expects many updates and details from Tesla on the robotaxi, plus breakthroughs in Full Self Driving and artificial intelligence. He also is looking for a phased-in strategy for rolling out the robotaxis within the next year, as well as a Tesla ride-sharing app, and demonstrations of technology "designed to revolutionize urban transportation." Ives, whose organization will attend the invitation-only event at the Warner Bros. studio, wrote that he also expects updates on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, which the company plans to start selling in 2026. "We believe this is a pivotal time for Tesla as the company prepares to release its years of Robotaxi R&D shadowed behind the curtains, while Musk & Co. lay out the company's vision for the future," Ives wrote. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items.

Robotaxi Day 'marks a new chapter of growth' for Tesla, Wedbush says By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) will be hosting its much-anticipated Robotaxi Day on Thursday, Oct. 10, an event that Wedbush analysts think "marks a new chapter of growth around autonomous, FSD, and AI future" at the electric vehicle (EV) giant. "We continue to believe Tesla is the most undervalued AI name in the market and we expect Musk & Co. to unveil some "game-changing" autonomous technology at this event," they noted. At the "We, Robot" event, Wedbush analysts expect Tesla and Elon Musk to provide significant updates on the much-anticipated Robotaxi project, rumored to be named the "Cybercab," during their presentation. They believe the announcement will shed more light on Tesla's Next-Gen Platform, advancements in Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, and AI, with Tesla likely outlining its Robotaxi strategy for the upcoming year. Key updates are expected to include details on Cybercab scaling, cost-per-mile projections, the potential launch of a Tesla ride-share app, and a Generation 1 demo of the company's groundbreaking urban transportation technology. Analysts view this as one of the most highly anticipated events in the industry, expecting Musk to address both the immediate concerns of investors and Tesla's long-term vision. They see this as a second major transformation for the company, following the overhaul of Model 3/Y production. "We firmly believe that Tesla remains a robotics/AI play in the future rather than just an EV vendor," the analysts noted, maintaining their Outperform rating on Tesla stock and $300 price target. Tesla's focus on FSD and AI continues to gain momentum, with over 1.5 billion miles logged in its data centers. The launch of FSD version 12.5 in September brought notable updates, and version 13 is expected by year-end, promising a 6x improvement in miles-per-intervention, up from the current 3x in version 12.5. Moreover, the new version is expected to feature advanced capabilities, such as autonomous parking and reversing, as Tesla enhances its FSD technology. Optimus, Tesla's humanoid robot, is also drawing increased attention from investors, with the company eyeing external sales by 2026. Tesla shares have underperformed the broader market in 2024, losing around 3% year-to-date, compared to the S&P 500's gain of 21.4%.

Tesla is unveiling its long-awaited robotaxi amid doubts about the technology it runs on

DETROIT -- Expectations are high for the long-awaited unveiling of Tesla's robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night. Too high for some analysts and investors. The company, which began selling software it calls "Full Self-Driving" nine years ago that still can't drive itself, is expected to show off the so-called "Cybercab" vehicle, which may not have a steering wheel and pedals. The unveiling comes as CEO Elon Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Some analysts are predicting that it will be a historic day for the Austin, Texas, company as it takes a huge step toward a long-awaited robotaxi service powered by AI. But others who track self-driving vehicles say Musk has yet to demonstrate Tesla's system can travel safely without a human driver ready to step in to prevent crashes. "I don't know why the headlines continue to be 'What will Tesla announce?' rather than 'Why does Tesla think we're so stupid?'" said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles. He doesn't see Tesla having the ability to show off software and hardware that can work without human supervision, even in a limited area that's well-known to the driving system. "We just haven't seen any indication that that is what Tesla is working toward," Walker Smith said. "If they were, they would be showcasing this not on a closed lot, but in an actual city or on an actual freeway." Without a clear breakthrough in autonomous technology, Tesla will just show off a vehicle with no pedals or steering wheel, which already has been done by numerous other companies, he said. "The challenge is developing a combination of hardware and software plus the human and digital infrastructure to actually safely drive a vehicle even without a steering wheel on public roads in any conditions," Walker Smith said. "Tesla has been giving us that demo every year, and it's not reassuring us." Many industry analysts aren't expecting much from the event either. While TD Cowen's Jeff Osborne expects Musk to reveal the Cybercab and perhaps the Model 2, a lower-cost electric vehicle, he said he doesn't expect much of a change on self-driving technology. "We expect the event to be light on details and appeal to the true long-term believers in Tesla," Osborne wrote in a note. Musk's claims on the readiness of Full Self Driving, though, will be crucial "given past delays and ongoing scrutiny" of the system and of Tesla's less-sophisticated Autopilot driver-assist software. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, Osborne wrote. Plus, he wrote that in TD Cowen's view the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who is bullish on Tesla stock, wrote in an investor note that robotaxi event, dubbed "We, Robot," by the company, will be a new chapter of growth for Tesla. Ives expects many updates and details from Tesla on the robotaxi, plus breakthroughs in Full Self Driving and artificial intelligence. He also is looking for a phased-in strategy for rolling out the robotaxis within the next year, as well as a Tesla ride-sharing app, and demonstrations of technology "designed to revolutionize urban transportation." Ives, whose organization will attend the invitation-only event at the Warner Bros. studio, wrote that he also expects updates on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, which the company plans to start selling in 2026. "We believe this is a pivotal time for Tesla as the company prepares to release its years of Robotaxi R&D shadowed behind the curtains, while Musk & Co. lay out the company's vision for the future," Ives wrote. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items.

Tesla's 'Cybercab' Event Shows Autonomy Still More Hollywood Than High-Impact | PYMNTS.com

What has four wheels, two seats, no steering wheel and arrived a few years late? Tesla's long-awaited robotaxi, which CEO Elon Musk had predicted in 2019 would be launched by 2020. But it wasn't until this Thursday evening (Oct. 10), in the year 2024, that Musk finally unveiled his plan for the future of autonomy, traversing the fake streets of the Warner Brothers studio in California in order to debut Tesla's "Cybercab" prototype. And the Hollywood setting matched the Hollywood-style hyperbole of the event, which was light on details and launch timelines while heavy on promises that included self-driving cars, cybervans and cybercabs, as well as fully autonomous bipedal "Optimus" robots. "The future will look like the future," said Musk, adding, "autonomy will create the world we want." Among the concrete details shared at Thursday's "We, Robot" event was a promise that Tesla would start building the fully autonomous Cybercab by 2026 or 2027, and sell it for a price of less than $30,000, as well as the debut of a sister-vehicle robovan capable of transporting up to 20 people. Musk's vision for these autonomous vehicles is not just about individual ownership but about creating a network of self-driving taxis that are accessible and affordable for the general public. The initiative is seen as a direct challenge to traditional ride-sharing services, with the potential to drastically reduce the cost of transportation. Still, it was Tesla's stock price that sank after the flashy event, while both Uber and Lyft shares were up low single digits as of reporting. Read more: Can Robotaxis Accelerate the Future of Automated Driving? Tesla's current market cap is the size of many other leading carmakers -- combined -- and the electric vehicle (EV) maker's valuation has long been inflated by, or rested on, Musk's many promises to solve autonomy by releasing revolutionary products and services. Yet despite Musk's track record of defying the odds, his decision to move Tesla away from its core business of making and selling EVs toward one geared toward robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) is spooking investors more focused on the realities of the company's near-term product roadmap. And the road to realizing Musk's vision is fraught with challenges, not least of which is the regulatory hurdle. Autonomous vehicles, especially those intended for public transport services, face stringent scrutiny from safety regulators. As PYMNTS previously reported, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems following crashes that continued to occur despite a December recall of over 2 million vehicles. Tesla is also lagging behind other autonomy players. This past August, Google-owned Waymo began offering 24/7 robotaxi service at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, while automaker Mercedes has beaten Tesla in the domestic autonomy race and become the first automaker to sell Level 3-rated autonomous vehicle systems on United States soil. It comes at a time when a PYMNTS Intelligence report, "How Generative AI Is Boosting Innovation for Carmakers and Drivers," finds that 3 in 4 (75%) of automakers plan to integrate generative AI technology into their operations. Anna Brunelle, CFO at May Mobility, told PYMNTS in February, "I believe in our lifetime, not just automobiles, but every piece of moving machinery on the face of the earth will be automated. And the smart infrastructure that oversees it and supports it will also be automated." Still, as one of the co-founders of the autonomous vehicle company Cruise said, there are over a dozen key things to keep an eye out for as autonomy progresses -- including such conceptually mundane elements as bad weather, yielding to emergency vehicles, and even sensing things like potholes and flooded roads. Read more: From Factories to the Fast Lane, Unpacking Autonomy's Potential Autonomy is just one piece in the connected economy of the future. And that future will be built around and supported by better payment methods that enable commerce across this emerging landscape. "It's a new market. We do not have transactions right now inside cars. None of us are familiar with what it would even mean. Therefore, when we talk about launching a new category like in-vehicle payments, we have to make it as convenient as our existing payment methods," Evgeny Klochikhin, founder and CEO at Sheeva.AI, told PYMNTS for the "AI Effect" series. PYMNTS covered earlier that payments in robotaxis aren't just about the ride itself. The data generated by these vehicles -- such as user preferences, travel patterns, and in-vehicle purchases -- can be monetized. Companies might develop new revenue streams by selling anonymized data to third parties or using it to offer targeted services and advertising, all of which require a robust payment infrastructure. And one of the more interesting, if yet-to-be-realized, debuts during Tesla's event was the unveiling of the Optimus humanoid robot. Purpose-built robots could transform traditional warehouse operations. "Where we've had success is on the services side of robotics, in the logistics and warehouse space where [the robots] can do repetitive tasks like a human," Austin Noronha, managing director U.S. at Sony Ventures, told PYMNTS in an earlier conversation. Of course, these robots will need their own payment systems -- an advance that could streamline operations and unlock new efficiencies. By embedding digital payment systems directly into these robots, warehouses could automate purchasing decisions based on real-time inventory data. This just-in-time approach could dramatically improve efficiency while reducing human error or payment bottlenecks.

Tesla is unveiling its long-awaited robotaxi amid doubts about the technology it runs on

DETROIT (AP) -- Expectations are high for the long-awaited unveiling of Tesla's robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night. Too high for some analysts and investors. The company, which began selling software it calls "Full Self-Driving" nine years ago that still can't drive itself, is expected to show off the so-called "Cybercab" vehicle, which may not have a steering wheel and pedals. The unveiling comes as CEO Elon Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Some analysts are predicting that it will be a historic day for the Austin, Texas, company as it takes a huge step toward a long-awaited robotaxi service powered by AI. But others who track self-driving vehicles say Musk has yet to demonstrate Tesla's system can travel safely without a human driver ready to step in to prevent crashes. "I don't know why the headlines continue to be 'What will Tesla announce?' rather than 'Why does Tesla think we're so stupid?'" said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles. He doesn't see Tesla having the ability to show off software and hardware that can work without human supervision, even in a limited area that's well-known to the driving system. "We just haven't seen any indication that that is what Tesla is working toward," Walker Smith said. "If they were, they would be showcasing this not on a closed lot, but in an actual city or on an actual freeway." Without a clear breakthrough in autonomous technology, Tesla will just show off a vehicle with no pedals or steering wheel, which already has been done by numerous other companies, he said. "The challenge is developing a combination of hardware and software plus the human and digital infrastructure to actually safely drive a vehicle even without a steering wheel on public roads in any conditions," Walker Smith said. "Tesla has been giving us that demo every year, and it's not reassuring us." Many industry analysts aren't expecting much from the event either. While TD Cowen's Jeff Osborne expects Musk to reveal the Cybercab and perhaps the Model 2, a lower-cost electric vehicle, he said he doesn't expect much of a change on self-driving technology. "We expect the event to be light on details and appeal to the true long-term believers in Tesla," Osborne wrote in a note. Musk's claims on the readiness of Full Self Driving, though, will be crucial "given past delays and ongoing scrutiny" of the system and of Tesla's less-sophisticated Autopilot driver-assist software. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, Osborne wrote. Plus, he wrote that in TD Cowen's view the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who is bullish on Tesla stock, wrote in an investor note that robotaxi event, dubbed "We, Robot," by the company, will be a new chapter of growth for Tesla. Ives expects many updates and details from Tesla on the robotaxi, plus breakthroughs in Full Self Driving and artificial intelligence. He also is looking for a phased-in strategy for rolling out the robotaxis within the next year, as well as a Tesla ride-sharing app, and demonstrations of technology "designed to revolutionize urban transportation." Ives, whose organization will attend the invitation-only event at the Warner Bros. studio, wrote that he also expects updates on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, which the company plans to start selling in 2026. "We believe this is a pivotal time for Tesla as the company prepares to release its years of Robotaxi R&D shadowed behind the curtains, while Musk & Co. lay out the company's vision for the future," Ives wrote. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials.

Tesla's Musk to Unveil Robotaxis Amid Fanfare and Skepticism

(Reuters) - Tesla is set to unveil its long-promised robotaxi in Hollywood late on Thursday and update investors on artificial intelligence projects, efforts CEO Elon Musk has bet will drive the electric vehicle maker's long-term growth. Enthusiasm around the event has been on display across social media, with screenshots of invites and speculation on what might be disclosed. But investors and analysts have flagged challenges with the technology and reined in expectations. Musk's plan is to operate a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis called Cybercabs that passengers can hail through an app. Individual Tesla owners will also be able to make money on the app by listing their vehicles as robotaxis. Thursday's event at the Warner Bros studio near Los Angeles, California, is titled "We, Robot" - an apparent nod to the "I, Robot" science-fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, but also echoes Musk's insistence that Tesla "should be thought of as an AI robotics company" rather than an automaker. Those attending will include investors, stock analysts and Tesla fans. Topping their list of questions will be how quickly can Tesla ramp up robotaxi production, at what cost, and, crucially, how much money it can make from the taxi business. Eyes will also be on progress the company has made with the partial automation software it markets as Full Self-Driving that company watchers expect to underpin its robotaxis. Musk could also give details on cheaper versions of Tesla's current EVs as well as updates on its humanoid robot Optimus. MISSED PROMISES Musk said in 2019 he was "very confident" the company would have operational robotaxis by the next year. After missed promises, Musk this year diverted his focus to developing the vehicles after scrapping plans to build a smaller, cheaper car widely seen as essential to countering slowing EV demand. Tesla is at risk of posting its first-ever decline in deliveries this year as buying incentives have failed to attract enough customers to its aging EV lineup. Steep price cuts meant to offset high interest rates have also squeezed profit margins. To convince investors that Tesla can keep up the blistering pace of growth it reported several quarters back, analysts said Musk needs to show a prototype and provide detailed plans on how Tesla can overtake rivals such as Alphabet's Waymo, which operates uncrewed robotaxis ferrying paying passengers in a few U.S. cities. Complicated technology and tight regulation have led to billion of dollars in loss for other companies attempting to crack the robotaxi market, forcing some to shut shop. Some are still pushing, including General Motors' Cruise, Amazon's Zoox and Chinese firms such as WeRide. Unlike expensive hardware such as lidar that others use, Musk is relying only on cameras and AI to run FSD to keep costs down. But FSD, which requires constant driver attention, has faced regulatory and legal scrutiny with at least two fatal accidents involving the technology. (Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Chris Cushing)

Tesla Robotaxi Day Event 'More Fanfare Than Substance': 8 Analysts On Cybercab, Optimus, Autonomous Vehicle Vision - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Analysts see Tesla stock trading lower after a lack of details on the company's business plan and no Model 2 being shown at the event. Analysts say Tesla Inc's TSLA stock could continue to slide after the lack of clear business plans for Robotaxis and no updates on the lower-cost production vehicle, following the highly anticipated Robotaxi Day on Thursday. The Tesla Analysts: Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives maintained an Outperform rating with a $300 price target. Bank of America analyst John Murphy reiterated a Buy rating with a $255 price target. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard maintained a Neutral rating with a $245 price target. Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter maintained an Overweight rating with a $310 price target. RBC Capital analyst Tom Narayan maintained an Outperform rating with a $236 price target. Truist analyst William Stein reiterated a Hold rating with a $236 price target. Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rush maintained a Perform rating and has no price target. Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney maintained a Neutral rating with a $230 price target. Are you buying when the CEOs of the Magnificent 7 are selling? Stay in the know with our Insider Trades page -- see when leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Jensen Huang are offloading their own shares. Wedbush on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was a "glimpse of the future" for Tesla and the next generation of consumer transportation, Ives said in a note Friday morning. "Musk laid out the vision and we saw the vehicles up close and ultimately believe last night will mark the inflection point from Tesla as an EV maker to a broader AI/Robotics/Disruptive Tech mobility player," Ives said. The analyst said Cybercab and Optimus "could be a major financial contributor to Tesla," with an estimate of up to 20% of overall profits and a margin boost by the end of the 2020s. With Tesla stock trading down Friday, Ives said he understands the "knee jerk reaction" after the company spent less time on its strategic vision of autonomous vehicles, but thinks it's overdone to call the event a failure. "We strongly disagree with the notion that last night was a disappointment as we would argue the opposite, seeing Cybercab with our own eyes and the massive improvements in Optimus." Ives said he would be a buyer on Friday's weakness, leaving Robotaxi Day "more bullish on the Tesla story." Bank of America on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was a "good event" and might have provided the proper timing to raise low-cost capital for the company, Murphy said. "TSLA Robotaxi event lived up to the hype, in our view," the analyst added. Murphy said Tesla's goal of 2026 production for the Cybercab could prove optimistic. With investments in robotaxis, robotics and artificial intelligence, Tesla needs "significant capital," Murphy added. "We would not be surprised if TSLA raised capital, which it has historically been able to do at an extremely low cost compared to its peers." Cantor Fitzgerald on Tesla: While Tesla shared an initial goal of Cybercab production in 2026, Sheppard was disappointed not to get commentary on the exact timing of the rollout, expectations for fleet size, and battery range of the vehicle. The analyst said state-by-state regulations for autonomous vehicles could impact the rollout of the Cybercab. "We continue to expect the Robotaxi rollout to happen gradually in stages, and in select markets," Sheppard said. After the Robotaxi Day, the analyst shifts attention to Tesla's full self-driving (FSD) technology as a point of emphasis with the expectation that the rollout of the 12.5 software to be well received and help boost margins. The company's potential to license the technology to other companies and the launch of FSD in China in the first quarter are also future catalysts, the analyst added. Piper Sandler on Tesla: Robotaxi Day may have underwhelmed investors, while being well received by "true believers," Potter said in a new investor note. "[The] Robotaxi Event was amazing, but probably not enough to sustain recent momentum. On balance, we think most trading-oriented firms will be underwhelmed by the robotaxi unveiling," Potter said. The analyst said that Tesla stock selling off over the next several weeks won't be a surprise. Potter added that positives from the event include the Cybercab's selling price, unsupervised FSD launching in California and Texas next year, the unexpected reveal of the Robovan, Optimus interactions with event guests, and the Cybercab design. Disappointments from the event may be the timing of the Cybercab production, a lack of pricing details for the robotaxi business model and no update on Model 2, the analyst said. RBC Capital on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was heavy on branding and marketing and light on details, Narayan said in a new investor note. "Investors we spoke to at the event thought the event was light of real numbers and timelines," he added. The analyst said he expects Tesla shares to sell off after the event. The key positive takeaway from the analyst was Musk mentioning that robotaxis can be bought by fleet operators. "We are still bullish on Tesla's long-term prospects and on robotaxis in general." Truist on Tesla: Robotaxi Day was "more fanfare than substance," Stein said in a new investor note. "This event was somewhat disappointing," he added. The analyst said the event was disappointing because it did not showcase a new vehicle to help with unit growth in 2025 or a new version of FSD. While the Cybercab and Optimus being highlighted at the event were impressive and expected, the analyst said they're likely not enough to move the stock. Oppenheimer on Tesla: Thursday night's event acted as a product release party and had limited details on a business model, Rusch said in a new investor note. The analyst said there were no updates on a low-cost vehicle production plan, and demonstrations of the robotaxi didn't show its ability to handle challenging conditions. "We continue to see a window of opportunity for the company and believe the platform has significant capability, but found the event underwhelming as it did not address our underlying concerns on inefficiencies in learning cycles due to single sensor focus and potential performance limitations," Rusch said. Goldman Sachs on Tesla: Optimus and Cybercab stole the show at the Robotaxi Day event and will become a "growing part" of the discussion of Tesla, Delaney said in a new investor note. Like others, the analyst saw a lack of key details on the business plan and other expected items presented as potentially weighing on shares. "We believe the lack of data shared on Full Self Driving performance, relatively limited due to robotaxi business plan, and absence of a lower-cost consumer vehicle unveil may be disappointing for some market participants and lead the stock to pull back after the recent run," Delaney said. TSLA Price Action: Tesla stock is down 7.6% to $220.53 on Friday, versus a 52-week trading range of $138.80 to $271.00. Tesla stock is down over 10% year-to-date in 2024. Read Next: Elon Musk May Unveil Tesla's Robotaxi, But Consumers Respond With 'Ehhh,' New Study Reveals Skepticism, Need For Trust-Building Photo courtesy of Tesla. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Tesla Unveils Cybercab Robotaxi, Betting Big on an Autonomous Future | PYMNTS.com

The autonomous vehicle, slated for production by 2027, hopes to reshape urban transportation with its sub-$30,000 price tag and $0.40 per mile operating cost. However, as Tesla aims to usher in an era of driverless taxis, tall hurdles remain, including perfecting the technology, navigating regulation and building the necessary infrastructure for charging and maintenance. The Cybercab's unveiling was the centerpiece of Tesla's "We, Robot" event, an elaborate affair featuring five themed "neighborhoods" that showcased various aspects of the company's vision for the future. Despite the fanfare, industry experts still need to be convinced about Tesla's timeline and technology readiness. James Bore, the director of Bores Group, expressed concerns about Cybercab's regulatory prospects. "There seems to be nothing transformative or different about the Tesla robotaxi -- except that it lacks manual controls, so it's not legal on the road in most of the world," Bore told PYMNTS. "Essentially what sets it apart is that there's no regulatory framework in most countries to support its use, which means claiming they'll be on the roads in a year is ambitious at the least." Some experts say the introduction of Tesla's Cybercab and Robovan could disrupt the transportation and logistics sectors, potentially revolutionizing last-mile delivery and ride-hailing services with their autonomous capabilities and low operating costs. If successful, these vehicles could lead to more efficient and cost-effective movement of goods and people in urban areas, transforming how businesses operate and consumers access products and services. "These vehicles claim they will decrease congestion and reduce the use of parking garages by providing a more affordable way of moving around," Andrew Franks, the co-founder of Reclaim247, told PYMNTS. "Judicial use of these cars may also assist people who are unable to drive, such as the aged and the disabled, in performing their day-to-day activities. This evolution may also affect personal vehicle ownership, as more people will probably opt for ride-hailing rather than buying vehicles. More electric cars would mean fewer emissions and, thus, a cleaner environment." The Cybercab itself is a striking departure from Tesla's current lineup. Unlike the stainless steel Cybertruck, the Robotaxi features painted aluminum body panels, a design choice to reduce production costs -- the vehicle sports front and rear light bars, reminiscent of the Cybertruck's distinctive appearance. Perhaps most notably, the Cybercab lacks a steering wheel and pedals, underscoring its fully autonomous nature. Inside, the Cybercab seats two adults in large, padded seats. The cabin has a minimalist design, with a 20.5-inch center display dominating the dashboard. This screen, larger than those found in Tesla's other models, will display trip progress and provide entertainment for passengers. The vehicle's butterfly doors add a touch of drama, although some experts question their practicality in maintenance and cold-weather operation. On the technology front, Musk announced that the Cybercab will ship with an "upsized" artificial intelligence (AI) system. This next-generation autonomous driving platform builds on Tesla's current offerings, featuring a camera layout similar to the company's AI4 system but with additional computing power. Tesla claims its AI has been trained to handle many driving scenarios. During the event, one of the most ambitious claims was that autonomous vehicles like the Cybercab would be 10 to 30 times safer than human-driven cars -- and the Cybercab's projected price point of under $30,000 raised eyebrows across the industry. Tesla plans to make the vehicle available for individuals and fleet operators to purchase. The company also introduced the "Cybercab Hubs" concept -- facilities where the vehicles can be charged and cleaned. These hubs will feature inductive charging, a first for a fleet-scale electric vehicle, and robotic cleaning systems to maintain the cars. Bore highlighted Tesla's technological challenges, noting that "established competitors are much further along and have data to demonstrate their safety (or lack of) and how they affect other traffic." He said competing services "also have manual controls, and even when lacking human drivers within the vehicles will often have remote safety drivers for when the autonomous driving models fail." The event also introduced the Robovan, a larger autonomous vehicle capable of transporting up to 20 people or being configured for goods transport. This vehicle, which shares the Cybercab's futuristic aesthetic, could be adapted as a school bus or RV, expanding Tesla's reach into various transportation sectors. In addition to the vehicular announcements, Tesla showcased its Optimus humanoid robot. Attendees were able to interact with Optimus units, which served drinks at the bar and demonstrated basic mobility. Musk projected that these robots, expected to cost between $20,000 and $30,000, could eventually serve as autonomous assistants for household tasks or even humanoid companions. With production slated to begin no later than 2027, Tesla has set itself an ambitious target. As the company works to refine its technology and navigate regulations, all eyes will be on Elon Musk and his team to see if they can turn their vision into reality.

Tesla Is Unveiling Its Long-Awaited Robotaxi Amid Doubts About the Technology It Runs On

DETROIT (AP) -- Expectations are high for the long-awaited unveiling of Tesla's robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night. Too high for some analysts and investors. The company, which began selling software it calls "Full Self-Driving" nine years ago that still can't drive itself, is expected to show off the so-called "Cybercab" vehicle, which may not have a steering wheel and pedals. The unveiling comes as CEO Elon Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Some analysts are predicting that it will be a historic day for the Austin, Texas, company as it takes a huge step toward a long-awaited robotaxi service powered by AI. But others who track self-driving vehicles say Musk has yet to demonstrate Tesla's system can travel safely without a human driver ready to step in to prevent crashes. "I don't know why the headlines continue to be 'What will Tesla announce?' rather than 'Why does Tesla think we're so stupid?'" said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles. He doesn't see Tesla having the ability to show off software and hardware that can work without human supervision, even in a limited area that's well-known to the driving system. "We just haven't seen any indication that that is what Tesla is working toward," Walker Smith said. "If they were, they would be showcasing this not on a closed lot, but in an actual city or on an actual freeway." Without a clear breakthrough in autonomous technology, Tesla will just show off a vehicle with no pedals or steering wheel, which already has been done by numerous other companies, he said. "The challenge is developing a combination of hardware and software plus the human and digital infrastructure to actually safely drive a vehicle even without a steering wheel on public roads in any conditions," Walker Smith said. "Tesla has been giving us that demo every year, and it's not reassuring us." Many industry analysts aren't expecting much from the event either. While TD Cowen's Jeff Osborne expects Musk to reveal the Cybercab and perhaps the Model 2, a lower-cost electric vehicle, he said he doesn't expect much of a change on self-driving technology. "We expect the event to be light on details and appeal to the true long-term believers in Tesla," Osborne wrote in a note. Musk's claims on the readiness of Full Self Driving, though, will be crucial "given past delays and ongoing scrutiny" of the system and of Tesla's less-sophisticated Autopilot driver-assist software. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, Osborne wrote. Plus, he wrote that in TD Cowen's view the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who is bullish on Tesla stock, wrote in an investor note that robotaxi event, dubbed "We, Robot," by the company, will be a new chapter of growth for Tesla. Ives expects many updates and details from Tesla on the robotaxi, plus breakthroughs in Full Self Driving and artificial intelligence. He also is looking for a phased-in strategy for rolling out the robotaxis within the next year, as well as a Tesla ride-sharing app, and demonstrations of technology "designed to revolutionize urban transportation." Ives, whose organization will attend the invitation-only event at the Warner Bros. studio, wrote that he also expects updates on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, which the company plans to start selling in 2026. "We believe this is a pivotal time for Tesla as the company prepares to release its years of Robotaxi R&D shadowed behind the curtains, while Musk & Co. lay out the company's vision for the future," Ives wrote. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Elon Musk unveils Tesla's 'Cybercab,' plans to bring autonomous driving tech to other models in 2025

Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, though fans of the electric vehicle maker will have to wait until at least 2026 before they are available. CEO Elon Musk pulled up to a stage at the Warner Bros. studio lot in one of the company's "Cybercabs," telling the crowd that the sleek, AI-powered vehicles don't have steering wheels or pedals. He also expressed confidence in the progress the company has made on autonomous driving technology that makes it possible for vehicles to drive without human intervention. Tesla began selling the software, which is called "Full Self-Driving," nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability. "We'll move from supervised Full Self-Driving to unsupervised Full Self-Driving. where you can fall asleep and wake up at your destination," he said. "It's going to be a glorious future." Tesla expects the Cybercabs to cost under $30,000, Musk said. He estimated that the vehicles would become available in 2026, then added "before 2027." The company also expects to make the Full Self-Driving technology available on its popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Texas and California next year. "If they're going to eventually get to robotaxis, they first need to have success with the unsupervised FSD at the current lineup," said Seth Goldstein, equity strategist at Morningstar Research. "Tonight's event showed that they're ready to take that step forward." When Tesla will actually take that step, however, has led to more than a little anxiety for investors who see other automakers deploying similar technology right now. Shares of Tesla Inc. tumbled almost 7% before the opening bell Friday. Waymo, the autonomous vehicle unit of Alphabet Inc., is carrying passengers in vehicles without human safety drivers in Phoenix and other areas. General Motors' Cruise self-driving unit had been running robotaxis in San Francisco until a crash last year involving one of its vehicles. Also, Aurora Innovation said it will start hauling freight in fully autonomous semis on Texas freeways by year's end. Another autonomous semi company, Gatik, plans to haul freight autonomously by the end of 2025. "Tesla yet again claimed it is a year or two away from actual automated driving -- just as the company has been claiming for a decade. Indeed, Tesla's whole event had a 2014 vibe, except that in 2014 there were no automated vehicles actually deployed on public roads," Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies automated vehicles, told The Associated Press in an email. "Now there are real AVs carrying real people on real roads, but none of those vehicles are Teslas. Tonight did not change this reality; it only made the irony more glaring." Tesla had 20 or so Cybercabs on hand and offered event attendees the opportunity to take rides inside the movie studio lot - not on Los Angeles' roads. At the presentation, which was dubbed "We, Robot" and was streamed live on Tesla's website and X, Musk also revealed a sleek minibus-looking vehicle that, like the Cybercab, would be self-driving and can carry up to 20 passengers. The company also trotted out several of its black and white Optimus humanoid robots, which walked a few feet from the attendees before showing off dance moves in a futuristic-looking gazebo. Musk estimated that the robots would cost between $28,000-$30,000 and would be able to babysit, mow lawns, fetch groceries, among other tasks. "Whatever you can think of, it will do," he said. The unveiling of the Cybercab comes as Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it labors to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, TD Cowen analyst Jeff Osborne wrote in a research note last week. Osborne also noted that, in TD Cowen's view, the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items.

What You Need To Know Ahead of Tesla's 'Robotaxi' Event Thursday

UPDATE -- Oct. 8, 2024: This article has been updated to reflect more recent share price information. Tesla (TSLA) is expected to unveil its autonomous "robotaxi" on Thursday, after the event was delayed from its original date in August, with analysts expecting a number of updates from the electric vehicle (EV) maker. Deutsche Bank and Wedbush analysts wrote recently that they expect to see a demo of the vehicle, rumored to be called the "Cybercab," along with projections of how much the robotaxi will cost to operate, where it will be produced and be available, and what Tesla's version of a ride-sharing app could look like. The analysts also said they expect that Tesla could show a new, lower-cost vehicle that has been a company goal for years, along with other updates on its self-driving software, its Optimus humanoid robot, and more. Wedbush analysts, reiterating an "outperform" rating with a $300 price target, said they "continue to believe Tesla is the most undervalued AI name in the market," and see the robotaxi unveiling as a "seminal and historical day" in its history. Deutsche Bank analysts, who have a "buy" rating and a $295 price target, said they are optimistic headed into the event, but recognize that high expectations could lead investors to "sell the news" following the event. Overall, analysts are more divided on Tesla stock. Of the 19 analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, nine have "buy" ratings, seven have "hold," and three have "sell" ratings, with an average price target at $220.44, roughly 10% below Tuesday's close at $244.50 a share. Tesla shares have largely recovered after a substantial selloff in the first half of the year, but remain about 1.6% lower for 2024 so far.

Elon Musk unveils Tesla 'Cybercab' as focus shifts to robo-cars

STORY: Elon Musk made a big entrance late Thursday. He rolled towards the stage at the Warner Bros studios near Los Angeles in a new two-door Tesla which he calls the 'Cybercab'. The vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals, and is meant to launch robotaxi services. Musk says it will go into production in 2026, priced below $30,000. And he says real self-driving will finally arrive: "So, we'll move from supervised full self-driving to unsupervised full self-driving, where the car... you could fall asleep and wake up at your destination." Musk also showcased a larger self-driving vehicle - the Robovan - which can carry up to 20 people. The debuts are all part of his move to rebrand Tesla as a robotics firm, not a mass-market automaker. The company's humanoid Optimus robot was also on show to hammer home the point. The event sparked huge enthusiasm among fans, with Musk promising thhat owners would be able to make money renting out their cars as cabs. "Your average passenger car is only used about 10 hours a week out of 168 hours. So, the vast majority of the time, cars are just doing nothing. But if they're autonomous, they could be used, I don't know, five times more. Maybe 10 times more." Some observers were more skeptical, however. One shareholder told Reuters he was disappointed by the lack of a clear timeframe for robotaxi services. Other investors noted a lack of detail on how quickly Tesla can ramp up production, and how it can overcome regulatory worries about safety. The Cybercabs rely on AI and cameras to get around, dispensing with the other sensors - like costly lidar - used by rivals like Alphabet's Waymo. Experts say that approach significantly cuts costs, but also poses huge technical challenges. Musk also has a history of being overoptimistic on timing - and he said as much at Thursday's event. As early as 2019, he was promising to have robotaxis on the streets by the following year.

Elon Musk Unveils Tesla's AI-Powered 'Cybercab'

LOS ANGELES -- Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, though fans of the electric vehicle maker will have to wait until at least 2026 before they are available. CEO Elon Musk pulled up to a stage at the Warner Bros. studio lot in one of the company's "Cybercabs," telling the crowd that the sleek, AI-powered vehicles don't have steering wheels or pedals. He also expressed confidence in the progress the company has made on autonomous driving technology that makes it possible for vehicles to drive without human intervention. Tesla began selling the software, which is called "Full Self-Driving," nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability. "We'll move from supervised Full Self-Driving to unsupervised Full Self-Driving. where you can fall asleep and wake up at your destination," he said. "It's going to be a glorious future." Tesla expects the Cybercabs to cost under $30,000, Musk said. He estimated that the vehicles would become available in 2026, then added "before 2027." The company also expects to make the Full Self-Driving technology available on its popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Texas and California next year. "If they're going to eventually get to robotaxis, they first need to have success with the unsupervised FSD at the current lineup," said Seth Goldstein, equity strategist at Morningstar Research. "Tonight's event showed that they're ready to take that step forward." When Tesla will actually take that step, however, has led to more than a little anxiety for investors who see other automakers deploying similar technology right now. Shares of Tesla Inc. tumbled 9% at the opening bell Friday. Waymo, the autonomous vehicle unit of Alphabet Inc., is carrying passengers in vehicles without human safety drivers in Phoenix and other areas. General Motors' Cruise self-driving unit had been running robotaxis in San Francisco until a crash last year involving one of its vehicles. Also, Aurora Innovation said it will start hauling freight in fully autonomous semis on Texas freeways by year's end. Another autonomous semi company, Gatik, plans to haul freight autonomously by the end of 2025. "Tesla yet again claimed it is a year or two away from actual automated driving -- just as the company has been claiming for a decade. Indeed, Tesla's whole event had a 2014 vibe, except that in 2014 there were no automated vehicles actually deployed on public roads," Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies automated vehicles, told The Associated Press in an email. "Now there are real AVs carrying real people on real roads, but none of those vehicles are Teslas. Tonight did not change this reality; it only made the irony more glaring." Tesla had 20 or so Cybercabs on hand and offered event attendees the opportunity to take rides inside the movie studio lot -- not on Los Angeles' roads. At the presentation, which was dubbed "We, Robot" and was streamed live on Tesla's website and X, Musk also revealed a sleek minibus-looking vehicle that, like the Cybercab, would be self-driving and can carry up to 20 passengers. The company also trotted out several of its black and white Optimus humanoid robots, which walked a few feet from the attendees before showing off dance moves in a futuristic-looking gazebo. Musk estimated that the robots would cost between $28,000-$30,000 and would be able to babysit, mow lawns, fetch groceries, among other tasks. "Whatever you can think of, it will do," he said. The unveiling of the Cybercab comes as Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it labors to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, TD Cowen analyst Jeff Osborne wrote in a research note last week. Osborne also noted that, in TD Cowen's view, the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. Musk said that Tesla owners will be able to put their cars into service on a company robotaxi network. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items.

'That's it?' Morgan Stanley rips Tesla robotaxi event for lack of detail

Wall Street has been fairly hot-and-cold on Tesla stock this year -- and its highly anticipated robotaxi unveiling on Thursday isn't helping to improve investor sentiment. Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas said he walked away particularly underwhelmed. "We were overall disappointed with the substance and detail of the presentation. As such, we anticipate TSLA to be under pressure following the event," Jonas, the firm's head of global auto and shared mobility research, said in a Friday note to clients entitled "That's it? Disappointing Lack of Detail." Investors had been piling into Tesla shares ahead of its "We, Robot" event in Los Angeles, which was thought to be the struggling automaker's biggest catalyst as an evolving artificial intelligence company. But the market's momentum has since reversed: the stock, which plunged more than 7% on Friday, is down 11% for the year. TSLA YTD mountain Tesla stock this year. Jonas pointed out that investors left the hyped-up event with no demonstration of or updates to the latest advancements of Tesla's full self-driving technology and a lack of information around the rate-of-change of future iterations. He also said the company didn't mention its go-to-market strategy or provide insight into the economics of a supervised and unsupervised ridesharing service, and didn't elaborate on the teased relationship between Tesla and CEO Elon Musk's xAI startup. Instead, Tesla's announcement of a cybercab left Jonas questioning the car's capabilities, such as its hardware and sensor technology, expected autonomous capabilities, and its range and safety. The analyst noted that Musk slated cybercab production for "before 2027," but admitted he can be optimistic about timeframes. In the past, Musk has repeatedly set visionary goals for shareholders and missed his own deadlines . Still, Tesla's management commentary did confirm the cybercab vehicle would be less than $30,000, which is largely in line with Jonas' estimates and confirmed Tesla's ability to have a lead over other autonomous vehicle makers with its cost-effective hardware, scalable software and large user base. "This speaks to TSLA's current theoretical cost advantage over Uber's current cars and Waymo (with LiDAR)," Jonas said. "The extent to which TLSA could offer a scaled autonomous offering faster than either player therefore represents a threat, but there was nothing last night to make that a larger threat." Simply put, the event failed to offer a significant bright spot for Tesla's stock, according to Jonas. To be sure, Tesla's still the top pick in Morgan Stanley's autos coverage. Jonas has an overweight rating on the stock with a $310 price target, which suggests shares have almost 30% potential upside from Wednesday's close. Jonas also mentioned that Tesla's debut of its futuristic Robovan lacked detail about technical specifications and costs, and that it remained unclear whether the large vehicle or the Cybercab were operating fully autonomously in the venue. Tesla's showcase of its Optimus humanoid robots, which Jonas believes relied on human intervention, also did not clearly show "significant progress" with the technology, he said. The analyst has an eye on Tesla's expectation to start fully autonomous, unsupervised FSD in Texas and California for its Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles. He said it is an "important medium-term timeline to monitor as potential validation of TSLA's approach to unsupervised FSD (end to end, camera only)." Analysts polled by FactSet currently have a consensus hold rating and average target price of $214.16 on the stock, far more bearish than Jonas' target.

Elon Musk unveils Tesla's 'Cybercab,' plans to bring autonomous driving tech to other models in 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, though fans of the electric vehicle maker will have to wait until at least 2026 before they are available. CEO Elon Musk pulled up to a stage at the Warner Bros. studio lot in one of the company's "Cybercabs," telling the crowd that the sleek, AI-powered vehicles don't have steering wheels or pedals. He also expressed confidence in the progress the company has made on autonomous driving technology that makes it possible for vehicles to drive without human intervention. Tesla began selling the software, which is called "Full Self-Driving," nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability. "We'll move from supervised Full Self-Driving to unsupervised Full Self-Driving. where you can fall asleep and wake up at your destination," he said. "It's going to be a glorious future." Tesla expects the Cybercabs to cost under $30,000, Musk said. He estimated that the vehicles would become available in 2026, then added "before 2027." The company also expects to make the Full Self-Driving technology available on its popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Texas and California next year. "If they're going to eventually get to robotaxis, they first need to have success with the unsupervised FSD at the current lineup," said Seth Goldstein, equity strategist at Morningstar Research. "Tonight's event showed that they're ready to take that step forward." When Tesla will actually take that step, however, has led to more than a little anxiety for investors who see other automakers deploying similar technology right now. Shares of Tesla Inc. tumbled 9% at the opening bell Friday. Waymo, the autonomous vehicle unit of Alphabet Inc., is carrying passengers in vehicles without human safety drivers in Phoenix and other areas. General Motors' Cruise self-driving unit had been running robotaxis in San Francisco until a crash last year involving one of its vehicles. Also, Aurora Innovation said it will start hauling freight in fully autonomous semis on Texas freeways by year's end. Another autonomous semi company, Gatik, plans to haul freight autonomously by the end of 2025. "Tesla yet again claimed it is a year or two away from actual automated driving -- just as the company has been claiming for a decade. Indeed, Tesla's whole event had a 2014 vibe, except that in 2014 there were no automated vehicles actually deployed on public roads," Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies automated vehicles, told The Associated Press in an email. "Now there are real AVs carrying real people on real roads, but none of those vehicles are Teslas. Tonight did not change this reality; it only made the irony more glaring." Tesla had 20 or so Cybercabs on hand and offered event attendees the opportunity to take rides inside the movie studio lot -- not on Los Angeles' roads. At the presentation, which was dubbed "We, Robot" and was streamed live on Tesla's website and X, Musk also revealed a sleek minibus-looking vehicle that, like the Cybercab, would be self-driving and can carry up to 20 passengers. The company also trotted out several of its black and white Optimus humanoid robots, which walked a few feet from the attendees before showing off dance moves in a futuristic-looking gazebo. Musk estimated that the robots would cost between $28,000-$30,000 and would be able to babysit, mow lawns, fetch groceries, among other tasks. "Whatever you can think of, it will do," he said. The unveiling of the Cybercab comes as Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it labors to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, TD Cowen analyst Jeff Osborne wrote in a research note last week. Osborne also noted that, in TD Cowen's view, the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. Musk said that Tesla owners will be able to put their cars into service on a company robotaxi network. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items.

Tesla Has A Lot To Prove On Robotaxi Day. Top Experts Have Doubts

The Tesla Robotaxi reveal is CEO Elon Musk's make-or-break moment. But AI scientists think Tesla's approach has major flaws. The Tesla Robotaxi Day event on Thursday at a Warner Bros. Hollywood studio is a high-stakes moment for CEO Elon Musk. He's staked nothing short of the company's future on the idea that Tesla isn't just an electric carmaker, but a rising force in AI and robotics. But Tesla's technical approach to self-driving cars -- including what we know of it so far and what's expected to happen in Los Angeles -- raises major red flags, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicle experts told InsideEVs. Some warned that deploying Tesla Robotaxis at scale would be dangerous. Tesla's technology remains unproven and it keeps its safety data mostly under wraps. Others said Tesla is at least a decade away from legally launching a self-driving taxi service, and many agreed that its approach to autonomy is fundamentally flawed, barring some big shift in thinking. The automaker is set to reveal a purpose-built autonomous vehicle, potentially called the "Cybercab," that could underpin some upcoming rival to Uber and Google's Waymo. Musk is also expected to lay out plans for a robotaxi service that will incorporate both Cybercabs and regular Tesla owners' cars, which he has long promised would gain autonomous capability someday. Even so, critics and experts in the space -- many of whom have been in it for decades -- said that this demonstration may be less about future products and more proving to investors that Tesla is on the right track to "solving" full autonomy. Even Musk has claimed that Tesla could be worth trillions if it does this, but essentially worthless if it does not. "There's just no corroborating evidence that would suggest that they're anywhere close to having actual self-driving cars," said Missy Cummings, the director of the Autonomy and Robotics Center at George Mason University and former safety adviser to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "This is just another attempt for [Musk] to raise cash." It's worth noting at the outset that there are no truly self-driving vehicles for sale to consumers today. Yet nearly all automakers have advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that can operate with close driver supervision in some situations, including highways and in traffic. Tesla's autonomous ambitions revolve around software that customers can buy today called Full Self-Driving (FSD). Despite its misleading name, FSD doesn't make Teslas fully autonomous. It is certified as a Level 2 ADAS that requires constant driver supervision, but Musk has said for years that a game-changing software update is coming. The most important thing to know here is that Tesla is taking a radically different approach to autonomous driving than others in the space. To make FSD work, Tesla uses multiple cameras acting as the vehicle's "eyes." This visual data feeds into what the company calls neural networks -- machine-learning models inspired by the human brain. These networks process the information, make sense of it and then help the car make active decisions based on what it "sees." Around mid-2023, Tesla started shifting to this neural network approach, and away from a system based on 300,000-plus lines of code that guided a vehicle in certain situations. Last June, it explained in a thread on X how the system was already operational in customer vehicles. The backbone of these neural networks is, supposedly, a growing number of AI-powered "supercomputer clusters." They process billions of data points to train FSD to drive more like humans. Tesla's rivals have taken a different approach. Google's autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo operates on pre-mapped roads and uses a full suite of sensors including cameras, radar and LIDAR, whereas Tesla only uses cameras and AI. Waymo EVs, white Jaguar I-Paces outfitted with that hardware, are legally operating in four U.S. cities: San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin. General Motors' Cruise self-driving division has taken a similar approach as Waymo but suspended its operations last year after dragging a pedestrian in an accident. It resumed testing recently in Phoenix, Houston and Dallas with human drivers on board. All three companies are under federal safety investigations. On the consumer side, an increasing number of automakers are turning to LIDAR and expanding their ADAS options, although broadly speaking, all have been more cautious than Tesla in the space. But Tesla insists its outside-the-box approach will create a "generalized" solution to self-driving that will let cars operate virtually anywhere. Cruise and Waymo, on the other hand, focus on mastering discrete areas and then expanding from there. Many experts have their doubts about Tesla's approach on both hardware and software. "Wherever you have a neural net, you will always have the possibility of hallucination," Cummings said. "It's just that they do it infrequently enough to give people false confidence," she added. Hallucinations are the same thing that happens when ChatGPT spits out a totally nonsensical answer. Tesla's system could be prone to "statistical inference errors," she said, which basically means analyzing a particular set of data inaccurately, leading to wrong conclusions. In Tesla's case, that means making wrong decisions on the road. The automaker is still a decade away from being a legitimate self-driving car company, according to Cummings. The key problem, she said, was that Tesla hasn't made its FSD safety data public yet. It releases some Autopilot and FSD data periodically showing the number of accidents per million miles of driving using those systems, but the reports are not detailed and nearly not enough to prove that the system is safe, she said. Independent testing has found that FSD had an average disengagement rate of one in every 13 miles. That's a big red flag, according to Cummings. "It's just not a reality until we see a Tesla reporting actual testing with bonafide testing drivers and/or testing the vehicles with no drivers in them." So-called "edge cases," or rare events, are another potential problem area, experts said. "What matters in safety is not the average day. What matters is the bad day and the bad days are extremely rare," said Phil Koopman, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University who has worked extensively on autonomous vehicle safety. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the fatality rate for human drivers is 1.33 deaths per 100 million miles driven in the U.S. "Saying 'I drove 10 miles without an intervention' means nothing," Koopman said, referring to Tesla owners who post videos of their experiences using FSD. That's statistically insignificant. After all, humans can log "99,999,999 miles without a fatality." Tesla uses end-to-end machine learning in the latest version 12 of FSD. That means feeding the neural networks with raw data (lots of videos, in this case) which directly results in an action on the road (acceleration, braking, turning). Koopman said this approach works well for common driving scenarios but is "horrible at handling rare events." The issue there is that extremely uncommon situations -- like a house fire or an odd object on the road -- may not be represented in even a large data set, said Dan McGehee, who directs the University of Iowa's Driving Safety Research Institute. Rather, those kinds of hyper-specific events need to be painstakingly taught to a self-driving system, he said. AI-based self-driving systems can also make it more difficult for engineers to trace back why a vehicle made a certain decision -- good or bad -- industry experts say. Waymo relies on a few hundred expensive LIDAR-equipped cars, while Tesla has sidestepped those costs to deploy millions of camera-equipped vehicles. Both strategies come with trade-offs, but Koopman likened skipping LIDAR to "tying one hand behind your back while trying to solve an impossible problem." LIDAR sensors, which use lasers to create a 3D understanding of the surrounding world, are far superior at depth perception and fare better in adverse weather. Tesla's FSD user manual admits that cameras struggle in such scenarios. "Visibility is critical for FSD to operate. Low visibility, such as low light or poor weather conditions (rain, snow, direct sun, fog, etc.) can significantly degrade performance," the disclaimer reads. For that exact reason, McGehee, of the University of Iowa, says it's critical to think about redundancy when designing driverless cars. "Not only do you have to have a 360-degree view of the world, but you have to have an overlapping view of the world with a different modality," he said, adding that Tesla's decision to go with cameras only is "problematic." Krzysztof Czarnecki, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Waterloo and a member of SAE task forces for automated driving said that a Tesla Robotaxi with its current set of hardware and software "would cause mayhem and accidents and [the cars] will disappear very quickly from the road." "This is like taking ChatGPT and putting it behind the wheels," Czarnecki said. "Not literally, of course, because it's fed with driving data, but the underlying technology is kind of that, and you can't build a safe system that way," he added. Tesla could create a driverless service using a vision-only system, said Alex Roy, a former executive at the now-defunct self-driving startup Argo AI and a cofounder at New Industry VC. However, that would mean either deploying far and wide while compromising safety and performance, or deploying in a highly constrained environment. "I'm absolutely convinced that a camera-first or camera-only system will be able to do this. The only question is when," Roy said, acknowledging that he's in the minority. Even so, he said he doesn't think Tesla's event will yield anything that can be commercialized in the near term. While none of the experts opposed robotaxis, they emphasized the need for extensive real-world testing, along with increased data sharing with regulators to address issues transparently. "Self-driving cars can succeed in limited domains," Cummings noted, adding that she advocates for controlled pilot testing to make that happen. Koopman, on the other hand, said he had very low expectations from the Robotaxi reveal. A prototype car that triggers discussions is perfectly fine, he said. "But that would have no predictive power whatsoever as to when robotaxis will be on the road at scale," he said.

Tesla gambles on 'black box' AI tech for robotaxis

(Reuters) - Tesla aims to stun investors Thursday night with its long-awaited "robotaxi unveil," a potential milestone after a decade of Elon Musk's unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving vehicles. The automaker is widely expected to showcase a prototype called the "Cybercab" rather than a road-ready driverless taxi. Convincing regulators and passengers of the vehicle's safety could prove much harder and take much longer -- while its main competitors, such as Alphabet's Waymo, expand robotaxi fleets they're already operating in select cities today. Tesla has to date pursued a different technological path than all of its major self-driving rivals - one with potentially higher rewards but also higher risks to both its business and its passengers, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen executives, consultants and academics specializing in self-driving technology and three former Tesla autonomous-vehicle engineers. Tesla's strategy relies solely on a combination of "computer vision," which aims to use cameras the way humans use eyes, with an artificial-intelligence technology called end-to-end machine learning that instantly translates the images into driving decisions. That technology already underpins its "Full Self-Driving" driver-assistance feature that, despite its name, can't be operated safely without a human driver. Musk has said Tesla is using the same approach to develop fully autonomous robotaxis. Tesla's competitors - including Waymo, Amazon's Zoox, General Motors' Cruise and a host of Chinese firms - use the same technology but typically layer on redundant systems and sensors such as radar, lidar and sophisticated mapping to ensure safety and win regulatory approval for their driverless vehicles. Tesla's strategy is simpler, and much cheaper, but has two critical weaknesses, industry executives, autonomous-vehicle experts and one of the Tesla engineers told Reuters. Without the layered technologies used by its peers, Tesla's system struggles more with so-called "edge cases" -- rare driving scenarios that self-driving systems and their human engineers struggle to anticipate. The other major challenge: The end-to-end AI technology is a "black box," the Tesla engineer said, making it "nearly impossible" to "see what went wrong when it misbehaves and causes an accident." The inability to precisely identify such failures, he said, makes it difficult to safeguard against them. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on its technology. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang used the same "black box" description in an interview to describe the weaknesses of end-to-end technology, without specifically addressing Tesla's system. End-to-end artificial intelligence involves training a computer to make decisions directly from raw data, with no intermediate steps requiring additional engineering or programming. Nvidia, the world's leading producer of AI-computing chips, also uses end-to-end technology in autonomous-driving systems it's developing and plans to sell to automakers. But Nvidia, Huang told Reuters, combines that approach with more conventional computing systems and additional sensors such as radar and lidar. The end-to-end technology usually -- but not always -- makes the best driving decisions, said Huang, which is why Nvidia takes a more conservative approach. "We have to build the future step-by-step," he said. "We cannot go directly to the future. It's too unsafe." ROBOTAXI PIVOT Tesla's ability to deliver robotaxis has taken on heightened importance this year as its sales and profits have declined amid softening electric-vehicle demand globally and fierce competition from rising Chinese EV makers. If Tesla can overcome the technical challenges of its autonomous strategy, the payoff could be enormous. While competitors like Waymo already have robotaxis on the road, they're operating far more expensive vehicles in relatively small, comprehensively mapped zones. Tesla aims to sell affordable robotaxis that can drive themselves anywhere. Musk has a long history of bold promises about self-driving cars. In 2016, he predicted drivers would be able to summon their vehicles from across the country within two years. In 2019, Musk predicted Tesla would produce operational robotaxis by 2020. The announcement of this week's robotaxi reveal came on April 5, the day Reuters exclusively reported that Tesla had abandoned plans to build a $25,000 electric vehicle for the masses known informally as the Model 2, initially sending Tesla shares down. Musk responded by posting later that day on his X social-media platform: "Robotaxi unveil on 8/8," sparking intense investor speculation. Tesla later delayed the event until this week. That April day marked a fundamental shift in Musk's stated priorities. He had previously promised to make Tesla a Toyota-sized EV giant, an expectation that underpinned Tesla's soaring stock price, making it the world's most valuable automaker. Now he vowed to dominate self-driving tech. Abrupt cost-cutting measures followed, including mass layoffs, as Musk diverted investment away from EV-manufacturing priorities such as battery development, gigacasting, and expansion of the automaker's Supercharger network. The retreat from mass-market EVs only intensified investor pressure on Tesla's autonomous-vehicle development. Musk leaned into the scrutiny, saying in April that anyone doubting Tesla will "solve autonomy" shouldn't invest in the company. Nicholas Mersch, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments, a Tesla investor, said Musk "has a lot of convincing to do." Still, Mersch called Musk's autonomy strategy a "really bold bet" with a potentially immense payoff, even if it takes Tesla substantially more time to crack the code. "You have to keep the big picture in mind, in terms of how much iterative innovation is happening" at Tesla, he said. "I wouldn't discount them." DATA DRIVEN For now, unlike its robotaxi competitors, Tesla only offers semi-autonomous solutions in its "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving" features. The naming and marketing of those systems have sparked investigations and lawsuits over whether Tesla has put drivers at risk by overstating its vehicles' self-driving capabilities. A U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation published in April found that 542 crashes, including 14 with fatalities, had occurred in Tesla vehicles with Autopilot or FSD engaged between January 2018 and August 2023. Putting Autopilot and FSD into high-volume models, however, does give Tesla a distinct competitive advantage: A massive trove of data, collected by cameras on millions of vehicles, that it can analyze and use to develop self-driving tech. Two of the former Tesla engineers said the relatively low cost of its technology enables the massive scale of its data collection, compared with relatively tiny fleets of competitors like Waymo. One of the engineers said Tesla's high-resolution cameras cost far less than lidar and could eventually allow the automaker to produce fully autonomous vehicles customers can afford. Lidar uses lasers to produce three-dimensional images of a vehicle's surroundings as it navigates around obstacles. Speaking to analysts and investors this summer, Musk boasted of "exponential" improvement and predicted Tesla might achieve unsupervised driving "by the end of this year," adding that he would be "shocked if we cannot do it next year." Sasha Ostojic - a former driverless car engineer and software-development executive at Nvidia, Cruise and Zoox - said he believes it will take Tesla at least "three-plus years" just to match the level of autonomous driving Waymo achieves today. Ostojic now advises a Palo Alto venture capital firm, Playground Global, on technology investments. "I don't see Tesla converging toward truly 'eyes off, brain off'" autonomous driving, he said, "on the timelines Elon Musk has been promising." ERROR RATES AND EDGE CASES Tesla once dabbled in multiple autonomous-driving technologies, too, but it started removing radar from its vehicles in 2021 and 2022 and by last year removed ultrasonic sensors designed to detect objects with sound waves. The company's sole reliance on AI-enabled computer vision leaves it with the challenge of eliminating a small but unacceptable error rate that could result in injuries and deaths if left unchecked, with no human driver, said specialists in autonomous-driving technology. Missy Cummings, a robotics and AI professor at George Mason University and a former advisor to NHTSA, cited several studies that have shown computer vision is highly accurate but still fails to recognize objects about 3% of the time. "What happens if it doesn't see a pedestrian crossing the road or on the sidewalk?" she asked. John Krafcik, Waymo's former CEO, told Reuters the company's use of additional sensors including radar and lidar make it "orders of magnitude more capable than Tesla" in perceiving objects. It's technology is also more transparent when something goes wrong: The inability of end-to-end machine learning systems to pinpoint dangerous glitches "may be an intractable one for a company serious about safety," Krafcik said. "If one of your cars has a significant at-fault crash," he said, "one should be able to explain why it happened." Waymo did not comment. The former Tesla engineer who called its technology a "black box" said it's never clear how the automaker's system arrives at driving decisions. And that makes it hard to tell whether Tesla is close -- and, if so, how close -- to producing safe and fully autonomous vehicles. The engineer called it "impossible" for AI systems or their human engineers to anticipate every "edge case," no matter how much data it analyzes. "You could argue there are an infinite number of crazy things happening on the road," the engineer said. (Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Austin, Texas and Chris Kirkham in Los Angeles; editing by Anna Driver and Brian Thevenot)

Tesla's 'Dream Premium' Faces Moment of Truth at Robotaxi Reveal

The stakes for Tesla Inc. are high as investors eagerly await the first look at the company's fully self-driving vehicle later on Thursday. The electric vehicle maker's nearly $800 billion market capitalization -- more than eight times bigger than General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co.'s combined value -- is underpinned by investors' expectation that the Elon Musk-led company will be a powerhouse in autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence. The shares have risen nearly 70% since Musk touted the pivot to AI in April, even as sales languished and profit sank.

Tesla fumbled the perfect opportunity to surprise its EV rivals

Most of the marquee products shown off at the Warner Bros. Studios backlot revolved around Tesla CEO Elon Musk's idea for future mobility. He envisions a world without human drivers, where the average person can get their "time back" from driving while autonomous vehicles do the heavy lifting. Undoubtedly, the event's highlight was the hotly anticipated 'CyberCab,' a stylish autonomous vehicle with butterfly doors and no pedals or steering wheel. Musk says that the vehicle is capable of inductive wireless charging, will cost "under $30,000" and will be available within "2026... before 2027." Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Related: Tesla drops bombshell ahead of anticipated robotaxi event During his own "one more thing" moment, the Tesla CEO also showed off the 'Robovan,' a mobility solution touted for people "who need more space than a [Tesla] Model Y," as it is a locomotive-shaped vehicle without any physical controls that is touted to seat up to 20 people or to transport goods. Though the Tesla product launch timeline can be delayed for any number of years, as was demonstrated with products like the Cybertruck or the still-to-be-released Tesla Roadster supercar, one key product that has the chance to permanently put Tesla in the black was missing from this event. The Missing Tesla 'Model 2' Notably, this event did not include any update or passing mention from Elon Musk about a supposed "more affordable" car dubbed the 'Model 2' which was previously rumored to have been canned. During Tesla's first-quarter 2024 earnings call on April 23, Musk noted the existence of such a car, saying that "more affordable models will use aspects of the next-generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms, and we'll be able to produce on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle lineup" and that more details would come on August 8; the previous date this event was to take place. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Deepwater Management managing partner Gene Munster noted the absence of such an announcement and gave a theory as to why Tesla may have held it off. "My sense is that the car is still on the roadmap for sometime late in 2025, but the company decided not to discuss it, as it would have triggered the Osborne Effect, causing Model 3 buyers to hold off," he said. In a note published early Friday morning, Wedbush analyst and noted Tesla bull Dan Ives called the absence of any discussion or introduction of the Model 2 the "elephant in the room" for investors but reiterated that such a reveal may have been inappropriate for the occasion. "We never expected [a Model 2 reveal] to happen at this event and this is no way an indication that Model 2 is not happening for 2025," Ives said. "We believe this also weighs on shares as the bears try to press this narrative. We believe Model 2 will become a reality with our target date for production in 1H25 and deliveries by the end of 2025 for this sub $30k vehicle." More Business of EVs: Tesla has plans for an AI and robotic future, but what about today? In essence, the event presented on October 10 reflected an ultimatum that Musk gave investors, analysts, and other Tesla observers during a past earnings call. "We should be thought of as an AI robotics company. If you value Tesla as just an auto company -- it's just the wrong framework. If you ask the wrong question, then the right answer is impossible," Musk said. "If somebody doesn't believe that Tesla is going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company. And we will. And we are." View the original article to see embedded media. While Tesla has robotaxis, locomotive-shaped robotaxi vans, and robots that will pour your drinks and be "your companion" in line for its possible future, the reality is that today, it is an electric car company that still provides mobility to people. Last quarter, Q3 2024, Tesla delivered 462,890 vehicles and made 469,796 vehicles, which is a bit short of analysts' expectations but still significant compared to the EV delivery numbers of legacy automakers like Ford and General Motors. But while Elon Musk prioritizes robotics, AI, and robotaxis over its fledgling EV business, the competition is taking Elon's broken promise and running with it. In May 2024, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares revealed that a new, $25,000 Jeep-branded EV will be hitting the states "very soon." Similarly, Ford is working with a California-based team of former Tesla and Apple employees on a new line of cheaper EVs to take on Chinese firms like BYD. Additionally, General Motors teased the 2026 Chevrolet Bolt during its investor's day presentation. While the visuals were withheld from the webcast, GM President Mark Reuss reassured that the newest version of its small EV is coming in 2025 and will have "the latest technology" and "will be a moneymaker" for GM. He also alluded that the Bolt will be a part of a "family" of EVs, including one with a price target that is an "even lower cost" than the new Bolt's planned price of "under $30,000." Tesla Inc. trades on the NASDAQ as TSLA and is down 7.8% from the bell, trading at $220.19 per share at the time of writing. Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks

Tesla robotaxi anticipation hits fever pitch ahead of debut

The big picture: The company is widely expected to debut the so-called Cybercab at an event at Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood. The hype is already feverish -- with even analysts who disagree on Tesla acknowledging the gravity of the moment. What to watch for: What has Tesla actually accomplished, versus what does it say it will accomplish -- and is there a realistic pathway to getting there? Crucially, what's the timeline? Given Tesla's track record for "overly optimistic" projections, "there is significant devil in the details," Sacconaghi wrote. By the numbers: Ives believes AI and self-driving technology represent "$1 trillion of value alone for Tesla over the coming years." 🤔 Reality check: Autonomous driving company Waymo is widely thought to be leading the pack on its way to coveted Level 5 autonomy -- a vehicle where humans never have to intervene. The bottom line: There's a real risk that today's event could be promising yet still yield "a 'sell the news' reaction in its aftermath," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson says.

Elon Musk's Tesla unveils Robotaxi at AI event "We, Robot"; Check details

Tesla Cybercab: Tesla's highly anticipated "We, Robot" event took center stage as Elon Musk unveiled the long-promised robotaxi, highlighting the company's vision for autonomous vehicles. The robotaxi, part of Musk's broader AI robotics strategy, promises to revolutionize transport through a network of self-driving taxis. However, challenges remain, including regulatory scrutiny, safety concerns, and competition from established players like Waymo. With ambitious plans to expand Tesla's robotaxi fleet, Musk aims to keep the company at the forefront of the AI-driven mobility revolution.Tesla's latest event, "We, Robot," held at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, showcased the long-awaited robotaxi, a critical component of the company's future growth strategy. CEO Elon Musk used the opportunity to update investors on the company's progress in artificial intelligence (AI) projects, which he believes will drive Tesla's long-term success. "We constructed a futuristic world," Musk shared on social media platform X, responding to images from an attendee. Tesla's new robotaxi is a purpose-built autonomous vehicle, designed without a steering wheel or pedals, emphasizing its fully autonomous nature. This futuristic design features butterfly-wing doors and a compact cabin with room for only two passengers. However, due to the absence of traditional controls, the robotaxi will need regulatory approval before moving into production. This step highlights Tesla's push to position itself as a leader in AI and autonomous transportation, though it faces significant hurdles in getting the necessary approvals. Despite these challenges, Musk remains confident that the robotaxi will eventually be a reality, offering a glimpse into the future of self-driving technology. Musk's plan is to develop a fleet of self-driving Tesla taxis, which will be hailed via an app. Tesla owners can also list their vehicles as part-time taxis, making money through the network when they are not using their cars. The new robotaxi model is reportedly a compact, futuristic two-seater featuring butterfly doors. It directly targets established autonomous taxi services like Waymo and Cruise, with Tesla hoping to carve out its space in this competitive market. Tesla's strategy is to rely on its camera-based Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, which is considerably different from competitors like Waymo that use expensive lidar and radar technology. However, this approach has drawn criticism from analysts, who have flagged safety concerns regarding Tesla's reliance on cameras, especially in challenging driving conditions like wet roads or bright sunlight. Musk first promised robotaxis back in 2019, expressing confidence that they would be operational by the next year. However, due to various delays, including setbacks in the development of the FSD technology, the plan did not come to fruition as expected. Now, after years of waiting, Tesla is trying to reignite excitement around its autonomous vehicle projects. "Tesla should be thought of as an AI robotics company, not an automaker," Musk has stated repeatedly. Investors and analysts attending the event had one major question on their minds: how quickly can Tesla ramp up production of the robotaxi, at what cost, and how much revenue can it generate from this service? Tesla's robotaxi could offer a crucial boost to the company's revenue, particularly at a time when Tesla is facing a potential decline in deliveries and stiff competition from other electric vehicle (EV) makers. Tesla is not alone in the robotaxi race. Other companies, such as Alphabet's Waymo, General Motors' Cruise, and Amazon's Zoox, have all invested heavily in this technology. Many have encountered significant challenges due to tight regulations and the complexity of the technology itself, leading to massive losses for some. Despite these obstacles, some firms are still pushing forward, making it a tough market for Tesla to break into. Notably, Tesla has faced its own challenges with FSD. The software, while marketed as an advanced system, has come under regulatory and legal scrutiny, following over 1,000 crashes, some of which were fatal. These incidents have raised concerns about the safety of Tesla's autonomous driving technology. Despite the challenges, Musk remains optimistic about the future of Tesla's autonomous ambitions. In addition to unveiling the robotaxi, Musk hinted at other announcements, including a lower-cost EV and updates on the humanoid robot Optimus. The Optimus project, first introduced in 2021, is envisioned to perform useful tasks by the end of the year, with a potential consumer release as early as 2025. Thursday's event echoed Musk's vision of making Tesla a leader in AI-driven technology, moving beyond just EV production. The title of the event, "We, Robot," pays homage to Isaac Asimov's famous science fiction stories and underlines Musk's goal to integrate AI into the future of Tesla. For those eager to watch the event live, Tesla is streaming it on X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube. The limited in-person attendance was reserved for select shareholders, influencers, and fans.

Tesla robotaxi event will include long-awaited "Cybercab" unveiling

Tesla's Robotaxi Day event is set to take place at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, and expectations are high. Too high for some analysts and investors. The company, which began selling software it calls "Full Self-Driving" nine years ago that still can't drive itself, is expected to show off the so-called "Cybercab" vehicle, which may not have a steering wheel and pedals. The unveiling comes as CEO Elon Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. But some analysts are predicting that it will be a historic day for the Austin, Texas, company as it takes a huge step toward a long-awaited robotaxi service powered by AI. "We believe Robotaxi Day will be seminal and historical day for Musk and Tesla and marks a new chapter of growth around autonomous, FSD, and AI future at Tesla," Daniel Ives, managing director and senior equity analyst for Wedbush Securities, said in a research note. "We continue to believe Tesla is the most undervalued AI name in the market and we expect Musk & Co. to unveil some 'game changing' autonomous technology at this event." But others who track self-driving vehicles say Musk has yet to demonstrate Tesla's system can travel safely without a human driver ready to step in to prevent crashes. "I don't know why the headlines continue to be 'What will Tesla announce?' rather than 'Why does Tesla think we're so stupid?'" said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles. He doesn't see Tesla having the ability to show off software and hardware that can work without human supervision, even in a limited area that's well-known to the driving system. "We just haven't seen any indication that that is what Tesla is working toward," Walker Smith said. "If they were, they would be showcasing this not on a closed lot, but in an actual city or on an actual freeway." Without a clear breakthrough in autonomous technology, Tesla will just show off a vehicle with no pedals or steering wheel, which already has been done by numerous other companies, he said. "The challenge is developing a combination of hardware and software plus the human and digital infrastructure to actually safely drive a vehicle even without a steering wheel on public roads in any conditions," Walker Smith said. "Tesla has been giving us that demo every year, and it's not reassuring us." Some industry analysts share Walker Smith's skepticism. While, TD Cowen's Jeff Osborne expects Musk to reveal the Cybercab and perhaps the Model 2, a lower-cost electric vehicle, he said he doesn't expect much of a change on self-driving technology. "We expect the event to be light on details and appeal to the true long-term believers in Tesla," Osborne wrote in a note. Musk's claims on the readiness of Full Self Driving, though, will be crucial "given past delays and ongoing scrutiny" of the system and of Tesla's less-sophisticated Autopilot driver-assist software. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, Osborne wrote. Plus, he wrote that in TD Cowen's view the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not in use by the owners. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. However, Wedbush's Ives, who is bullish on Tesla stock, wrote that the robotaxi event, dubbed "We, Robot," by the company, will be a new chapter of growth for Tesla. Ives expects many updates and details from Tesla on the robotaxi, plus breakthroughs in Full Self Driving and artificial intelligence. He also is looking for a phased-in strategy for rolling out the robotaxis within the next year, as well as a Tesla ride-sharing app, and demonstrations of technology "designed to revolutionize urban transportation." Ives, whose organization will attend the invitation-only event at the Warner Bros. studio, wrote that he also expects updates on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, which the company plans to start selling in 2026. "We believe this is a pivotal time for Tesla as the company prepares to release its years of Robotaxi R&D shadowed behind the curtains, while Musk & Co. lay out the company's vision for the future," Ives wrote. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities that he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items. Tesla's robotaxi event will be held at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, on Thursday, October 10. Tesla will livestream the event on X at 7 p.m. PT and 10 p.m. ET.

Social Security's 2025 COLA Reveal Isn't the Main Event on Oct. 10 -- For Wall Street and the Rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), This Is... | The Motley Fool

On Oct. 10, investors will be eyeing a potentially game-changing announcement from one of the world's leading artificial intelligence (AI) pioneers. For the more than 68 million beneficiaries currently receiving a Social Security check each month, today is kind of a big a deal. In less than four hours, the September inflation report will be released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Social Security Administration (SSA) will have the final puzzle piece necessary to calculate the 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Social Security's COLA is the tool the SSA uses to increase benefits most years to ensure that beneficiaries don't lose buying power. This will likely mark the fourth consecutive year of an above-average "raise." But Oct. 10 is about more than just Social Security's 2025 COLA reveal. Seemingly nothing has influenced Wall Street's major stock indexes more this year than the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). The capacity for AI-driven software and systems to become more proficient over time, and perhaps even learn new skills without the need for human intervention, gives this technology utility in virtually all sectors and industries. While Nvidia's quarterly operating results have, predominantly, been the star of the AI revolution, the main event for Wall Street today, Oct. 10, is electric-vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla (TSLA -1.41%) hosting its robotaxi event. Tesla is no stranger to breaking down barriers. It's the first automaker in well over a half-century to have successfully built itself from the ground up to mass production. Elon Musk's company has the capacity in place to easily top 2 million EVs produced annually, should demand call for it. It's also the only pure-play EV maker that's been consistently profitable. If Tesla generates a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) profit this year, it'll mark its fifth consecutive year in the black. Most EV makers are looking for their first quarter of profitability, let alone recurring profits -- and this includes the EV divisions of Detroit's legacy automakers. But Wall Street is often forward-looking; and all eyes today are on Tesla's robotaxi ambitions. Autonomous ride-hailing is a nascent opportunity with otherworldly potential. Ark Invest CEO and Chief Investment Officer Cathie Wood foresees Tesla generating the bulk of its sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) from robotaxis relatively soon. Based on Ark's Monte Carlo analysis, Tesla is forecast to generate $400 billion in EBITDA from $1.2 trillion in sales by 2027. Approximately 63% of net revenue and 86% of EBITDA will come from robotaxis, per Wood's Ark Invest. Tesla's robotaxi event, which was previously scheduled for Aug. 8, but was delayed to address a design change, will kick off at 7:00 p.m, PT, and focus on the autonomous capabilities of Tesla's new operating segment. Considering the repeated claim from Musk that Tesla collects copious of vehicle data, professional and everyday investors will be focused on safety data, as well as estimates from Musk as to how much robotaxis will add to his company's top- and bottom-line. With robotaxis expected to provide a considerably higher operating margin than Tesla can generate from simply producing and selling EVs, this event has major long-term profitability implications, and has played a big role in the rally we've witnessed from Tesla's stock in recent months. While there's a lot of hype for Tesla's robotaxi event (and with good reason), it's important to keep in context that CEO Elon Musk has a terrible habit of overpromising and underdelivering when it comes to game-changing innovations or advancements for his company. For instance, the famed all-electric Cybertruck was unveiled in 2019 and, per Musk's words during his company's fourth-quarter conference call in 2021, was slated to go into production in 2022. Ultimately, the Cybertruck launch was delayed until late 2023, with early sales largely underwhelming Wall Street. Delays were the name of the game with Tesla's gigafactories in Austin, Texas, and Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany, too. Both gigafactories were expected to open in 2021, but didn't ultimately begin production until April 2022 and March 2022, respectively. To add insult to injury, Tesla isn't operating at full production capacity given recent demand weakness for EVs. But perhaps the most-damning overpromise for Musk has been his insistence that Tesla is "one year away" from full autonomy -- i.e. Level 5 full self-driving (FSD). Musk has been making this claim of being a year away from full autonomy for a decade. However, Tesla has yet to advance beyond Level 2 FSD, which requires drivers to be attentive and ready to take over. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz has been given Level 3 autonomy approval in select states and is working on Level 4 autonomous-driving solutions. In October 2019, we also witnessed Musk proclaim, "Next year, for sure, we will have over a million robotaxis on the road." Five years later, there are exactly zero Tesla robotaxis on public roads. Musk has made a laundry list of far-reaching promises regarding innovations to come at Tesla, many of which have been baked into the outsized valuation of his company's stock. But when push comes to shove, very few of these prognostications have come to fruition -- and the vast majority that did were on a delayed timeline. In other words, actions are going to be far more important than words when Elon Musk drives home Tesla's robotaxi ambitions later today. However, Musk's propensity for overpromising and underdelivering isn't the only issue Tesla is contending with at the moment. As competition has meaningfully picked up in the EV space, North America's leading EV maker has become more aggressive with its pricing. Since the start of 2023, Tesla has notably reduced the selling price for its four main production models (3, S, X, and Y) on more than a half-dozen occasions. These price cuts are a direct reaction to weaker consumer demand and are designed to keep inventory levels down. Unfortunately, Tesla's meaningful price cuts haven't been able to keep its global inventory levels from climbing. As of the end of March 2022, the company had just three days of global vehicle inventory (essentially new vehicle inventory at the end of a quarter divided by the relevant quarter's deliveries). As of June 2024, days of supply had jumped to 18. On top of rising inventory, Tesla's operating margin has taken a beating as the company has aggressively cut the selling price of its EVs. Its operating margin has fallen from 17.2% in the September-ended quarter of 2022 to a pedestrian 6.3%, as of the June-ended quarter of 2024. Among the many reasons Tesla commands a massive valuation premium over legacy auto stocks is the belief that it'll be substantially more profitable on a per-vehicle basis. A 6.3% operating margin is historically weaker than what legacy automakers deliver. Tesla's profit is also increasingly coming from unsustainable sources. In the second quarter, roughly two-thirds of the company's pre-tax income can be traced to regulatory tax credits sold to other automakers and interest income earned on its cash. Put another way, Tesla is generating far less in income from its actual operations than investors might realize. It makes the company's already outsized valuation even more egregious. Suffice it to say, Tesla has no room for error with its robotaxi event or launch timeline.

Tesla gambles on 'black box' AI tech for robotaxis

Tesla plans to reveal its 'Cybercab' robotaxi prototype, highlighting a unique self-driving approach reliant solely on cameras and AI machine learning. This strategy faces challenges, including difficulty handling rare driving scenarios and analyzing system mistakes, contrasting with competitors that utilize additional sensors to enhance safety.Tesla aims to stun investors Thursday night with its long-awaited "robotaxi unveil," a potential milestone after a decade of Elon Musk's unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving vehicles. The automaker is widely expected to showcase a prototype called the "Cybercab" rather than a road-ready driverless taxi. Convincing regulators and passengers of the vehicle's safety could prove much harder and take much longer - while its main competitors, such as Alphabet's Waymo, expand robotaxi fleets they're already operating in select cities today. Tesla has to date pursued a different technological path than all of its major self-driving rivals - one with potentially higher rewards but also higher risks to both its business and its passengers, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen executives, consultants and academics specializing in self-driving technology and three former Tesla autonomous-vehicle engineers. Tesla's strategy relies solely on a combination of "computer vision," which aims to use cameras the way humans use eyes, with an artificial-intelligence technology called end-to-end machine learning that instantly translates the images into driving decisions. That technology already underpins its "Full Self-Driving" driver-assistance feature that, despite its name, can't be operated safely without a human driver. Musk has said Tesla is using the same approach to develop fully autonomous robotaxis. Tesla's competitors - including Waymo, Amazon's Zoox, General Motors' Cruise and a host of Chinese firms - use the same technology but typically layer on redundant systems and sensors such as radar, lidar and sophisticated mapping to ensure safety and win regulatory approval for their driverless vehicles. Tesla's strategy is simpler, and much cheaper, but has two critical weaknesses, industry executives, autonomous-vehicle experts and one of the Tesla engineers told Reuters. Without the layered technologies used by its peers, Tesla's system struggles more with so-called "edge cases" - rare driving scenarios that self-driving systems and their human engineers struggle to anticipate. The other major challenge: The end-to-end AI technology is a "black box," the Tesla engineer said, making it "nearly impossible" to "see what went wrong when it misbehaves and causes an accident." The inability to precisely identify such failures, he said, makes it difficult to safeguard against them. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on its technology. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang used the same "black box" description in an interview to describe the weaknesses of end-to-end technology, without specifically addressing Tesla's system. End-to-end artificial intelligence involves training a computer to make decisions directly from raw data, with no intermediate steps requiring additional engineering or programming. Nvidia, the world's leading producer of AI-computing chips, also uses end-to-end technology in autonomous-driving systems it's developing and plans to sell to automakers. But Nvidia, Huang told Reuters, combines that approach with more conventional computing systems and additional sensors such as radar and lidar. The end-to-end technology usually - but not always - makes the best driving decisions, said Huang, which is why Nvidia takes a more conservative approach. "We have to build the future step-by-step," he said. "We cannot go directly to the future. It's too unsafe." ROBOTAXI PIVOT Tesla's ability to deliver robotaxis has taken on heightened importance this year as its sales and profits have declined amid softening electric-vehicle demand globally and fierce competition from rising Chinese EV makers. If Tesla can overcome the technical challenges of its autonomous strategy, the payoff could be enormous. While competitors like Waymo already have robotaxis on the road, they're operating far more expensive vehicles in relatively small, comprehensively mapped zones. Tesla aims to sell affordable robotaxis that can drive themselves anywhere. Musk has a long history of bold promises about self-driving cars. In 2016, he predicted drivers would be able to summon their vehicles from across the country within two years. In 2019, Musk predicted Tesla would produce operational robotaxis by 2020. The announcement of this week's robotaxi reveal came on April 5, the day Reuters exclusively reported that Tesla had abandoned plans to build a $25,000 electric vehicle for the masses known informally as the Model 2, initially sending Tesla shares down. Musk responded by posting later that day on his X social-media platform: "Robotaxi unveil on 8/8," sparking intense investor speculation. Tesla later delayed the event until this week. That April day marked a fundamental shift in Musk's stated priorities. He had previously promised to make Tesla a Toyota-sized EV giant, an expectation that underpinned Tesla's soaring stock price, making it the world's most valuable automaker. Now he vowed to dominate self-driving tech. Abrupt cost-cutting measures followed, including mass layoffs, as Musk diverted investment away from EV-manufacturing priorities such as battery development, gigacasting, and expansion of the automaker's Supercharger network. The retreat from mass-market EVs only intensified investor pressure on Tesla's autonomous-vehicle development. Musk leaned into the scrutiny, saying in April that anyone doubting Tesla will "solve autonomy" shouldn't invest in the company. Nicholas Mersch, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments, a Tesla investor, said Musk "has a lot of convincing to do." Still, Mersch called Musk's autonomy strategy a "really bold bet" with a potentially immense payoff, even if it takes Tesla substantially more time to crack the code. "You have to keep the big picture in mind, in terms of how much iterative innovation is happening" at Tesla, he said. "I wouldn't discount them." DATA DRIVEN For now, unlike its robotaxi competitors, Tesla only offers semi-autonomous solutions in its "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving" features. The naming and marketing of those systems have sparked investigations and lawsuits over whether Tesla has put drivers at risk by overstating its vehicles' self-driving capabilities. A U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation published in April found that 542 crashes, including 14 with fatalities, had occurred in Tesla vehicles with Autopilot or FSD engaged between January 2018 and August 2023. Putting Autopilot and FSD into high-volume models, however, does give Tesla a distinct competitive advantage: A massive trove of data, collected by cameras on millions of vehicles, that it can analyze and use to develop self-driving tech. Two of the former Tesla engineers said the relatively low cost of its technology enables the massive scale of its data collection, compared with relatively tiny fleets of competitors like Waymo. One of the engineers said Tesla's high-resolution cameras cost far less than lidar and could eventually allow the automaker to produce fully autonomous vehicles customers can afford. Lidar uses lasers to produce three-dimensional images of a vehicle's surroundings as it navigates around obstacles. Speaking to analysts and investors this summer, Musk boasted of "exponential" improvement and predicted Tesla might achieve unsupervised driving "by the end of this year," adding that he would be "shocked if we cannot do it next year." Sasha Ostojic - a former driverless car engineer and software-development executive at Nvidia, Cruise and Zoox - said he believes it will take Tesla at least "three-plus years" just to match the level of autonomous driving Waymo achieves today. Ostojic now advises a Palo Alto venture capital firm, Playground Global, on technology investments. "I don't see Tesla converging toward truly 'eyes off, brain off'" autonomous driving, he said, "on the timelines Elon Musk has been promising." ERROR RATES AND EDGE CASES Tesla once dabbled in multiple autonomous-driving technologies, too, but it started removing radar from its vehicles in 2021 and 2022 and by last year removed ultrasonic sensors designed to detect objects with sound waves. The company's sole reliance on AI-enabled computer vision leaves it with the challenge of eliminating a small but unacceptable error rate that could result in injuries and deaths if left unchecked, with no human driver, said specialists in autonomous-driving technology. Missy Cummings, a robotics and AI professor at George Mason University and a former advisor to NHTSA, cited several studies that have shown computer vision is highly accurate but still fails to recognize objects about 3% of the time. "What happens if it doesn't see a pedestrian crossing the road or on the sidewalk?" she asked. John Krafcik, Waymo's former CEO, told Reuters the company's use of additional sensors including radar and lidar make it "orders of magnitude more capable than Tesla" in perceiving objects. It's technology is also more transparent when something goes wrong: The inability of end-to-end machine learning systems to pinpoint dangerous glitches "may be an intractable one for a company serious about safety," Krafcik said. "If one of your cars has a significant at-fault crash," he said, "one should be able to explain why it happened." Waymo did not comment. The former Tesla engineer who called its technology a "black box" said it's never clear how the automaker's system arrives at driving decisions. And that makes it hard to tell whether Tesla is close - and, if so, how close - to producing safe and fully autonomous vehicles. The engineer called it "impossible" for AI systems or their human engineers to anticipate every "edge case," no matter how much data it analyzes. "You could argue there are an infinite number of crazy things happening on the road," the engineer said.

Tesla unveils Cybercab robotaxi, sets 2026 production date By Investing.com

Investing.com-- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) unveiled its long-awaited Cybercab robotaxi on Thursday evening, with CEO Elon Musk claiming that the vehicle will go into production, optimistically, by 2026, and will cost less than $30,000. Tesla also unveiled the Robovan, an autonomous vehicle capable of seating up to 20 people, as well as an updated model of its humanoid robot, called "Optimus." Tesla made the reveals at its "We, Robot" event held at the Warner Bros studio near Los Angeles, California. The event was streamed live on X, and was delayed by a medical emergency. The Cybercab model has no steering wheel or pedals, and seats two. Musk has been teasing the model for nearly five years, although it will still need to clear a slew of regulatory hurdles before going into production. Musk said that Tesla will begin rolling out unsupervised, full self driving in some of its current models by 2025, and that the Cybercab will likely go into production by 2026. Musk claimed that the operating costs of the Cybercab will be around 20 cents a mile, without elaborating, and that the model would cost less than $30,000. "It'll save lives," Musk said, while claiming that autonomous vehicles will be "ten times" safer than human drivers. The new vehicles, as well as the Optimus robot, will incorporate artificial intelligence. Tesla's shift into AI and autonomous driving comes as the company grapples with a steady decline in sales, amid increased competition in top market China and sluggish sales in the West. The company is at risk of posting its first-ever decline in annual deliveries in 2024. On the robotaxi front, Tesla is still lagging companies such as Waymo and Cruise, which both offer robotaxi services in select American cities. But the services have been marked by numerous traffic incidents and even injuries. Tesla is also facing increased scrutiny over its claims of full self driving, especially after a couple of high-profile accidents involving the software.

Okay, Robotaxi looks cool. But how is this better than Model 2?

Tesla's Robotaxi event came and went last night, and we finally learned (very few) new details about the much-hyped car that CEO Elon Musk thinks will add $5 trillion to Tesla's market capitalization. But the main thing it left me (still) thinking is: why does this car even exist? Tesla has been talking about robotaxis for a long time, so of course it makes sense that it would unveil a robotaxi... right? But here's the rub: when Tesla first started talking about robotaxis, it was in the context of the Model 3 and other vehicles that the company already makes. As far back as 2016, Tesla was talking about "Tesla Network," a proposed system that would allow Tesla owners to send out their cars to work as taxis once the company had solved full self-driving. I mentioned all of this in my Tesla Model 3 review back in 2018, showing some of the details that indicated that Tesla was getting ready for this robotaxi future - such as the use of a phone as a key and an interior camera to keep tabs on occupants. And this wouldn't just be applicable to certain vehicles, but to all cars that Tesla makes. Because Tesla also said that all its cars come with the hardware for full self-driving as early as late 2016. Musk even went so far as to say that Tesla will stop selling cars once it solves autonomy. The idea is that those cars would be more profitable to keep around as robotaxis, that each would be worth $100k-$200k due to this function and that they should be considered "appreciating assets" as a result. (Though Musk did say last night that Tesla will sell Robotaxis for $30k, which runs counter to this past assertion of his). So there is a long history of Tesla referring to its vehicles as potential future robotaxis, rather than talking about an individual robotaxi product. And it even said the same last night, as there were 20 Robotaxis and 30 other Tesla vehicles shuttling people around at the event. Musk reiterated last night that all Tesla cars would be capable of full autonomy, and even said that existing cars would be driving all by themselves prior to when he said the Robotaxi will hit the road in 2026-2027 (though he stumbled and said "let's not get nuanced here" when he tried to specify further). But hey, maybe it makes sense to release an individual Robotaxi product that would be fully focused on this function and no other, in order to save cost and reduce complexity. That's certainly an argument, and Tesla's announced $30k starting price for the Robotaxi/Cybercab product (even Musk seemed unsure which name to call it) is a lower price than any vehicle the company has sold yet, and among the cheapest price we've ever seen for an EV (shout out to the all-time value winner, the now-defunct Chevy Bolt). Also, I have to say, it looked great out there. Compared to the previous renderings/models/spy shot we've seen, I thought the final product looked fantastic. If it were just a normal EV, with that design, a small sporty low 2-seater for about that price, I'm sold. A smaller car, without many of the creature comforts that might be desired by a driver, with more simplicity for less maintenance and easier cleaning, can certainly help to get costs down. And that's great and needed. A $30k vehicle will be available to more people than a $42k Model 3, the next-cheapest car Tesla currently sells. But.... why not a $25k Model 2 then? So if Tesla wants to have a cheaper, simpler car that is capable of robo-driving tasks, and if it's still clear that all of its vehicles will gain this capability, why doesn't it just make the cheaper, simpler car that it's been talking about for years: the Model 2. Not much was known about the Model 2, except that it would be a cheaper, smaller EV, starting at $25,000 - long thought to be the appropriate entry-level for consumer vehicles (the cheapest gas cars in America are around $17k - and a $25k EV would cost about the same after the $7,500 federal tax credit). But earlier this year, it was reported that Tesla was shutting down Model 2 development. Musk denied that report, but like many of Musk's denials, it turned out to be true. Instead, Musk directed the company to pivot to Robotaxi, and rhetorically, he has been talking a lot more about robotaxis, artificial general intelligence robots, and various other pie-in-the-sky promises, in keeping with the tech buzzword du jour.. But while there's a lot of demand in the stock market for CEOs who incessantly talk about AI, there's also a lot of demand in the car market for a cheap electric vehicle. And Tesla is a car company, after all, not a stock company (isn't it?). And what we do know from the event is that Tesla thinks they can make a self-driving electric vehicle for under $30k, and that that vehicle would be "over-specced" for what it is, using a more powerful AI computer than necessary. And they think they can do this within the next 2 years or so. If these two things are possible, I believe that those efforts would be better channeled towards the Model 2, rather than the Robotaxi. While Musk stated in the event that existing vehicles would be capable of full autonomy before the Robotaxi starts shipping, I don't think anyone believes this. After a decade of FSD coming "at the end of next year," the boy has thoroughly cried wolf and this timeline does not seem realistic. Further, Musk said that it would come to California and Texas first, pending regulatory approval. Even if Tesla does swiftly get regulatory approval in those states, that still limits the addressable market while it works to scale up and get approved in other regions. The process of homologating a Model 2 would go much more smoothly than that, and could be sold globally much faster. And while Tesla's car timelines also tend to slip by several years, with how long we've been talking about a "cheaper Tesla car" and its relative similarity to existing vehicles (as opposed to the vast differences involved in making a Cybertruck or Roadster), I also think the Model 2 could have been manufactured before Robotaxi could (especially when taking into account regulatory timelines). If that's the case, then wouldn't it be better for Tesla to make this car that I believe would be ready before Robotaxi will, that will fulfill a need for a lot of buyers right now (especially in a circumstance where affordable Chinese EVs are popular enough to force protectionist trade measures), that would have global appeal, and that will have all the capabilities of a Robotaxi once (or if) FSD finally ever gets solved? Now, perhaps part of the reason for Model 2's cancellation is because Tesla did not see enough cost-cutting possible to build an EV for $25k, or thought the level of cutting would be too severe to sell desirable consumer vehicles at that price. With a Robotaxi, perhaps customers would accept a more bare bones experience than in a Model 2 that they own as a personal vehicle, and maybe that's the only way that Tesla can get the price down. And there's something to be said for a vehicle that's fully autonomous-focused, with things like inductive charging and being designed for robo-vacuums to clean the car without human intervention (both were briefly glossed over in last night's presentation). But there's definitely demand for a cheaper, human-driven EV, and I think Tesla got the order wrong on this one - it would be better to sell a bunch of Model 2s earlier than a bunch of Robotaxis later, since I don't think full level 5 FSD, along with regulatory approval, is coming within the next year or two. Or... maybe all this AI talk is more about the stock than it is about actual products, as alluded to above. When Musk suggests that Robotaxi will be worth $5 trillion in market cap, when he goes on a months-long rampage at the company to sell his own stock grant package to shareholders, and when he goes on about long-term dreams and how Tesla is going to change the world in 6 huge ways next year alone (really next year this time, I promise), that feels less like a mature and achievable product timeilne and more like a set of actions that are driven by a desire to, let's say, make up for a really bad personal business decision that he funded on the back of TSLA's formerly-high share price. But if it is about that, it seems that Elon has run out of rope. The market, this time, doesn't seem too convinced. Maybe instead of sky-high promises that nobody thinks will be met, and that you are burning public trust with each time you make them (or uh, maybe that's happening for another reason)... people really do just want a cheaper car that everyone can buy. Make it.

Tesla is expected to unveil a robotaxi tonight: 5 things to know

Tesla CEO Elon Musk gestures at the Tenth Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California, on April 13, 2024. Tesla is hosting an event it's calling "We, Robot" in Hollywood on Thursday night. Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty images hide caption An idiosyncratic billionaire takes to the stage (with, perhaps, a humanoid robot by his side?) to unveil a futuristic technology that he promises will transform the world -- a vision alternately celebrated, mocked and feared. It's a scene straight out of Hollywood. And that's exactly where it's going to happen tonight -- on a Warner Brothers studio in Burbank, California. Tesla is calling the event "We, Robot." At 7 p.m. Pacific time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is expected to unveil the company's design for a dedicated robotaxi, a Tesla designed exclusively to ferry passengers without a driver -- a feat the company's semi-autonomous software has not yet demonstrated it can do. "The future will be streamed live," the company posted on X, the social media platform Musk owns. Here are 5 things to know about Tesla's big bet on autonomous driving. Tesla makes money selling electric vehicles -- in fact, its profit margins on its cars, which are consistently in the double digits, are enviable for an automaker. But Musk has his eye on the much fatter profit margins of the software industry. In addition to selling cars, Tesla sells an expensive software package called "Full Self Driving (Supervised)." It can autonomously direct a Tesla on a wide range of roads, and navigate stoplights, stop signs and pedestrians without human input ... most of the time. But it periodically requires a human to take over, which means it's not truly autonomous. Musk has always maintained that demand for the software will be much higher when it is fully autonomous -- in part because that would allow people to make money off their personal vehicles by lending them out, like a driverless Uber or Lyft. "The value of a fully electric autonomous fleet is generally gigantic -- boggles the mind, really." he told investors in 2021. "That will be one of the most valuable things that's ever done in the history of civilization." A custom-built vehicle just for robotaxi rides is a relatively new twist on Musk's vision. Expect to hear more about it on Thursday. Musk's become infamous for his overly enthusiastic estimates of how soon Tesla robotaxis will arrive. He's even taken to poking fun at himself for all the times he's been wrong. The problem is that while Tesla's software can drive a vehicle without human help much of the time, it's not yet reliable enough to drive unassisted all of the time. Companies like Alphabet's Waymo and GM's Cruise, meanwhile, have already sent driverless taxis onto streets -- although Cruise put human "safety drivers" back behind the wheel after a crash last year. The systems often have someone on call to assist remotely if a car gets stuck. But that's a far cry from needing constant oversight: According to data it supplied the state of California, Waymo drove nearly 1.2 million fully driverless miles last year with a total of 14 "disengagements," or times the software required manual control. Even for those companies, robotaxis aren't profitable yet. The auto market research giant J.D. Power recently surveyed people who have ridden in robotaxis and found that while passengers generally liked the experience, they don't find the taxis practical. Until they're cheaper and cover more ground, the pollsters concluded, "the service will remain a novelty transportation method." So if robotaxis already exist, why doesn't Tesla have this tech yet? There's a big difference between how other companies -- like Waymo, Cruise, the driverless trucking company Aurora and a host of startups -- approach autonomy, and how Tesla is trying to do it. Musk decided to build a system based only on relatively cheap cameras, with no other inputs; other companies also use radar and other pricey high-tech sensors. Musk also has embraced "end-to-end learning," where the artificial intelligence "learns" how to drive from raw data; other companies add human-designed rules and guardrails to their AI systems. Analyst George Gianarikas of Canaccord Genuity Group notes that Musk's approach requires billions of dollars of upfront investment in AI, but much cheaper hardware on vehicles. That's a combination that is expensive now, but would pay off if there were, say, millions of robotaxis on the road. Musk is adamant that Tesla's approach is superior. "Our entire road network is designed for biological neural nets" -- that is, human brains -- "and eyes, so naturally cameras and digital neural nets are the solution," Musk told investors earlier this year. Tesla also has enormous amounts of driving data from its vehicles on the road today. Other companies say this approach is not just wrong but dangerous. Aurora took the unusual step of preemptively emailing reporters ahead of Tesla's event this week to share bullet points about exactly what they object to. Those included concerns about making sure a system is learning good driving behaviors -- not bad ones, like running stop signs -- and that there are systems of checks and balances. "Tesla uses a 'train and pray' approach, where you fix a problem by throwing more data at the system," Aurora CPO Sterling Anderson said in a webcast, quoted in Aurora's email. "We find this to be problematic in a safety-critical industry where you need confidence and proof you've actually fixed it." Anderson used to work at Tesla, where he helped launch Tesla's Autopilot software, its first partial-automation system, the Aurora email notes. Waymo just snagged a former Tesla exec for its team, too. The United States still has no federal laws governing self-driving, so a patchwork of state and city regulators set the boundaries of what companies can and cannot do. Musk has always acknowledged that achieving full self-driving is not just a matter of technological innovation; if regulators aren't convinced a robotaxi fleet is safe, it isn't going anywhere. That has implications for the physical design of vehicles. Cruise recently abandoned plans for a futuristic robotaxi vehicle with no steering wheel, returning to a more conventional design that a human could operate, primarily to reduce the risk of running afoul of regulators. And governmental concerns could also affect software. Gianarikas says regulators who dig into the coding of a system built by "end-to-end" deep learning might not like what they find. "You can imagine a scenario where [regulators] just kind of have this moment, like 'What? You don't ... have any hard-coded software rules?" he says. "'How do you control it?'" Still, Gianarikas notes that while there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about a Tesla robotaxi fleet, Elon Musk has a track record of eventually proving skeptics wrong. The event's name -- "We, Robot" -- is a nod to a classic Isaac Asimov short story collection exploring the ethical and psychological implications of building increasingly human-like robots. It's also the title of a very vaguely related Will Smith action movie. That hints at the possibility that, in addition to a robotaxi, the reveal could feature Optimus, the humanoid robot Tesla has been developing as an autonomous laborer capable of doing repetitive tasks. "I think the long-term value of Optimus will exceed that of everything else at Tesla combined," Musk told investors this summer. "A humanoid robot that can do pretty much anything you asked of it. ... I think everyone on Earth is going to want one." Optimus, a black and white robot with a featureless face of smooth black glass, can walk -- in a stilted, gliding sort of way. Tesla has shared videos of it sorting objects, standing on one leg and dancing. Dan Ives, an analyst and a long-time Tesla bull, will be in attendance on Thursday night. He's less interested in androids and more in whether Musk can demonstrate a fully autonomous vehicle that actually works. "This needs to be a jaw-dropper type of event," he said -- hype and promises are not going to cut it. "Billions of dollars spent on this," said Ives. "This can't just be, "Get the popcorn out.'"

Tesla's Robotaxi Event Promised Utopia. It Was Still A Letdown

The "We, Robot" event was peak 2020s Tesla: A long wait, few specifics, tons of promises for a bright future. But for whom? The designs look great. I'll give them that. Franz von Holzhausen hasn't lost his touch. But for anyone who was expecting Tesla to settle the countless questions about how it will safely incorporate artificial intelligence into autonomous driving, or implement a robotaxi service that seems to be on the level of Uber or Lyft, or get past the scores of regulatory hurdles that a network of robotic taxis would face, the We, Robot event came up short. In case you didn't stay up late for this one, I'll direct you to the video broadcast of the event (do mind the 52-minute delay upfront in the form of a Windows Me screensaver backed by one of the more grating varieties of electronic music) or my colleague Mack Hogan's liveblog recap from last night. Suffice it to say, CEO Elon Musk, for the mere 20 minutes he was onstage at a Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California, did bring some surprises. We expected the Robotaxi, also known as the Cybercab, but we did not know how far its Cybertruck-inspired design might go. We really did not expect the Robovan, a seemingly 1930s Art Deco-inspired streamliner designed to move up to 20 people. And we also did not expect a move into inductive charging from Tesla -- the Cybercab will, according to Musk, not have a charging port at all. It would be fascinating to know more about how that could work, what its charging time and speed could be, and how it could be incorporated into future Tesla models. Or what platform or platform these vehicles could use and where they'll be made. Or exactly how their self-driving systems can be "10, 20, 30 times safer than a human driver" as Musk claims, without using LIDAR or other advanced sensors like the rest of the industry. But we didn't get into any of that. What we got instead was Musk narrating a video presentation followed by short, closed-course demo rides in an extremely controlled environment. This might feel impressive if you couldn't hail a Waymo taxi in San Francisco right now that can do about 100 times more than that. Put more bluntly, it would've been impressive in 2016, which is about how old all of Musk's promises around autonomy are. For an event that was supposed to be make or break for Tesla's stock price, as Barron's put it, or the day when the bill is finally due, to quote The Verge, it was all more than a little underwhelming. After all, Musk has been very clear that he is staking the company's $1 trillion potential market cap on "solving" autonomy and self-driving cars. As slick as this showcase was tonight, there was little indication that Tesla is close to doing so. I'm not the only one who thought as much. "The event, frankly, was a bit of a letdown," that same Barron's author wrote this morning. "Tesla... talked about starting limited robotaxi service as early as 2025. But there wasn't much technical safety detail or discussion for Tesla executives besides Elon Musk. Most of what Musk said has been said before." Edmunds' Head of Insights, Jessica Caldwell, said the event painted "an ideal future for transportation that promises to both free up our time and increase safety," but agreed that Musk offered little in the way of a roadmap on how to get there. "Making the leap from where we are today to full autonomy (particularly through unsupervised vehicles with zero steering or pedals) is so gargantuan, technology-wise, that it feels overly ambitious in such a short period of time," Caldwell said. "Regulatory approval will be required along with major buy-in from the public in order for vehicles like the robotaxi to manifest prior to 2027 as part of the everyday consumer experience because public safety is a major question." Details, I suppose, to those in the crowd last night. From what I could see watching from afar, the We, Robot event had a joyous feel to it -- Optimus robots walking through the crowd and making drinks, Tesla's biggest fans and supporters going for Cybercab rides and Musk himself promising a coming "age of abundance" where "anyone will be able to have any products and services they want." Yet that wildly optimistic tone stood in stark contrast to Musk himself as of late, who's become the doomsday preacher of the digital age after acquiring the social media platform Twitter and transforming it into the dark fountain of misinformation and hate speech that is X. Just in the past few days alone, it's not hard at all to find examples of Musk railing against immigrants and spreading dangerous lies amid some of the worst natural disasters the U.S. has ever seen. And that comes after more than a year of, among many other things, using that platform to make life miserable for queer and trans kids. You may roll your eyes as you read the above and tell me to "stick to cars." But at this point, Musk won't do that, or can't, so why should anyone else? With so few details about how Tesla aims to deliver this supposedly prosperous and utopian future, Earth has little to go on but faith in the man himself. And that man is not to be underestimated, both in terms of his own drive and his considerable resources. Everything he said last night, and recently makes me wonder who this "age of abundance" is supposed to be for -- and who will be included in it. (More than that, I wonder how a company ostensibly founded to battle climate change intends to deliver some forthcoming age of unlimited everything.) But in the end, the We, Robot event was less about the future and more about funding it. If this event was "successful" -- and reactions to it seem considerably more muted than any Tesla superfan must have wanted -- it will keep the stock pumped up a little while longer, all while Musk can reassure us that the future is right around the corner, just a year or two away. Just as it's always been.

Musk, Tesla unveil long-awaited "Cybercab" robotaxi

Los Angeles -- Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, though fans of the electric vehicle maker will have to wait until at least 2026 before it's available. CEO Elon Musk pulled up to a stage at the Warner Bros. studio lot in one of the company's "Cybercabs," telling the crowd the sleek, AI-powered vehicles don't have steering wheels or pedals. He also expressed confidence in the progress the company has made on autonomous driving technology that makes it possible for vehicles to drive without human intervention. Tesla began selling the software, which is called "Full Self-Driving," nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability. "We'll move from supervised Full Self-Driving to unsupervised Full Self-Driving, where you can fall asleep and wake up at your destination," he said. "It's going to be a glorious future." Tesla expects the Cybercabs to cost under $30,000, Musk said. He estimated that the vehicles would become available in 2026, then added "before 2027." The company also expects to make the Full Self-Driving technology available on its popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Texas and California next year. "If they're going to eventually get to robotaxis, they first need to have success with the unsupervised FSD at the current lineup," said Seth Goldstein, equity strategist at Morningstar Research. "Tonight's event showed that they're ready to take that step forward." Tesla had 20 or so Cybercabs on hand and offered event attendees the opportunity to take rides inside the movie studio lot - not on Los Angeles' roads. At the presentation, which was dubbed "We, Robot" and was streamed live on Tesla's website and X, Musk also revealed a sleek minibus-looking vehicle that, like the Cybercab, would be self-driving and can carry up to 20 passengers. The company also trotted out several of its black and white Optimus humanoid robots, which walked a few feet from the attendees before showing off dance moves in a futuristic-looking gazebo. Musk estimated that the robots would cost between $28,000-$30,000 and would be able to babysit, mow lawns and fetch groceries, among other tasks. "Whatever you can think of, it will do," he said. The unveiling of the Cybercab comes as Musk tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an aging lineup of electric vehicles. Tesla's model lineup is struggling and isn't likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, TD Cowen analyst Jeff Osborne wrote in a research note last week. Osborne also noted that, in TD Cowen's view, the "politicization of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democratic buyers in the U.S. Musk has endorsed former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend, he joined Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. Musk has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, enabling Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they're not being used by their owners. But he's acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. The announcement comes as U.S. safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence that it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. In addition, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it enabled speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it's evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department also has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items.

Elon Musk's Cybercab Is a Money-Burning Folly

On Thursday, Elon Musk will announce a project he's been promising for nearly a decade: a self-driving, on-demand electric vehicle he calls the Cybercab. The details so far have been scarce. Despite the similar etymology, it probably won't look much like the Cybertruck, the geodesic land rocket that Tesla started selling in low numbers last year. What's important in this case isn't so much the car's design as it is the way owners use it -- not just as a personal vehicle but as an autonomous taxi that anyone can rent out. He has staked the very future of Tesla on this enormous pivot, and Wall Street has rewarded his vision. But how the Cybercab's business model is supposed to work -- and make money -- isn't clear. As of now, it looks like Musk is taking a well-known, profitable brand and swapping it for an experimental and currently money-burning one, and there's no real road map for making it a success. The Cybercab announcement arrives near the end of a tumultuous year for Tesla. The company started 2024 down more than 40 percent from its 2021 peak, then dipped dramatically again until early April. (Musk's embrace of Trump, enthusiasm for white-nationalist anti-immigrant policy, and recently resolved legal war with Brazil have not been helping). As spring approached, the Cybertruck remained a sideshow, and investors were wondering when Tesla would add a new car to its aging fleet. It was around this time that Musk first revived the idea of a self-driving taxi, which he would later double down on as the very future of the company. "The value of Tesla, overwhelmingly, is autonomy," he said during a July investor call. "I recommend anyone who doesn't believe that Tesla will solve digital autonomy should not hold Tesla stock. They should sell their Tesla stock." Tesla, of course, is not new to automation. Its vehicles come with the so-called Full Self Driving system (though it is not, in fact, fully automated, and has reportedly been the subject of a criminal investigation). And Musk built what he claimed to be the world's largest A.I. data center outside Memphis. But his vision to overhaul Tesla isn't just about a tech company upgrading its software with more A.I. -- it's a complete overhaul of how he plans on making Tesla profitable. The idea of the robotaxi is, broadly, that customers would be able to hail a cab much like an Uber, only for an autonomous Tesla to pull up. Presumably, Musk would get a cut of any fares, taking some pressure off the company as it sells fewer cars. In broad strokes, this makes sense. Tesla is making less profit per car than it used to now that electric vehicles are commonplace and the Big Three manufacturers are rolling out competitive models of their own. Uber shares, meanwhile, are near an all-time high. So why not just mash the two businesses together? "It's not about making money today, but making people believe they're going to make money in ten years," said Thomas Monteiro, an analyst who follows the company for Investing.com. The problem is in the finer details. Musk is venturing into a new kind of business -- essentially chauffeuring -- that will use enormously expensive computing power, while relying on pricy technical instruments, and then will likely have to either cover insurance costs or saddle drivers with higher payments. Driverless taxis are already on the road in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. The dominant company is Waymo, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet. But despite its rising popularity, Waymo lost $2 billion during the first half of this year, and its operating costs are kept close to the vest. In July, Alphabet committed another $5 billion to the company. And there's reason to think that these costs would be higher for another company -- after all, this is Google we're talking about. Since robotaxi technology is, essentially, built around the same kind of pattern-matching A.I. ideas behind ChatGPT, you could expect that the massive power and computing costs for operating a fleet of vehicles would run into the billions. Even a company as large as Tesla may not have the scale to bring down costs as low as Google or OpenAI. The Silicon Valley playbook, which has been remarkably successful, is to throw investor cash at expenses, subsidizing a product the public falls in love with. The price of that product eventually falls, but by that point the company that got there first will already dominate the market. (See: Uber.) Musk does not want to cede the streets of the world's tech capital to Google -- especially after he allegedly had an affair with Sergey Brin's wife. But autonomous vehicles come with costs that no car company has ever had to pay for. The core hurdle is safety. Musk and other robotaxi boosters will claim that of course Cybercabs are safe, usually more so than humans. But the research isn't so clear. According to a study published in Nature, automated vehicles were more prone to accidents than human drivers during dawn, dusk, or when turning -- in other words, during rush hour and on streets that are more likely to have pedestrians. Who would be on the hook for an accident? According to MarketWatch, Waymo pays the auto insurance for its cars since its technology actually does the driving. Insurers are already trying to figure out how, exactly, they are going to cover robotaxi crashes, which would be far more expensive than traditional car accidents. "Replacing a conventional windshield costs a few hundred dollars; it's many times more for one infused with sensors. That has implications for carrier operations, and even their solvency," according to an industry journal. Tesla's sales model seems designed to mitigate some of those costs, since California law requires title owners to pay for insurers. But if that's the case, why would somebody allow their luxury car to be used by strangers as a taxi and then have to assume the cost of anything going wrong? And are there really enough people out there willing to do this that the fares and subscription costs would make up for lower sales? Musk has never really addressed these kinds of concerns, and it's unlikely that he'll dive into them on Thursday. But if he keeps wanting Wall Street to throw money at his vision of a driverless future, he will have to explain how the driverless car business is supposed to make money on its own. "Tesla is running out of options, if you look at the bigger picture," Monteiro said. "Is this going to be the huge game changer that revolutionizes the industry forever? I highly doubt it."

Tesla Unveils Its Cybercab, Robovan, and More -- What You Need To Know

Tesla also showcased its Optimus humanoid robot, which Musk said he believes could become "the biggest product ever, of any kind." Tesla (TSLA) unveiled its highly anticipated "Cybercab" robotaxi, "Robovan," and more at the electric vehicle maker's "We, Robot" event Thursday. CEO Elon Musk, who rolled into the event at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California in a Cybercab to demonstrate its fully autonomous capabilities, said the vehicle comes without a steering wheel or pedals, and can be charged wirelessly. Musk said the Cybercab will enable "individualized mass transit," and could help bring down transit costs, among other benefits. It will become available for purchase for under $30,000, he said, describing a future in which owners could manage fleets of the vehicles. Tesla also revealed a larger robotaxi called a Robovan, that can seat up to 20 passengers at a time, or be used to transport goods. Musk said he expects Tesla's fully autonomous driving capabilities will come to Texas and California by next year with the Model 3 and Model Y, with the Cybercab in production by 2026. Musk suggested that autonomous driving supported by artificial intelligence could also make driving 10-20 times safer, and invited attendees at the event to take rides in the Cybercab and Robovan. At the event, Musk showcased Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot as well, with some helping serve drinks, dance, and perform other functions at the event. Musk said he believe the humanoid robot, which will become available for between $20,000 and $30,000, could become "the biggest product ever, of any kind." While a release date was not offered, the CEO has previously said Optimus already performs some "simple factory tasks" in Tesla's labs, could be expected to be in Tesla's factory by the end of 2024, and may be ready for external sale by the end of 2025. Tesla shares were little changed in extended trading following the announcements. While Tesla shares have mostly recovered from a steep selloff in the first half of the year, they remained about 4% lower for 2024. For years, Musk has been saying a fully autonomous Tesla vehicle could be coming soon, and the announcements come after the event was delayed from its original date in August, adding more pressure on Tesla to impress with fresh developments worth the wait. Tesla could provide more details about its plans along with its third-quarter results after the closing bell on Oct. 23.

Tesla's big 'We, Robot' event criticized for 'parlor tricks' and vague timelines for robots, Cybercab, Robovan

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Elon Musk's publicly traded electric vehicle company Tesla, Inc. hosted its highly anticipated "We Robot" event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Discovery Studios in Burbank, California and streamed it live on his social network X and YouTube. Despite showing off slick prototypes of a new "Cybercab" autonomous car without a steering wheel or gas and brake pedals, and a similarly sparse, art deco retrofuturistic "Robovan" capable of seating 20 passengers, the event was criticized by some prominent observers as being more style than substance, lacking precise details on timelines, costs, and legal issues, and even coming across as misleading in some cases. The most glaring example of potentially misleading information was Tesla's move to have its still in-development humanoid Optimus robots filling the venue space and interacting with attendees, even serving drinks at a bar. While some present assumed the robots were entirely autonomous, reports confirmed they were teleoperated -- meaning controlled by a human in another room. "Not wholly AI? Not at all AI," wrote venture capitalist Josh Wolfe, co-founder of Lux Capital on Musk's social network X. "Totally worthy to celebrate low latency remote control but totally dishonest to demo these as autonomous robots -- call it the parlor trick it is." This skepticism raises questions about how far Tesla has truly advanced in developing artificial intelligence for robotics. While Musk touted the Optimus, Cybercab and Robotaxi as tremendously impactful inventions for society, EV reviewers The Kilowatts noted on X that much of the technology will remain "unbelievable" to investors and consumers until it is actually shipped. For now, Tesla's vision of fully autonomous personal robots as well as new autonomous electric vehicle types remains more speculative than realistic. Here's the video of the event embedded below and a summary of what was discussed: Cybercab: all autonomous and cheaper than a bus or Model 3? Perhaps the most expected of the announcements was Tesla's Cybercab, a two-seater electric vehicle designed for autonomous operation. Musk described the Cybercab as a sleek, more compact version of the Cybertruck, and it will reportedly cost less than $30,000 -- below the current price of Tesla's currently most affordable personal vehicle, the Model, which debuted at $35,000 in 2019 but has since seen its price rise to around $42,000. According to Musk, Tesla aims for the Cybercab's operating cost to between $0.20 and $0.30 per mile compared to the operational cost of a bus, which he placed at around $1 per mile. The vehicles themselves would be powered by inductive (wireless) charging, eliminating the need for plug-in charging stations and further integrating autonomous cars into the urban landscape. The promise of an individualized "mass transit" future has long been part of Musk's vision, and the Cybercab is a key component of that goal. During the event, Musk proudly displayed 20 Cybercabs driving autonomously around the venue. He emphasized that the Cybercab is part of a broader effort to make cities safer, cleaner, and more efficient. Tesla's AI Vision system, trained on millions of cars, allows these vehicles to operate without the fatigue and distractions that affect human drivers. Musk claimed that Tesla's autonomous technology could eventually make driving 10 to 30 times safer than human operation. He also floated the idea that autonomous car owners could manage fleets of vehicles, offering ride-hailing services similar to Uber or Lyft. This business model, if successful, could reshape the gig economy and create new opportunities for individuals to generate income. However, while the Cybercab's debut was met with enthusiasm, industry insiders raised concerns about the lack of concrete details surrounding its rollout. Musk indicated that production on the Cybercab would begin between "probably" in 2026 or "before 2027," but admitted he "tend[ed] to be a little optimistic with timeframes." And indeed, Tesla has historically struggled with meeting deadlines for its more ambitious projects such as its Full Self-Driving (FSD) and even shipping the Cybertruck, which Musk at one point suggested would be waterproof enough to act as a boat for short journeys (it is not and cannot). And as Washington Post technology journalist Faiz Siddiqui noted on X, the entire We, Robot event livestream was preceded by a heft disclaimer from Tesla stating, in part, that "Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions with respect to the future, are based on management's current expectations, involve certain risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement." While the vision of affordable autonomous transportation is compelling, much remains uncertain about when -- or if -- Tesla can deliver on these promises. Robovan: Tesla's answer to buses, trains, and mass transit Another key reveal at the event was Tesla's Robovan, a large autonomous vehicle designed to transport up to 20 passengers or goods. Musk positioned the Robovan as a potential solution for high-density urban transport, hinting at a future where autonomous shuttles replace conventional buses. The Robovan represents a vision of more efficient, less congested cities where autonomous vehicles run frequently enough to eliminate the need for large, underutilized parking lots. Musk suggested that, over time, cities could convert parking spaces into parks, improving quality of life in urban areas. Some technology observers such as Brian Roemmele on X were overjoyed at the news, especially the Robovan's sleek, striking art deco design, even predicting that "100s of 1000s" or hundreds of thousands of people would be living in Robovans converted into mobile homes by 2031. Despite these ambitious goals and praise, critics were quick to point out that Tesla offered no specific timeline for the Robovan's production. X user Facts Chaser noted that while Tesla unveiled a prototype, China already has operational autonomous vans in real urban environments. Tesla Full Self-Driving coming to Texas and California next year? A recurring theme at the We Robot event was Musk's long-held belief that autonomous vehicles will revolutionize urban life by reducing traffic, improving safety, and reclaiming public spaces. Tesla's plans to launch fully unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) in Texas and California by 2025 were highlighted as a pivotal moment in this transformation. The rollout will begin with the Model 3 and Model Y, followed by the Cybertruck and eventually the Cybercab. Musk painted a picture of a future where autonomous vehicles are used up to ten times more frequently than today's cars, dramatically increasing their value. However, despite Musk's optimism, several hurdles remain. Tesla has faced significant regulatory challenges in deploying its FSD technology, and autonomous driving technology in general has not yet reached the Level 4 autonomy necessary for vehicles to operate without human oversight. Optimus: your future household helper? Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot also took center stage at the event. Musk introduced the robot as a personal assistant capable of performing everyday tasks like babysitting, walking dogs, mowing lawns, or even serving drinks at parties. The robot was showcased interacting with and speaking with attendees, even bartending and playing halting games of "rock, paper, scissors" impressing many with its potential versatility. According to Musk, at scale, Optimus could be sold for $20,000 to $30,000, making it a possible addition to millions of households. However, he again provided no specific timeline for its release, nor publicly answered questions about how the robot would handle adverse situations like a dog or child running away, breaking something, or causing other problems and mischief, let alone ensuring the robot would be able to handle said common situations safely and without harming others in the process. Safety, legal and regulatory challenges remain One of the biggest challenges facing Tesla as it pushes for widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles and robots is regulatory approval. While Musk's vision of autonomous transport is bold, it is fraught with legal and safety concerns. Vehicles like the Cybercab, which lack steering wheels and pedals, will need to comply with strict safety standards before they can be sold or used on public roads. Tesla's existing FSD technology has already come under scrutiny from regulators following several high-profile accidents involving Tesla vehicles operating under partial autonomy. For Tesla to achieve Level 4 autonomy -- where a vehicle can operate without human intervention under specific conditions -- it will need to prove that its systems can reliably handle a wide range of driving scenarios without putting passengers or pedestrians at risk. Spammers take advantage of the attention The We Robot event attracted significant online attention, though the livestream was marred by a flood of bots and spammers promoting an unrelated cryptocurrency token, XAI33x. Despite the disruption, Tesla fans were generally enthusiastic about the future Musk presented, although many were left with lingering doubts about the timelines and feasibility of some of the announcements.

Insight: Tesla gambles on 'black box' AI tech for robotaxis

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Tesla aims to stun investors Thursday night with its long-awaited "robotaxi unveil," a potential milestone after a decade of Elon Musk's unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving vehicles. The automaker is widely expected to showcase a prototype called the "Cybercab" rather than a road-ready driverless taxi. Convincing regulators and passengers of the vehicle's safety could prove much harder and take much longer -- while its main competitors, such as Alphabet's Waymo, expand robotaxi fleets they're already operating in select cities today. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Tesla has to date pursued a different technological path than all of its major self-driving rivals - one with potentially higher rewards but also higher risks to both its business and its passengers, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen executives, consultants and academics specializing in self-driving technology and three former Tesla autonomous-vehicle engineers. Tesla's strategy relies solely on a combination of "computer vision," which aims to use cameras the way humans use eyes, with an artificial-intelligence technology called end-to-end machine learning that instantly translates the images into driving decisions. Advertisement · Scroll to continue That technology already underpins its "Full Self-Driving" driver-assistance feature that, despite its name, can't be operated safely without a human driver. Musk has said Tesla is using the same approach to develop fully autonomous robotaxis. Tesla's competitors - including Waymo, Amazon's Zoox, General Motors' Cruise and a host of Chinese firms - use the same technology but typically layer on redundant systems and sensors such as radar, lidar and sophisticated mapping to ensure safety and win regulatory approval for their driverless vehicles. Tesla's strategy is simpler, and much cheaper, but has two critical weaknesses, industry executives, autonomous-vehicle experts and one of the Tesla engineers told Reuters. Without the layered technologies used by its peers, Tesla's system struggles more with so-called "edge cases" -- rare driving scenarios that self-driving systems and their human engineers struggle to anticipate. The other major challenge: The end-to-end AI technology is a "black box," the Tesla engineer said, making it "nearly impossible" to "see what went wrong when it misbehaves and causes an accident." The inability to precisely identify such failures, he said, makes it difficult to safeguard against them. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on its technology. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang used the same "black box" description in an interview to describe the weaknesses of end-to-end technology, without specifically addressing Tesla's system. End-to-end artificial intelligence involves training a computer to make decisions directly from raw data, with no intermediate steps requiring additional engineering or programming. Nvidia, the world's leading producer of AI-computing chips, also uses end-to-end technology in autonomous-driving systems it's developing and plans to sell to automakers. But Nvidia, Huang told Reuters, combines that approach with more conventional computing systems and additional sensors such as radar and lidar. The end-to-end technology usually -- but not always -- makes the best driving decisions, said Huang, which is why Nvidia takes a more conservative approach. "We have to build the future step-by-step," he said. "We cannot go directly to the future. It's too unsafe." ROBOTAXI PIVOT Tesla's ability to deliver robotaxis has taken on heightened importance this year as its sales and profits have declined amid softening electric-vehicle demand globally and fierce competition from rising Chinese EV makers. If Tesla can overcome the technical challenges of its autonomous strategy, the payoff could be enormous. While competitors like Waymo already have robotaxis on the road, they're operating far more expensive vehicles in relatively small, comprehensively mapped zones. Tesla aims to sell affordable robotaxis that can drive themselves anywhere. Musk has a long history of bold promises about self-driving cars. In 2016, he predicted drivers would be able to summon their vehicles from across the country within two years. In 2019, Musk predicted Tesla would produce operational robotaxis by 2020. The announcement of this week's robotaxi reveal came on April 5, the day Reuters exclusively reported that Tesla had abandoned plans to build a $25,000 electric vehicle for the masses known informally as the Model 2, initially sending Tesla shares down. Musk responded by posting, opens new tab later that day on his X social-media platform: "Robotaxi unveil on 8/8," sparking intense investor speculation. Tesla later delayed the event until this week. That April day marked a fundamental shift in Musk's stated priorities. He had previously promised to make Tesla a Toyota-sized EV giant, an expectation that underpinned Tesla's soaring stock price, making it the world's most valuable automaker. Now he vowed to dominate self-driving tech. Abrupt cost-cutting measures followed, including mass layoffs, as Musk diverted investment away from EV-manufacturing priorities such as battery development, gigacasting, and expansion of the automaker's Supercharger network. The retreat from mass-market EVs only intensified investor pressure on Tesla's autonomous-vehicle development. Musk leaned into the scrutiny, saying in April that anyone doubting Tesla will "solve autonomy" shouldn't invest in the company. Nicholas Mersch, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments, a Tesla investor, said Musk "has a lot of convincing to do." Still, Mersch called Musk's autonomy strategy a "really bold bet" with a potentially immense payoff, even if it takes Tesla substantially more time to crack the code. "You have to keep the big picture in mind, in terms of how much iterative innovation is happening" at Tesla, he said. "I wouldn't discount them." DATA DRIVEN For now, unlike its robotaxi competitors, Tesla only offers semi-autonomous solutions in its "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving" features. The naming and marketing of those systems have sparked investigations and lawsuits over whether Tesla has put drivers at risk by overstating its vehicles' self-driving capabilities. A U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation published in April found that 542 crashes, including 14 with fatalities, had occurred in Tesla vehicles with Autopilot or FSD engaged between January 2018 and August 2023. Putting Autopilot and FSD into high-volume models, however, does give Tesla a distinct competitive advantage: A massive trove of data, collected by cameras on millions of vehicles, that it can analyze and use to develop self-driving tech. Two of the former Tesla engineers said the relatively low cost of its technology enables the massive scale of its data collection, compared with relatively tiny fleets of competitors like Waymo. One of the engineers said Tesla's high-resolution cameras cost far less than lidar and could eventually allow the automaker to produce fully autonomous vehicles customers can afford. Lidar uses lasers to produce three-dimensional images of a vehicle's surroundings as it navigates around obstacles. Speaking to analysts and investors this summer, Musk boasted of "exponential" improvement and predicted Tesla might achieve unsupervised driving "by the end of this year," adding that he would be "shocked if we cannot do it next year." Sasha Ostojic - a former driverless car engineer and software-development executive at Nvidia, Cruise and Zoox - said he believes it will take Tesla at least "three-plus years" just to match the level of autonomous driving Waymo achieves today. Ostojic now advises a Palo Alto venture capital firm, Playground Global, on technology investments. "I don't see Tesla converging toward truly 'eyes off, brain off'" autonomous driving, he said, "on the timelines Elon Musk has been promising." ERROR RATES AND EDGE CASES Tesla once dabbled in multiple autonomous-driving technologies, too, but it started removing radar from its vehicles in 2021 and 2022 and by last year removed ultrasonic sensors designed to detect objects with sound waves. The company's sole reliance on AI-enabled computer vision leaves it with the challenge of eliminating a small but unacceptable error rate that could result in injuries and deaths if left unchecked, with no human driver, said specialists in autonomous-driving technology. Missy Cummings, a robotics and AI professor at George Mason University and a former advisor to NHTSA, cited several studies that have shown computer vision is highly accurate but still fails to recognize objects about 3% of the time. "What happens if it doesn't see a pedestrian crossing the road or on the sidewalk?" she asked. John Krafcik, Waymo's former CEO, told Reuters the company's use of additional sensors including radar and lidar make it "orders of magnitude more capable than Tesla" in perceiving objects. It's technology is also more transparent when something goes wrong: The inability of end-to-end machine learning systems to pinpoint dangerous glitches "may be an intractable one for a company serious about safety," Krafcik said. "If one of your cars has a significant at-fault crash," he said, "one should be able to explain why it happened." Waymo did not comment. The former Tesla engineer who called its technology a "black box" said it's never clear how the automaker's system arrives at driving decisions. And that makes it hard to tell whether Tesla is close -- and, if so, how close -- to producing safe and fully autonomous vehicles. The engineer called it "impossible" for AI systems or their human engineers to anticipate every "edge case," no matter how much data it analyzes. "You could argue there are an infinite number of crazy things happening on the road," the engineer said. Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Austin, Texas and Chris Kirkham in Los Angeles; editing by Anna Driver and Brian Thevenot Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Chris Kirkham Thomson Reuters Chris Kirkham is a business reporter in Los Angeles who has covered topics including tobacco, worker safety, internet privacy and corporate sustainability efforts. Chris previously worked at The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times.

Wall Street Breakfast: Place Your Bets

It's finally here. Tesla (TSLA) will hold its 'We Robot' event tonight at 10 pm Eastern time at Warner Bros' Hollywood studio near Los Angeles. The event was delayed from August 8, which raised expectations that Tesla will show a working prototype and lay out an aggressive autonomous driving plan. Some are hoping the event will be a significant catalyst for TSLA shares, but a majority of Wall Street Breakfast subs expect only a slight gain or dip. What to expect: While Tesla has kept the design of the robotaxi a secret, sources told Bloomberg that the Cybercab has two front seats and two doors that open upward like butterfly wings. There has also been plenty of speculation that Tesla will show off a new cheaper model, a robovan capable of carrying up to 12 people, a new version of the Optimus humanoid robot, plans for an autonomous semi, and other AI use cases. Word on the Street: Wedbush analyst Dan Ives expects Tesla to unveil game-changing autonomous technology, adding that it is a powerful robotics/AI play in the future rather than just an electric vehicle maker. Of course, there is the risk that Tesla underwhelms investors. "If they show something that doesn't actually demonstrate the technology, a prototype of a vehicle that doesn't move, that's going to go over like a lead balloon," warned Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster. SA commentary: "I believe the robotaxi event is priced into shares and any movement post-event will be the result of tactical and momentum trading," said Seeking Alpha analyst Michael Del Monte. Luca Socci prefers to profit from TSLA's recent surge and redeploy gains elsewhere. But PropNotes is more bullish, forecasting shares to be worth $250-$350 by next week, after exploring three potential outcomes from the event.

Elon Musk unveils Tesla's Cybercab -- no steering wheel, no pedals

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled his new robo-taxi Thursday, and, in true Tesla fashion, the much-anticipated autonomous vehicle rolled in nearly an hour late -- right on schedule for a product that's been delayed time and time again. But fans didn't mind, as Musk delivered not just the long-awaited vehicle but also an AI robot named Optimus that can bartend for you and a driverless robo-van that can shuttle sports teams to games. The robo-taxi debuted at Tesla's "We, Robot" event Thursday, held at Warner Bros. Discovery's movie studio in Burbank, California, and was also live-streamed on X. The event, which was scheduled to start at 7 PT, didn't begin until 7:53 p.m. The delay sparked speculation and jokes online, but Musk said the hold-up was caused by a medical emergency in the crowd. Musk rolled up in the new Cybercab model, with an astronaut ushering him into the vehicle and aerial footage capturing his autonomous trip through the movie studio backlot and to the event stage. "There are no steering wheels or pedals in the car. So I hope this goes well, we'll find out," Musk said chuckling on stage after exiting the vehicle to begin his presentation. Musk has been teasing autonomous capabilities in Tesla vehicles for years, making one of his most dramatic promises in 2019, when he said the company was preparing an entire fleet of ride-sharing vehicles and predicted there would be "over a million robo-taxis on the road" by 2020. That didn't happen. Then, in April of this year, Musk announced on X that the Tesla Robotaxi would finally be revealed on August 8. That was pushed back, due to "an important design change." On Thursday, Tesla fans finally got what they have been waiting for, with the crowd cheering as Musk vowed owners would be able to make money using their Cybercab as a rideshare vehicle when they're not driving. "So the vast majority of the time, cars are just doing nothing. But if they're autonomous they can be used, I don't know five-times more, maybe ten times more," Musk told the crowd. "So, the same car would have five times as much value, maybe ten times as much value. "And you'll be able to buy one," he added. "We expect the cost to be under $30,000." So, when will it hit the market? Musk threw out the date "before 2027," noting: "I tend to be a little optimistic with time frames." Musk also unveiled the new Tesla Robovan, which can seat up to 20 people, though no production date or price were mentioned for the product. Finally, Musk revealed Optimus, a human-sized AI robot that "can babysit your kids" or help around the house. At the Thursday debut, the robots were seen wearing cowboy hats, serving drinks at the bar, dancing in sync on a stage and playing rock-paper-scissors with spectators. "Please be nice to the Optimus robots," Musk said, "they'll walk among you." When Musk wrapped his presentation, guests were able to explore the new vehicle models and interact with Optimus robots. And the autonomous vehicles did a sort of fashion-show, driving themselves down the street and past the crowds. Now only time will tell on the rollout of the new products, though Beijing has reportedly already given Tesla tentative approval to launch full self-driving -- its assisted-driving service -- in China. Musk's vision of a driverless future may still be a ways off. But if there's one thing Tesla fans have learned, it's to expect the unexpected -- and to bring snacks to wait for potential delays.

Elon Musk Unveils Tesla's Robotaxi, a Self-Driving Car With No Steering Wheel or Pedals - IGN

Tesla boss Elon Musk has revealed a number of new autonomous products, including the Robotaxi. At his 'We, Robot' event held at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, Musk, who also owns social network X/Twitter, showed off a silver-chrome hued Robotaxi, which has no steering wheel or pedals. Instead, it uses AI to navigate roads and charges via induction. As reported by CNET, Musk said Robotaxi, which he also called Cybercab at various points, will cost below $30,000 and roll out before 2027. "I think it's going to be a glorious future," he declared. Next up, Musk revealed the Robovan, a larger autonomous vehicle for up to 20 people. It can also be used to transport goods, Musk added. "With autonomy, you get your time back," Musk said, pointing to the possibility for people to do other things like work, use a phone, or watch a movie while taking a ride in one of Tesla's autonomous cars. There's no price or release window for Robovan. Musk insisted that autonomous cars will be safer than those people drive. "It'll save lives, like a lot of lives, and prevent injuries," he said. "I think we'll see autonomous cars become 10 times safer than a human." Before Robotaxi and Robovan come out, Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y vehicles will move from supervised self-driving to unsupervised-self driving, starting with California and Texas in 2025, and then elsewhere in the U.S. and the rest of the world depending on regulatory approval, Musk said. And finally, Musk showed off the latest version of Tesla Bot, which he insisted can do things like babysit, go shopping, and serve you drinks. It'll cost between $20,000 and $30,000. Musk said Tesla had "made a lot of progress" with Tesla Bot, dubbed Optimus. During the event the humanoid robots mingled with attendees serving drinks. Some even gathered to dance to Daft Punk's Robot Rock. There's a long road ahead of Tesla before Robotaxi and Robovan hit the market, and Tesla itself doesn't have a great track record when it comes to this sort of thing. As The Guardian pointed out, in February 2023, Tesla was pressured to recall full self-driving vehicles by U.S. safety regulators due to the system allowing speeding and other traffic violations. Tesla fixed the issue with a software update. Then, in April this year, regulators announced an investigation into full self-driving and autopilot systems and whether Tesla was doing enough to make sure the human drivers were paying attention, after a reported 20 crashes involving autopilot following the earlier recall. In December 2023, more than two million Tesla vehicles were recalled over a safety issue related to the Autopilot software.

Tesla's Cybercab reveal: Is this the 'ChatGPT moment for robotaxis'?

Elon Musk has unveiled Tesla's newest vehicle: a self-driving car he calls the "Cybercab". The tech tycoon showed off the prototype robotaxi - which has no steering wheel or pedals - on Thursday at the Warner Bros film studio in California on non-public roads. "This is a very big deal," Musk said, adding that autonomous cars are expected to be 10-20 times safer than human-driven vehicles. "It'll save lives, a lot of lives, and prevent injuries". The Cybercab is expected to cost less than $30,000 (€27,000) and Musk estimated the vehicle's average operating cost at just $0.20 (€0.18) per mile. He also said the Cybercab would be in production "in 2026" before pausing, and rephrasing: "before 2027," he added. The car uses "computer vision" and an artificial intelligence (AI) technology called end-to-end machine learning that translates the images into driving decisions. "With this launch, I believe we are close to the 'ChatGPT moment' for robotaxis, when they will truly take off and become part of our mainstream transport landscape," Crijn Bouman, co-founder and CEO of Rocsys, a hands-free electric vehicle charging solution company based in the Netherlands, told Euronews Next. Tesla is not the only company to roll out autonomous driving technology. Its competitors Waymo, Cruise, Amazon's Zook, and other Chinese companies use similar technology to Tesla but also use other sensors, such as radar and other sophisticated mapping technology. Without these additions, Tesla aims to make its vehicle simpler and much cheaper. "The robotaxi battle will be won or lost - by Tesla or one of the other operators - based on who can achieve operational excellence," said Bouman. "Robotaxis aren't earning money if they're not on the road, so operators need to maximise uptime and remove the factors that keep them off the road," he added. He said that the big bottleneck will be charging, which can be slow, expensive, and labour-intensive. "I believe the way for operators to overcome this will be by embracing autonomous charging technology, dispersed across cities in decentralised micro hubs. That will give them the edge they need to win the robotaxi race," Bouman said. Getting the technology right is crucial. Robotaxis have had a difficult rollout, including 13 incidents of fatal crashes by Tesla drivers involving Autopilot, according to US regulators. Tesla is also facing a class action suit in the US from Tesla owners who had been promised full self-driving that had yet to be delivered. It comes after the company was pressured by US regulators last year to recall full self-driving vehicles. The robotaxi industry has also seen numerous incidents of traffic jams and blocked vehicles. Some US states have passed legislation that makes the use of self-driving cars legal, but each state has its own requirements. Up until now, only level 3 autonomous driving has been allowed, which means that a human must be in the driver's seat and able to take over if necessary. In European countries, regulation for autonomous driving is more strict. The European Commission announced last year it was fast-tracking the European autonomous driving regulations, called UNECE Regulation on Driver Control Assistance Systems (DCAS)". For the moment, only Phase 1, which simply allows hands-on driving, has been approved. "We're seeing widespread adoption of robotaxis in the US and China, but Europe is increasingly lagging behind. Europe is well positioned to lead the space one day as it's home to top tech-talent," said Bouman. "But Europe needs to quickly adopt new measures to enable it to compete with the US and China, particularly since this technology will be essential to stay competitive in the wider transportation landscape," he said.

Tesla's Cybercab Is Here

At a media event this evening, Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed off the company's new Cybercab and shared some details about Tesla's plan to launch its own robotaxi service. Movie studios are where Hollywood spins fantastical worlds out of fancy camera angles and special effects. So where better to show off the Tesla Cybercab, a two-door self-driving taxi that CEO Elon Musk says will be in production in just three years -- but that's still fascinatingly short on firm detail? Almost an hour after Tesla had said the debut event would begin, Musk kicked off the showcase by being escorted by a man dressed as an astronaut to the butterfly doors of the silver Cybercab prototype. He took a quick, seemingly driverless jaunt through the dark, ghostly streets of the Warner Bros. Studios in Southern California, before emerging from the car to take the stage. Later, in front of an audience of excited Tesla fans and shareholders, Musk referred to the entire setup as a "set" -- far from the messy, busy streets where an eventual autonomous vehicle might one day be challenged to drive. Tesla also showed off a "Robovan," a vehicle designed to autonomously move up to 20 people. Like the Cybercab, the van did not appear to have pedals or a steering wheel, just seats. Musk, an admitted collector of missed deadlines, has been promising Tesla self-driving tech since 2016. On Thursday evening, he made a few more promises. Full self-driving (unsupervised), a technology meant to be autonomous, will be available in California and Texas next year, Musk says. He says the Cybercab will go into production in 2026, and will eventually cost less than $30,000. Tesla's approach differs dramatically from other self-driving vehicle developers': The electric automaker uses just cameras, rather than a series of sensors, to orient the vehicles in space. Tesla's techniques combine this visual-based data with artificial intelligence to allow their vehicles to make "decisions" on the road. Competitors, by contrast, layer in information from lidar, radar, and other sensors, "fusing" this data. Musk has argued that loading vehicles with sensors is too expensive and adds unnecessary complexity to self-driving. The event comes at a critical time for Tesla, which faces increased competition in electric vehicles not only from legacy automakers, but upstart firms in China, which are exporting inexpensive vehicles overseas like never before. Tesla deliveries are down globally this year, and the automaker last quarter underperformed compared to analysts' expectations. The automaker laid off some 14,000 employees earlier this year, many working on the core competencies of electric vehicle production, including batteries and charging infrastructure. A series of top executives have departed the automaker in just the past few weeks. In April, Musk seemed to beat back concerns that Tesla was losing its EV edge by insisting autonomy and robotics would live at the center of Tesla's mission. "The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy," Musk told investors this summer. Non-believers should sell their Tesla stock, he said.

Tesla Robotaxi: This Is It

Tesla's much-hyped robotaxi is finally here. The automaker unveiled the Cybercab at a splashy event in Los Angeles on Thursday. Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that the company's future mainly hinges on artificial intelligence and robotics -- not just selling electric vehicles. Self-driving cars are a key part of that vision. That includes the autonomous vehicle shown above. Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems are still far from perfect, so it remains to be seen how well this robotaxi concept will perform in the real world. But Musk is insistent that cars that drive themselves are the future and will be a huge moneymaker for the brand. The Cybercab is a purpose-built Tesla robotaxi. It's been designed from the ground up to drive autonomously without human intervention. However, even with the reveal now behind us, a lot of work likely remains ahead for Tesla to get its Cybercab onto public roads. Musk himself has said that Tesla's robotaxi service won't launch overnight. On Tesla's Q2 2024 earnings call, he said the "timing of Robotaxi deployment depends on technological advancement and regulatory approval." First up for Tesla will be getting its Full Self-Driving tech to a point where it can be unsupervised. According to Musk, Tesla has been on the brink of solving the riddle of self-driving technology for about a decade, and yet the timeframe for achieving that remains unclear. So it may be some time before the Cybercab becomes a reality, too.

Musk to Premiere Tesla Robotaxis in Hollywood

Tesla faces a watershed moment on Thursday when CEO Elon Musk takes the stage at the Warner Bros Hollywood studio to unveil much-delayed plans for a robotaxi, a project that has reignited the electric vehicle maker's stock, despite cooling expectations for EV growth. Musk has said Tesla's robotaxi product -- called a Cybercab -- will be a new model of vehicle that can drive itself and work on a Tesla ride-hailing platform. Tesla also will allow owners to make money off their cars by putting them on the ride-hailing network as autonomous cabs, which he has called a "combination of Airbnb and Uber." Tesla's Full Self-Driving software relies on cameras and artificial intelligence to drive current cars, with driver supervision but without the costly additional hardware associated with radar systems and lidar technology that other robotaxi players use. Musk expects that improving this technology will let him crack a still-nascent and tightly regulated industry that has resulted in billions of dollars in losses for others.

Tesla Reveals Autonomous Robotaxi and Robovan, Plans 2025 Self-Driving Launch - Decrypt

CEO Elon Musk unveiled Tesla's new line of self-driving vehicles, including its new Robotaxi and Robovan, with more than a million people tuning into the company's We, Robot event. "One of the things that we want to do, and we've seen this with the Cybertruck," Musk said Thursday night during the company's event at Warner Brother Studios in Los Angeles. "We want to change the look of the roads. The future should look like the future." Musk said Tesla envisions an exciting, fun future of transportation, in contrast to the bleak, dystopian visions often depicted in science fiction like the Bladerunner series. "I love Blade Runner, but I don't know if we want that future," he said. "I think we want that duster he is wearing, but not the bleak apocalypse." The presentation that got off to a late start due to an emergency at the venue showcased 50 fully autonomous Tesla vehicles that came without a steering wheel or gas and brake pedals. The showing was aimed at demonstrating the company's progress in self-driving technology. For those hoping to own a cybercab, Musk said the vehicles will retail for under $30,000. Fully autonomous self-driving will roll out in California and Texas in 2025 for the Model 3 and Model Y, Musk said, while the cybercab will go into production in 2026. A surprise during the event was Tesla's new Robovan, capable of transporting up to 20 people or goods. Tesla's autonomous driving technology is powered by AI and computer vision, trained on data from millions of Tesla vehicles, which Musk said makes them 10 to 30 times safer than a human. "I want to emphasize that the solution that we have is AI and vision, so there's no expense of equipment needed," the CEO said. "So the Model 3, Model Y, and S that we make today will be capable of full autonomy, unsupervised, which means that our vehicle production cost is low." Musk also highlighted that the cybercab will not include a plug. Instead, Tesla is developing inductive charging technology to make autonomous robot taxis more efficient and convenient. While the audience cheered the innovation, viewers on Twitter were quick to point out the legal issues of having a car without a steering wheel. The event was also streamed on X and featured Tesla's Optimus robots dancing, bartending, and mingling with attendees. Musk said the Optimus robots are meant to be affordable and capable of performing a wide range of tasks with a predicted long-term cost of $20,000 to 30,000. "Everything we've developed for our cars -- the batteries, power electronics, advanced motors, gearboxes, software, and AI inference computer -- applies to a humanoid robot using the same techniques," Musk said. "We've made a lot of progress with Optimus." As robots like Optimus become more common, the cost of products and services are expected to decline dramatically, Musk said. "Anyone will be able to have any products and services they want," he said. "It will be an age of abundance, the likes of which almost no one has envisioned." Musk also told the audience he envisions a future where autonomous vehicles will allow cities to repurpose parking lots and garages into green spaces and parks. "I think it's going to be a glorious future," Musk said. "It's gonna be really something special."

Tesla Is Ready to Roll Out Its Robotaxis

On Thursday, Tesla will reveal its Cybercab, a self-driving robotaxi. But running an autonomous ride-hailing fleet involves much more than teaching cars to drive themselves. On Thursday evening, around 7 pm PDT, Tesla is slated to unveil the newest vehicle in its lineup: one that will be able to drive itself. A purpose-built Tesla robot taxi -- a "Cybercab," in the electric automaker's parlance -- is meant to establish the company as less a manufacturer of cars than a maker of pathbreaking robotics technology. "The way to think of Tesla is almost entirely in terms of solving autonomy and being able to turn on that autonomy for a gigantic fleet," CEO Elon Musk told Tesla investors in April. As Musk takes the stage tomorrow at the Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. movie studio in Burbank, California, and attempts to usher that substantial (and difficult!) vision into reality, canny observers should keep watch for information about Tesla's service that extends beyond the vehicle itself. The robot devil will likely be in the robot details. Ride-hailing services are logistically complex, governed by liability laws and state-by-state regulations. Sometimes, robot taxis are attacked by vandals. To run a robotaxi fleet, Tesla will have to work out all of those pieces. The Tesla robotaxi has been a long time coming. Musk made his first promise about a self-driving, Uber-like service back in 2019, when he said that Tesla would have 1 million robotaxis on the road by the end of 2020. At the time, the idea was that the automaker would be able to effectively "flip a switch" to transform on-the-road Teslas into autonomous robots able to do their drivers' bidding -- including pick up fares! -- during down times. This past April, Musk announced the official Cybercab reveal would take place in August, then he delayed it after saying the vehicle needed design tweaks. Now, Tesla has made a purpose-built autonomous electric vehicle, owned and operated by the company itself, more central to its future robotaxi fleet. Musk has likened the business model to a mix of Airbnb and Uber, but maintains, as he said in April, that "there will be some number of cars that Tesla owns itself and operates in the fleet." Tesla has shown renderings depicting what a self-driving robotaxi app might look like. And earlier this year, Tesla AI head Ashok Elluswamy intimated that the automaker had at least a sense of the challenge ahead, when he acknowledged to investors that Cybercabs will need to be charged, cleaned, and maintained in between ferrying passengers about day and night. Who will do that, and where? And who will pay for it? A self-driving ride-hail service would put Tesla in direct competition with other tech developers with years' worth of head starts. Alphabet subsidiary Waymo says it's providing 100,000 paid trips per week in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. It has plans to launch in Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, next year. Amazon's Zoox is testing its purpose-built, toaster-shaped robotaxi in Las Vegas, and has said it will launch an autonomous taxi service later this year.

Musk's Latest: Two-Door Robotaxi

Tesla is facing issues in terms of its deliveries and continual regulatory scrutiny of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. However, this doesn't deter Musk as he focuses on evolving Tesla into an AI robotics company from a mere automaker. While Waymo, Cruise, and Zoox among other companies continue investing in the robotaxi market, Tesla's taxi remains unique. Musk's heavy reliance on cameras and AI, which have become controversial for issues of safety and regulatory compliance, has made Tesla stand out from its competitors. Musk said the company is anticipating fully autonomous unsupervised FSD operations on its models, "starting next year in Texas and California on both the Model 3 and Model Y." He did not make clear whether Cybercab will draw off from existing FSD technology or be based on a new one.

Elon Musk unveils Tesla's long-promised 'Cybercab' | BreakingNews.ie

Tesla has unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio, although fans of the electric vehicle maker will have to wait until at least 2026 before they are available. Chief executive Elon Musk pulled up to a stage at the Warner Bros studio lot in one of the company's Cybercabs, telling the crowd the sleek, AI-powered vehicles do not have steering wheels or pedals. He also expressed confidence in the progress the company has made on autonomous driving technology that makes it possible for vehicles to drive without human intervention. Tesla began selling the software, which is called Full Self-Driving, nine years ago but there are doubts about its reliability. "We'll move from supervised Full Self-Driving to unsupervised Full Self-Driving. where you can fall asleep and wake up at your destination," he said. "It's going to be a glorious future." Tesla expects the Cybercabs to cost under 30,000 dollars (£23,000), Mr Musk said. He estimated the vehicles would become available in 2026, then added "before 2027". The company expects to make the Full Self-Driving technology available on its popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Texas and California next year. At the presentation, which was dubbed We, Robot and was streamed live on Tesla's website and X, Mr Musk also revealed a sleek minibus-looking vehicle that, like the Cybercab, would be self-driving and can carry up to 20 passengers. The unveiling of the Cybercab comes as he tries to persuade investors that his company is more about artificial intelligence and robotics as it struggles to sell its core products, an ageing line-up of electric vehicles. Tesla's model line-up is not likely to be refreshed until late next year at the earliest, investment bank TD Cowen analyst Jeff Osborne wrote last week. Mr Osborne also noted that, in TD Cowen's view, the "politicisation of Elon" is tarnishing the Tesla brand among Democrat buyers in the US. Mr Musk has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and has pushed many conservative causes. Last weekend he joined Mr Trump at a Pennsylvania rally. The Tesla and X owner has been saying for more than five years that a fleet of robotaxis is near, allowing Tesla owners to make money by having their cars carry passengers while they are not in use by the owners. But he has acknowledged that past predictions for the use of autonomous driving proved too optimistic. In 2019, he promised the fleet of autonomous vehicles by the end of 2020. The announcement comes as US safety regulators are investigating Full Self Driving and Autopilot based on evidence it has a weak system for making sure human drivers pay attention. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) forced Tesla to recall Full Self-Driving in February because it allowed speeding and violated other traffic laws, especially near intersections. Tesla was to fix the problems with an online software update. Last April in Snohomish County, Washington, near Seattle, a Tesla using Full Self-Driving hit and killed a motorcyclist, authorities said. The Tesla driver told authorities he was using the system while looking at his phone when the car rear-ended the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. NHTSA says it is evaluating information on the fatal crash from Tesla and law enforcement officials. The Justice Department has sought information from Tesla about Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, as well as other items.

Tesla's Robotaxi Still Faces The AI 'Black Box Problem'

The day has come: it's time for the reveal of the Tesla Robotaxi (er, CyberCab?) After years of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's promises to solve self-driving, the automaker is poised to reveal the culmination of its efforts. And with it comes a lot of questions. When will it launch? In what cities? Can I use my Hardware 3-equipped Model 3 like a taxi as promised when I bought it? Can Tesla's AI truly be trusted to take the wheel? Welcome back to Critical Materials, your daily roundup for all things EV and automotive tech. Today, we're chatting about the Robotaxi's AI problem, the auto industry's battle for and against LIDAR, and BYD breaking into Mexico. Let's jump in. Today, Tesla will reveal its futuristic, driverless, urban mobility mobile that could make ride-hailing cheaper per mile than owning a car. That's a tall order, I know. And whether or not Tesla lives up to that task is another story. What we do know is that we still have an underlying problem with our robotaxi overlords, and that's Artificial Intelligence. According to a number of industry executives, autonomous vehicle experts, and even one Tesla engineer who spoke to Reuters, the thing that's supposed to be helping autonomy is actually one of the major weaknesses of Tesla's approach. The weakness that the engineer is describing is an inherent phenomenon of AI: the "black box" problem. But before we get into that, let's understand how AI learns. There are two big pieces of the AI puzzle -- training and inference. When a model is trained, gobs of curated data are thrown at it to teach the model how to make decisions. How to approach stopped traffic, how to recognize a red light and how to safely navigate an unprotected left turn. These are all things that a new driver needs to learn to do, too. The problem is that training takes a ton of power and resources, like computing power and storage. It's the reason that Tesla has had to build giant multi-billion-dollar data centers dedicated only to training its self-driving model. It's not feasible to deploy that same level of hardware to a car. That's where inference comes into play. Inference makes decisions on how to infer the real-world data around the car based on the trained model that it's fed. As pointed out by the engineer and industry experts talking to Reuters, the "black box" sensation is the lack of understanding of why end-to-end AI -- that's the ability to feed a model completely raw data and it produces decisions without an interim engineering or programming steps -- makes the decisions that it does. "[It's] nearly impossible [to] see what went wrong when it misbehaves and causes an accident," said the Tesla engineer in a statement to Reuters. The engineer continued to note that it's not the failures themselves that are necessarily the worry, but the inability to safeguard against those types of failures in the future. And that leads to a lack of accountability and transparency when attempting to verify not if the vehicle performed a particular action autonomously, but why the vehicle chose to take that action specifically. It's not just Tesla that's worried about the black box problem. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia (which supplies a massive amount of the processing power behind Tesla's newest data center in the form of its H100 GPUs and is also working on its own autonomous driving system) has also brought up concerns about not being able to understand how end-to-end AI makes its decisions. Despite not being able to understand it, this method typically, but not always, results in the "best" driving decisions. "We have to build the future step-by-step," said Huang. "We cannot go directly to the future. It's too unsafe." Today's robotaxi unveiling will undoubtedly involve some flashy new tech, ambitious promises, and a timeline that will likely be stretched with age. But once the show is over, the real work behind the scenes will begin. That hard work will be necessary for humans to feel a bit more trusting when taking a trip in one of Tesla's robotaxi on a real road with other human drivers around occupying the streets. LIDAR is either a godsend or a crutch, depending on who you talk to. And now, years into the self-driving race, it seems like the auto industry still can't make up its mind. Should we spin our wheels and just hope that cameras are enough to accelerate cars to the Level 5 autonomous dream that some hope for? Or is that time so far away that we need LIDAR to get there quicker? That's the debate that the industry is facing. LIDAR, or "Light Detection and Ranging," is a fancy piece of technology that helps devices visualize the world. It's the reason that your iPhone camera is (usually) good at focusing on a subject, and how certain autonomous vehicles -- like those operated by Cruise and Waymo -- turn everyday objects into a point cloud of ones and zeros. For lack of better words, LIDAR sensors are the eyes behind the software. The problem is that the industry isn't so hot for LIDAR anymore. It used to be, though. But in the last year, LIDAR providers like Innoviz, Luminar, and others have seen stock prices dip as much as 75%. Automakers and investors seem to be losing their faith that the tech is the secret sauce in solving self-driving. "At a much earlier stage, there was an appreciation of the long term, and arguably, there was too much of everyone believing anything and 'everybody's a winner,' " said Luminar Technologies's CEO and founder, Austin Russell, in an interview with Automotive News. "Now, it's flipped to the complete opposite and extreme skepticism." Most automakers aren't buying into the whole "throw a LIDAR unit on every car" idea, as much as Luminar would love that. The reason? Well, LIDAR is expensive. As in, tens of thousands of dollars expensive up until a few years ago; now, Luminar sells units for around $1,000. So throwing LIDAR sensors on every single car rather than a suite of cameras and other radar sensors that might one day be able to do the job sounds like a sound financial plan until automakers can figure out the software piece of the puzzle. After all, if LIDAR users like Waymo and Cruise haven't figured it out, it seems like a waste of money in the short term. Then there's Tesla, which, despite being Luminar's biggest customer, believes LIDAR is a straight-up waste of money in its cars. Tesla believes that it can solve the autonomy problem with cameras alone -- as in, no long-range radar, no ultrasonic sensors. Just cameras. It's been promising that for nearly a decade. But then again, Waymo has been developing its own LIDAR sensors for even longer than that. And if Waymo hasn't been able to solve the problem flawlessly yet (and cameras are providing a "good enough" solution for most drivers) maybe manufacturers just don't the value in investing in LIDAR yet. So here's where we come to an impasse: money, technology, and time. The industry has developed a weird "choose two" triangle while treating the tech like Blu-Ray versus HD DVD. And the only way a winner will be decided is by one of them solving self-driving first, for a palatable price. BYD, king of the cheap Chinese EV, isn't messing around. It's been devouring the competition back home and has been silently expanding its footprint to feed its insatiable appetite for market share. Mexico is next on the menu. We've known that BYD has had its eyes set on Mexico for some time. The automaker has been looking at spinning up a new EV plant there for a few years, though recent rumors suggested that the company would wait until after the U.S. presidential election to announce if (and where) it would build the plant. As it turns out, the plant is happening, and BYD has committed to announcing the final location by the end of the year. BYD has some rather ambitious plans for this plant. In fact, it expects to use its new assembly facility as a weapon in its goal to sell 100,000 vehicles in Mexico by 2025 -- that's double the figure it expects to sell in 2024. Jorge Vallejo, BYD's head honcho in Mexico, solidified opportunistic production numbers, noting that the factory will produce two separate production phases, each of which set to produce 150,000 vehicles -- though a timeline for production, or explanation of what these phases mean for foreign markets, was not given. Here's the thing: BYD has said it has no plans to expand into the U.S. market at this time. And the adoption of recent protectionist tariffs by the U.S. makes the idea of an affordable EV by a Chinese automaker more of a pipe dream than a reality. Heck, even Canada has followed in the same footsteps as it too announced hefty duty fees just as BYD began eyeing up an expansion into the Great White North. So where does that leave BYD in North America? One thing BYD has going for it is a rock-solid supply chain. The automaker has proven itself to be exceptionally good at making quirky EVs that people actually want to buy. Whether that's because of specs and features or cost is another story, especially when its uber-cheap Dolphin retails for right around $16,000 back home. But BYD is able to build them quite easily and rapidly, sending its position as a global EV powerhouse skyrocketing. With BYD plotting a plant on America's doorstep, it might be able to cut costs down enough to do battle with America's legacy automakers -- even with a 100% tariff artificially inflating the cost of its cars. Because if there's one thing that we Americans love, it's consumerism. Give us a good car, and we'll buy it (probably). If BYD can figure out how to sell it stateside, then they may have a winning recipe on their plates. Well, folks, it's that time: it's Robotaxi Day. Or the CyberCab Symposium. Or We, Robot. Whatever Tesla is calling it, it's time for the automaker to unveil something that will either make or break the company's big bet on autonomy. I want to hear some predictions here: what's going to happen tonight? Will Tesla show off some hyper-intelligent stock pumper? Or will it be another person dancing around in a spandex robot suit? Let me know in the comments.

Elon Musk unveils Tesla self-driving Cybercab for under $30,000 -- what the heck is it?

On Thursday, Elon Musk and Tesla finally held the long-teased 'We,Robot' event where Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed humanoid robots, a robotaxi and a 20-seat 'robovan.' The event was held on a Warner Brothers lot in Los Angeles, and didn't get off to a great start. The title is a reference to "I, Robot" a book of science-fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, which seems to echo previous Musk statements referring to Tesla as an "AI robotics company" and not a car maker. Musk was an hour late to take the stage, claiming that the delay was due to a "medical emergency" for an attendee. The biggest reveal was the Cybercab, a gold painted vehicle that is a more sci-fi looking scissor-door Model S with LED headlights that displays laser projections on the road. The "driver's seat" distinctly lacks a steering wheel or pedals. Musk took the Cybercab through a staged demonstration where the robot taxi meandered through various movie sets stopping at junctions or pausing for staged cyclists. During the event, Musk sclaimed that there were "50 autonomous cars" driving around the Warner Bros. lot, which was supposed to include Model Ys in the built-in autonomous driving mode. "The autonomous future is here," Musk said. "With autonomy, you get your time back." Beyond that though, Musk did not describe the technology Tesla is utilizing the in the Cybercab. Though he did reveal that the Cybercab will go on sale for "less than $30,000." He said he expected the autonomous vehicle to start production some time in 2026. For those watching the livestream of the Tesla event, it was a lot of guesswork to figure out what's actually in the Cybercab. For example, it doesn't appear to run on LiDar or Musk didn't mention it. This suggests the cab is running with high-def cameras to navigate and "see" obstacles. Inductive charging was mentioned, which means the Cybercab lacks a plug and relys on inductive plates to charge the batteries. Musk admitted he might be overselling it here, "Well, I tend to be a little optimistic with time frames. But in 2026. So yeah. Before 2027. Let me put it that way." Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said on X that he believed the Cybercab wouldn't actually hit mass production until 2027. Unlike Alphabet's Waymo, Tesla does not currently legally have the ability to run unsupervised vehicles on roads in California and Texas. In general, the event was a resounding disappointment, especially with investors. Dennis Dick of Triple D Trading told Reuters, ""I'm a shareholder and pretty disappointed. I think the market wanted more definitive time lines. I don't think he said much about anything." For other investors, the event proved to be "underwhelming and stunningly absent on detail," as Bernstein anaylst Toni Sacconaghi told MarketWatch. Much of the disappointment seems to stem from a lack of details including when Tesla when gain approval to allow their vehicles on real roads and not staged backlots or the actual cost per mile to run a Cybercab. In a surprise, Tesla also revealed a 20-person Robovan, a transportation pod that somehow looks even more sci-fi than the Cybercab with some renderings showing the pod as a sort of food truck. There were no other details about the pod. They also showed more of the Optimus humanoid robots that Musk has shown off previously. Musk claimed the robots would be sold for $20,000 suggesting that they would be "the biggest product ever, of any kind." The robots which were supposedly tending bar during the event appeared at best to be props, and Musk didn't provide any more information on what the robots would actually be capable of or when they might produced. As with the Cybercab the theme of all of these revealed autonomous products was a flashy unveiling with little to no actual details on what powers them or when they would truly be available.

Tesla reveals 20 Cybercabs at We, Robot event

Tesla has finally revealed its Cybercab, and it looks like a smaller, sleeker Cybertruck. And while many were expecting there to be at least one prototype of a robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals, Tesla CEO Elon Musk delighted his fans with a lineup of 20 vehicles. The flashy "We, Robot" event took place at Warner Bros. Discovery studio on Thursday. Before walking on stage, Musk walked over to a robotaxi, which opened its suicide doors, and did a short demo around the well-maintained streets of the Hollywood studio. Tesla was originally slated to reveal its Robotaxi or Cybercab in August, but delayed the unveiling after the executive requested an "important design change to the front." The Robotaxi unveiling is part of Tesla's push to go "balls to the wall for autonomy" this year after pivoting from prioritizing the production of a $25,000 EV and laying off 10% of staff, including most of the charging team. But Musk's vision of an autonomous driving future has been in play for years, and a large part of the reason why investors price Tesla's stock not as an automaker, but as a technology company. The Cybercab prototype represents one half of the business concept Musk has set forth since at least 2019, wherein the automaker would run its own fleet of dedicated robotaxis on a Tesla ride-hail app, which Tesla teased during its first quarter investor call. Musk has described the other half of the strategy as similar to Uber or Airbnb, where Tesla owners will be able to add their properly equipped vehicles to Tesla's ride-hailing app to make extra money when the cars are not in use, and Tesla will take 25% to 30% of the revenue (similar to Apple's App Store take rate). Musk also said that Tesla projected that robotaxi rides would cost less than public transportation, but he didn't say by when. "By the middle of next year, we'll have over a million Tesla cars on the road with Full Self-Driving hardware, feature complete, at a reliability level that we would consider that no one needs to pay attention, meaning you could go to sleep," Musk said at Tesla's 2019 Autonomy Day. "From our standpoint, if you fast forward a year, maybe a year and three months, but next year for sure, we will have over a million robotaxis on the road. The fleet wakes up with an over the air update. That's all it takes." That, of course, didn't happen by 2020. Tesla's Full Self-Driving software, which is on hundreds of thousands of vehicles today, relies only on cameras to perceive the environment around it. Industry experts say this vision-only approach is the reason why the software is still not actually fully self-driving, despite its name. FSD can perform many automated driving tasks, but still requires a human behind the wheel to stay attentive and take over if needed. It's also not clear that existing Teslas even have the right hardware to get to this full self-driving future that Musk has been promising for years. As Musk posted on X in July, the roughly 5x increase in parameter count needed to power Tesla's next-gen AI "is very difficult to achieve without upgrading the vehicle inference computer." Regardless, if Tesla wants to commercialize Level 4 autonomous driving - which means the vehicle can drive itself under certain conditions without needing a human to take over - it will need to prove the safety case. Tesla has been under numerous federal investigations for fatal crashes that happened while Autopilot, Tesla's lower level advanced driver assistance system, was in place. California has the most rigorous permitting process for testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles, but in most other states, Tesla would have to show at a minimum that its vehicles are capable of pulling themselves over safely. Then there's the matter of the Cybercab's lack of steering wheels or pedals, which would put it out of compliance with federal vehicle safety laws. GM's Cruise had previously tried to bring its purpose-built robotaxi, the Origin, to production, but failed to gain the necessary approvals from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration before scrapping the project.

Musk unveils long-awaited robotaxi

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the electric vehicle (EV) company's long-awaited robotaxi Thursday night, showing off a fleet of sleek self-driving cars with no steering wheels or pedals. The Cybercab is expected to be in production before 2027 and to cost less than $30,000, Musk said at the highly choreographed "We, Robot" event at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. He estimated that the operating cost of the Cybercab will be about 20 cents per mile and that the cost for riders will be about 30 or 40 cents per mile. Like other autonomous vehicle developers, the tech mogul argued that the Cybercab will be safer than a human driver, noting that the artificial intelligence (AI) behind the robotaxi is trained on numerous cars and has vastly more experience than any human driver could. Musk on Thursday also unveiled the Robovan, a self-driving van that can carry up to 20 people or transport goods. The robotaxi event, which was originally slated for August, comes as Musk also ramps up his involvement in politics amid the final weeks before the election. The billionaire appeared alongside former President Trump in Pennsylvania last weekend, where he touted himself as being "dark MAGA." Musk, who endorsed Trump in July, plans to make more appearances in the key battleground state over the next few weeks. The appearances will be backed by America PAC, the pro-Trump super PAC he founded earlier this year that has taken on a leading role in the former president's get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states. America PAC is currently offering individuals $47 for each swing state voter they get to sign a petition supporting the First and Second amendments, in an apparent attempt to identify potential Trump voters in the key states. The super PAC has raked in millions of dollars from Musk's conservative allies in Silicon Valley. His own contributions to America PAC remain unknown, although an upcoming reporting deadline should reveal more about the funds Musk put toward the PAC.

Tesla unveils its 'Cybercab' robotaxi

The automaker has launched its robotaxi at its 'We, Robot' event. Tesla has introduced a robotaxi called Cybercab during its "We, Robot" event at Warner Bros. Discovery's studio in California, six months after Elon Musk revealed that the company was going to launch one. Musk made his way to the stage on a Cybercab, which has no steering wheels or pedals, announcing that "there's 20 more" where it came from. He talked about how our current modes of transportation "suck" and how how cars are on standby all the time. A car that's autonomous could be used more, he said. "With autonomy, you get your time back... Autonomous cars are going to become 10 times safer." He said the costs of autonomous transport will be so low that they will be comparable to mass transit. Musk said that, in time, the operating cost of the robotaxi will be 20 cents a mile, 30 to 40 cents with taxes. Tesla expects to sell the Cybercab below $30,000 and envisions a future wherein people own several, managing a fleet like "shepherd." When asked when the model will be available, he replied that Tesla will start by making fully autonomous unsupervised Full Sell Driving available on the Model 3 and Model Y in Texas and California. The Cybercab is expected to go into production before 2027, but Musk himself admitted that he tends to be "highly optimistic with timeframes." And he is -- he previousl Talking about the Cybercab's technology, he said that it uses AI and vision. Tesla has long dropped radars and other sensors that other robotaxis like Waymo's use extensively. Because of that, he said that it doesn't need expensive equipment, and Tesla can keep manufacturing costs low. Notably, the Cybercab doesn't come with a charging port and uses inductive charging instead. Reuters reported back in April that Musk ordered the company to "go all in" on robotaxis built on its small-vehicle platform. Musk previously said that the model was going to be unveiled on August 8, but he later announced that the company's robotaxi event will be pushed back to October after he requested "an important design change to the front." The delay would also give the company extra time to "show off a few other things," he explained. In addition to reporting the robotaxi's existence, Reuters revealed in April that Tesla scrapped its plans for an affordable, $25,000 electric vehicle. While Musk called it a lie, another report by Electrek backed Reuters' story and cited "sources familiar with the matter" who reportedly told the publication that the low-cost EV's development has been postponed. After talking about the Cybercab, Musk briefly introduced the Robovan -- an autonomous van that can carry up to 20 people and transport goods. It'll get the costs of travel down even further, he said, since it could transport big groups like sports teams. Finally, Musk brought out a parade of Tesla's humanoid Optimus robots. Musk said Tesla has made dramatic progress on its development over the past year and that in the future, it teach your kids, mow your lawn and even be your friend. He believes Tesla could sell its Optimus robots for between $20,000 to $30,000.

Tesla Robotaxi vs. Waymo vs. Cruise: Here's How They Stack Up

With hundreds of millions of dollars invested in developing vision-based autonomy, how does Tesla compare to Waymo and Cruise? After years of promises, Tesla's Robotaxi is finally here. Well, sort of. During last night's event in Hollywood, CEO Elon Musk boasted about the automaker's new two-seater EV as being able to drive autonomously wherever regulators allow it, starting with California and Texas. But before that happens "by the end of 2027," the company's current portfolio of passenger vehicles will allegedly be capable of unsupervised Full Self-Driving "starting next year." This wouldn't be the first time Musk said something would happen "next year". So we might have to wait six months until we see the first driverless Tesla on the road, or a few years might pass-with Musk and Tesla, we just don't know. That was the theme of the whole Cybercab event. It left a lot of unanswered questions and left people's imaginations running wild. Things like charging speed, battery size and driving range were conveniently left out of the presentation. Instead, Musk focused on the attractive but yet-to-be-true sub-$30,000 price and the "optimistic" timeline, as he put it. What we do know is that there are at least two other big companies out there that have been playing the autonomous taxi game for a lot longer than Tesla. General Motors' Cruise was established in 2013 and offered driverless rides in several cities around the United States before being forced off the road because of a freak accident where a pedestrian was hit by a human-driven car and then dragged by a driverless Chevrolet Bolt EV operated by Cruise. Meanwhile, Waymo's history goes back even further. It debuted in 2009 as Google's self-driving car project, using a goofy, bubble-shaped EV. Waymo then became a fully-fledged separate corporate entity that used Chrysler Pacifica minivans as its go-to vehicle. Now, the discontinued Jaguar I-Pace is Waymo's weapon of choice, but the company has already inked deals with Hyundai and Zeekr to bring other vehicles to its fleet in the future. But the company is already operational with an autonomous ride-hailing service in some test markets. Tesla and its leader need to put on their big-boy pants if they want to compete. Musk needs to prove he can deliver on all of his broken promises. That means he has to make run-of-the-mill Tesla EVs like the Model 3 and Model Y into self-driving taxis via a software update. The idea sounds cool -- who doesn't want to send their car off to make money on its own -- but can it really be done? Some, including rival companies Waymo and Cruise, believe that Tesla's vision-only approach cannot become anything more than a Level 2 system. That's how the so-called Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised) features are categorized at the moment. Meanwhile, outspoken CEO Elon Musk has said the opposite-that Cruise and Waymo's approach cannot be scaled efficiently and will forever be confined to a handful of cities. But who is right? Only time will tell, but one thing is clear: Tesla is yet to put truly self-driving vehicles on the road, while the others have already made money out of it. Leaving all the fanboy rhetoric behind, one thing is certain. Both Waymo and Cruise have developed systems that are capable of ferrying strangers from point A to point B without anyone behind the steering wheel. They're not perfect though, as proven by the dozens of reports showing robotaxis from both entities stuck, honking at each other, impeding traffic and even creating traffic jams of their own. So let's dive a little deeper into each of these systems, and maybe at the end we'll at least know what to expect. Who knows, maybe your next taxi ride will be without a driver behind the wheel. One of the biggest differences between Tesla's approach and that of Waymo and GM's Cruise is that Tesla claims its system can be deployed anywhere in the world because it doesn't need pre-mapped information. Instead, it relies completely on the camera suite to "see" the world around it and make decisions on the fly. It also uses the navigation system's two-dimensional map to know in which direction to go. That said, there are clues that Tesla is currently more reliant on mapping then the company would have you believe. According to a report from Bloomberg, which was later seconded by an opinion from famous Tesla hacker Green The Only, several test vehicles gathered extensive amounts of data on the roads where the Robotaxi event was held. We don't know what information was collected, but one can't help but think it was precise, high-definition map data used so everything went according to plan. That also suggests that Tesla's self-driving taxi isn't yet capable of delivering on previous promises, but Tesla still has time to work on refining the Robotaxi before it goes into service. By contrast, both Waymo and Cruise have a multi-step approach, the first of which is to deploy a handful of their sensor-equipped vehicles in the real world with a driver behind the wheel. During this procedure, which may take months, each car records high-definition imaging and mapping data that will later be used as the base for all the autonomous vehicles' decisions. Here's how Cruise describes what's going on during this first phase: The first step is identifying high-fidelity location data for road features and map information like speed limits, stop signs, traffic lights, lane paint, right turn-only lanes and more. Having current and accurate information will help an autonomous vehicle understand where it is and the location of certain road features. And here's what Waymo says about it: Before our Waymo Driver begins operating in a new area, we first map the territory with incredible detail, from lane markers to stop signs to curbs and crosswalks. Then, instead of relying solely on external data such as GPS which can lose signal strength, the Waymo Driver uses these highly detailed custom maps, matched with real-time sensor data and artificial intelligence (AI) to determine its exact road location at all times. This is an extremely important step to make sure that the car knows exactly where it is, even if it loses its GPS signal during a foggy or cloud-heavy day. It's also possibly the biggest roadblock to these two companies' ability to expand worldwide. Well, at least from a technical point of view, because there's also the issue of regulatory approval. I'll get to that later. Both Cruise and Waymo claim their systems can detect changes in the layout of a street in real time while their vehicles are out on customer rides. If a sidewalk is five inches narrower or a new street sign has been installed since the last time a car went through there, the changes are automatically recorded and sent out to the whole fleet. As for Tesla, we know there are (or were) people at data centers reviewing video footage from people's cars that have the so-called Full Self-Driving (Supervised) feature enabled. But that review process happens after the fact, not in real-time, so if the system misbehaves in one way or another, reviewers need to go through the footage and then change something in the driving behavior. Tesla doesn't say how its Robotaxi fleet would function if something needs to be changed on the fly. In theory (and according to Musk's online hype machine), things should sort themselves out, thanks in no small part to the Cortex supercomputer that's being built at the company's headquarters in Austin, Texas. It features hundreds of thousands of Nvidia graphic processing units (GPUs) that will be used to "train real-world AI," according to Musk. The company is also spending massive amounts of money-over $10 billion-on things like video storage, data pipelines and training compute units in the hopes that it would finally offer real autonomous driving. Furthermore, all Tesla EVs on the road today that are fitted with at least Hardware version 2 are actively collecting data and sending it back to Tesla-which is why the company needs those massive servers-to train its self-driving efforts. "Everyone's training the network all the time," Musk said in 2019. "Whether Autopilot is on or off, the network is being trained. Every mile that's driven for the car that's hardware 2 or above is training the network," he added. But there's no guarantee that training data and computing power alone can solve self-driving everywhere. For now, we're once again taking Musk's word for it. The second biggest difference between Tesla and its competitors has to do with sensors. Tesla has famously removed ultrasonic sensors and radar units from its passenger vehicles and is working exclusively with video cameras for everything from parking visualizations to advanced driving assistance systems like Autopilot and FSD. It's the same with the recently revealed Cybercab, which uses video cameras and what Tesla calls AI 5, the latest hardware version that comes after HW 4. "Lidar is a fool's errand," Elon Musk said. "Anyone relying on lidar is doomed. Doomed! [They are] expensive sensors that are unnecessary. It's like having a whole bunch of expensive appendices. Like, one appendix is bad, well now you have a whole bunch of them, it's ridiculous, you'll see." Musk believes the world is designed to be perceived with vision, just like humans, and with help from massive neural networks (i.e. artificial brains), its system will be capable of acting like a human. By contrast, both Waymo and Cruise use several sensors on their cars to "see" the world that surrounds them. That's in addition to the high-definition maps created in the first phase of deployment in a new city. Waymo's fifth-generation sensor suite, which is currently deployed on its fleet of Jaguar I-Pace EVs, has no fewer than 13 sensors, including a 360-degree lidar, three perimeter lidars, three radars and a bunch of video cameras. Cruise's Chevy Bolt EVs use something similar. All these gizmos create a 360-degree view of the area surrounding the vehicle and make it so that the car can drive even when it's foggy, sunny or pouring rain outside. The cameras are also automatically cleaned if they get dirty. The lidar suite creates a high-resolution, 360-degree field of view with a range of approximately 1,000 feet. Meanwhile, the long-range cameras can "see" stop signs as far as 1,600 feet. The radars complement the lidars and cameras with their ability to detect objects and their speed irrespective of weather conditions. Tesla just has its cameras to rely on, which, granted, is a much simpler setup and there's not much to go wrong. But what if something does go wrong? What if a camera gets covered with rain water and the Robotaxi is on its way to pick up a customer? I don't know how much AI and all those massive server rooms will help in this scenario, as Musk didn't say anything about a camera cleaning setup. And there's another thing to consider. Waymo, for instance, is testing every single vehicle before it lets it loose on its own. It's a safety measure to make sure the sensor suite works as it should. Tesla has shown a less careful approach to new product releases and quality control. What happens if a camera is misaligned from the factory? The millions of miles of training data should tell it what to do, but if the reading is incorrect, the response will also be incorrect. This is why many experts say the lack of redundancy in Tesla's system could be a problem. Sure, you can intuit the world using cameras, but if you can also get more information using lidar and radar, why wouldn't you? Besides Musk's appendices remarks about Lidar, there is a case to be made about skipping it altogether and going with a simpler setup that relies more on software than hardware to do the job. This has the potential to significantly reduce costs and bring the technology to more people. A single lidar unit can retail from anywhere between $2,000 and $75,000, while video cameras cost a fraction of that, so there's logic behind Tesla's approach. Leaving aside the fact that everything is "AI" nowadays, even though most of what we're seeing is actually something called machine learning, Tesla has long claimed that it will be able to achieve true self-driving thanks to AI. After years of collecting data from all of its vehicles, Tesla now has sufficient data fed into its artificial brains to offer Autopilot and FSD, but those systems are notorious for their unexpected disengagements. In a truly driverless vehicle, that's not acceptable, and it will be interesting to see how Tesla manages this. But with all this talk of AI, it's easy to forget that Waymo and Cruise use AI, too, for their operations. Their cars constantly make decisions on the fly after analyzing every bit of data coming from those sensors. With over 15 years of experience, Waymo seems to be getting good at it. The company has so far avoided the sort of high-profile "self-driving" incidents that have hurt the image of Tesla, Uber and Cruise. This is really important when dealing with cars that drive themselves on real roads. There's no one behind the steering wheel to take emergency action, so the car needs to have systems in place to be able to stop safely in case something breaks. Waymo has a secondary onboard computer that's always running in the background and is designed to bring the vehicle to a safe stop if it detects a failure with the primary system. Then, there's a backup collision detection and avoidance system, a secondary steering drive motor with independent controllers and a separate power supply, a secondary braking system, backup power systems and-last but not least-redundant inertial measurement systems for vehicle positioning. Does Tesla's Robotaxi have any sort of hardware backup solution? I don't know, Tesla didn't say. But in order to offer a compelling self-driving car, it should have at least some sort of redundancies in place. The fact that Tesla didn't mention anything about this is concerning, to say the least. Both Waymo and Cruise autonomous taxis are constantly monitored by humans from afar, making sure they don't do stupid things on the road. Sometimes, even this sensor-heavy approach backed by human supervisors isn't enough to avoid incidents like the one that sidelined Cruise's operations. So, how will Tesla's Robotaxi be supervised? Again, there's no official answer. Musk said that the Cybercab would be available to buy as a regular car and that customers could manage their personal fleet from the comfort of their homes. But could they intervene if a Cybercab hops onto a curb? If one person has 10 vehicles, how could they monitor everything at once? Granted, if the technology is advanced enough to go for millions of miles without any disengagement, human supervision will be unnecessary, but as it stands today, that hasn't happened yet. Tesla is currently not responsible for any accident that occurs when Autopilot or FSD is enabled. Multiple disclaimers on the company's website and in its vehicles say that the driver is always responsible for what the car is doing and that the car is not autonomous. Tesla hasn't said a word about who will be responsible if a Cybercab crashes. According to the SAE, drivers of vehicles that are considered Level 3-capable or above are not in fact driving, even though they're in the driver's seat. Seeing how the Cybercab doesn't have a steering wheel and pedals and that Musk hinted at the idea that it would be capable of driving anywhere in the world, as long as regulators green light it, it is considered a Level 5 vehicle, so the people inside it are not responsible for its actions. Similarly, Waymo and Cruise are responsible for their driverless vehicles. There's no other way around it, seeing how there will be no driver behind the wheel, and it will be interesting to see what that entails because Musk laughed at one point when asked if Tesla would take responsibility for the actions of its passenger vehicles. However ambitious and technologically advanced Tesla, Waymo and Cruise are, they're still currently at the mercy of regulators. And, as it stands today, there are just a handful of cities and regions in the world that allow localized testing of fully autonomous vehicles. But technology is advancing at lightning speed and more cities, regions and countries will be willing to open up their roads to Level 3 and above cars, either to attract some much-needed investment or just for kicks. Let's not forget, though, that even with the multiple layers of security, redundancies and remote human supervision, accidents happened and people got injured because of this quest to create a safer vehicle. Let's also not forget that human drivers kill other human drivers, so going down the computer-aided route might solve a problem some might not even know existed in the first place. So, are we really ready for cars that don't have steering wheels? I'm not sure that we are, at least not now. I know there's great potential and that things will get better, but for now, I'd like to be at the helm of the 4,000-pound hunk of metal I'm sitting in. If you disagree, I'm sure you'll let me know in the comments.

What to Expect at Tesla's Oct. 10 'Cybercab' Robotaxi Reveal

Tesla is set to reveal its long-awaited robotaxi prototype at its "We, Robot" event on Oct. 10. Based on prior events, Tesla will likely livestream it on YouTube and X, and we'll update this story when those go live. Originally scheduled for Aug. 8, the event was quietly pushed to October and will be held at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles. We expect some on-stage theatrics given the setting. Will CEO Elon Musk give us another memeable moment? Tesla doesn't always stick the landing on its reveals. The Teslabot unveiling in 2022 fell flat when the robot came out on stage, made a "raise the roof" motion, and then walked backstage. That was it, though it was perhaps a step up from the guy in a leotard the year before. The robotaxi reveal could offer us a bit more, especially since it has serious implications for Tesla's stock price and, if all goes according to plan, the general public. The idea is that anyone will be able to "summon" a robotaxi (or "Cybercab," as Musk referred to it on a Q1 earnings call) through the Tesla app, as shown below. A month ago, Tesla updated the existing summoning function for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, which will likely port over to the Cybercab. There's just one tiny problem: Tesla does not have regulatory approval to operate fully autonomous vehicles in the US. FSD technically qualifies as Level 2 on the autonomous scale, with Level 5 being the highest. Other companies are further ahead, including Google-backed Waymo and General Motors-backed Cruise, whose vehicles both qualify for Level 4 autonomy. Waymo is currently running in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, with plans for an Uber matchup in Austin next year. Cruise recalled its self-driving vehicles from multiple US cities in 2023 following a pedestrian-involved collision, but they are now slowly returning to the road with humans behind the wheel, for now. It also plans to work with Uber next year. In California, where Tesla has a major presence, the company currently has a permit to test with a safety driver, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Seven other companies, including Waymo, have permission to test without a driver. So Tesla has some catching up to do. The company posted its AI roadmap for the end of this year and early 2025, and it did not include any robotaxi-specific projects. It did, however, include expanding FSD, which was most recently enabled for the Cybertruck, and got regulatory approval in China and Europe. Tesla may offer a robotaxi release date this week, but will more likely focus on the vehicle and its technology. In 2022, Musk teased Tesla robotaxis without steering wheels or pedals, but something like that may also face regulatory hurdles. An early patent filing also mentions a self-cleaning system to keep things tidy between rides, Teslarati reports. Tesla could also cover other non-robotaxi updates. Fans are eagerly awaiting information on the Roadster sportscar, which is supposedly due to go into production in 2025 after being pushed back from 2022. And what about that $25,000 Tesla?

Elon Musk Announces the 'Cybercab' and Other Surprises at Tesla's 'We, Robot' Event. Here's What to Know.

The surprise announcement was the Robovan, a self-driving van that seats up to 20 people. Tesla's "We, Robot" event Thursday night showed that Elon Musk is steering the electric car maker towards a self-driving future -- one without steering wheels. Musk arrived at the event, held at Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California, in a "Cybercab," a self-driving car without the standard controls: no pedals, plug to charge, or steering wheel. Musk said it would be in production before 2027 and cost below $30,000. Related: 'One of the Most Important Events': Is Tesla Finally Revealing Its Robotaxi with Full Self-Driving? The car seats two people, including one in what would have been the driver's seat, and has doors that open like butterfly wings. It charges wirelessly just like a phone would: A magnetic pad on the underside of the car aligns with a stationary charging pad without the need for a wired connection. Musk also announced the Robovan, which was the main surprise of the evening. It's a 20-seater, self-driving van that brings down the cost of travel to "5-10 cents a mile," he claimed. Musk did not give an estimated price for the vehicle or a timeframe for when it would arrive. Related: Tesla Sales Show Demand Could Be Speeding Up For Electric Cars Though Tesla is known for its electric cars, especially its bestselling Model 3 and Model Y, Thursday's announcements showcased its achievements in robotics -- indicating a broader strategic shift. In August, Musk said that Tesla is not a car company and should instead be considered "an AI robotics company." It's a message he's said before. "The way to think of Tesla is almost entirely in terms of solving autonomy and being able to turn on that autonomy for a gigantic fleet," Musk stated on an April earnings call. By entering the robotaxi space, Tesla competes with Alphabet-owned Waymo and GM-acquired Cruise. As of August, Waymo reported making more than 100,000 paid robotaxi trips in LA, San Francisco, and Phoenix per week. Cruise has completed 250,000 driverless trips.

Tesla's "We, Robot" robotaxi event: biggest news and announcements

Tesla is about to reveal its self-driving robotaxi, a purpose-built autonomous vehicle that's supposed to reposition the company as a leader in AI and robotics. The new robotaxi will be revealed at Warner Bros. movie studios in Burbank, California, where Tesla has reportedly been collecting fresh mapping data in the lead-up to the event. Tesla has a lot of ground to cover to prove it can launch a driverless vehicle that can compete with robotaxi rivals like Waymo and Cruise. And Elon Musk is expected to outline his vision for the Tesla Network, in which Tesla owners can add their autonomous vehicles to a robotaxi fleet when they're not using them.

Tesla Unveils Cybercab Driverless Robotaxi With Autonomous Capabilities

Tesla also promised autonomous capabilities for its other vehicles Tesla Cybercab electric vehicle (EV) was unveiled at the "We, Robot" event on Thursday. Introduced at the Warner Bros lot in Burbank, California, as a competitor to the likes of Alphabet's Waymo, the highly-anticipated robotaxi joins Tesla's lineup of autonomous self-driving vehicles such as the Cybertruck, Model 3, and Model S. However, unlike the aforementioned vehicles, it does not feature a dedicated steering wheel or any paddles, hinting towards the potential realisation of billionaire Elon Musk's vision of a driverless future. In addition to the Cybercab, Musk unveiled a Robovan and showcased Optimus -- a general-purpose robotic humanoid. The billionaire also reemphasized his promise of bringing autonomous driving to the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y in California and Texas by 2025. With the introduction of the Cybercab, Musk's Tesla aims to break into the robotaxi market, which currently has Waymo as the major player in the US, operating a fleet of uncrewed vehicles. Tesla's robotaxi will not feature any pedals or even a steering wheel. Instead, it will rely on artificial intelligence (AI) and an array of sensors and cameras to steer and travel to the set destinations, leveraging the company's FSD system based on Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) Level-2. Cybercab appears to have a coupe-like two-door design. It has butterfly doors and a large touchscreen display placed at the centre console -- a design element which has now become synonymous with Tesla vehicles. The rest of the interior will be minimalistic, with no visible buttons anywhere on the centre console. Single LED strips run along the full front and rear of the Cybercab, whereas its sloping roof appears to be inspired by the Tesla Cybertruck. Unlike other Tesla vehicles, which need to be plugged in, the robotaxi will have inductive charging, which uses electromagnetic power induction to power devices. While other specifics, such as the possible powertrain or range, were not revealed, Musk promised that Cybercab would be priced below $30,000 (roughly Rs. 25 Lakh) in the US and could have an operation cost as low as $0.20 (roughly Rs. 17) per mile. Tesla Cybercab is expected to hit production in 2026. At the event, Tesla also unveiled a Robovan -- a 20-seater vehicle that could serve as a shared, low-cost solution for travellers. However, the billionaire did not delve into the details of the prototype vehicle. Updates to Tesla Model 3 and Model Y have also been introduced. Musk has promised that Tesla will bring autonomous driving to vehicles in California and Texas by the end of next year.

How to watch Tesla's robotaxi event

On Thursday, Tesla CEO and noted fancy leaper Elon Musk will take the stage to showcase the company's robotaxi plans, a la the "Cybercab." Although the vehicle we see isn't expected to be a fully functional product, investors and Tesla fans are hoping for a working prototype or other signs the company can navigate the technological and regulatory obstacles it will face. You can watch the event on an X livestream at 10PM ET. With the Cybercab, Musk is aiming for a fully autonomous vehicle that runs on a Tesla ridesharing network. Owners will also reportedly be able to make their cars available on the network to run as autonomous cabs, likened to a "combination of Airbnb and Uber." The CEO began talking about the robotaxi plan years ago. However, it took on greater importance earlier this year when Tesla reportedly shelved its plans for an entry-level EV -- often called "Model 2" -- in favor of the autonomous ridesharing project. Unlike competitors Waymo, Cruise and Zoox, Tesla's current automation relies on cameras and AI. Reuters notes that Musk will aim to improve the tech rapidly enough to "crack" the highly regulated industry. No matter what is promised at the event, you may want to take the CEO's promises with several grains of salt (if not Cybertruckloads). In April 2019, Musk said, "If you fast forward a year, maybe a year [and] three months, we'll have over a million robotaxis on the road." Here we are in 2024 -- which you may have noticed isn't, in fact, 2020 -- and Tesla doesn't have a single robotaxi on the road. Wired notes that the company doesn't have an autonomous permit in California and reportedly hasn't contacted the state's AV regulators about testing. Waymo, Zoox, the beleaguered Cruise and Apple (no longer in the self-driving car business) have logged thousands of miles testing their self-driving vehicles in the Golden State. Waymo is the only company in the US currently operating robotaxis commercially.

Tesla's We, Robot event in a nutshell: Cybercab, Robovan and Optimus

Tesla's "We, Robot" event took place with Elon Musk presenting the company's latest advancements in autonomous technology. From the introduction of driverless Cybercabs to the reveal of a humanoid robot named Optimus, the We, Robot event highlighted Tesla's plans to reshape both transportation and everyday life. Elon Musk pointed out that all the vehicles on display were fully autonomous. "As you can see," he explained, "I just arrived in the Cybercab, a robot taxi with no driver, no steering wheel, and no pedals. It's completely driverless." He went on to describe how Tesla is transitioning from supervised full self-driving (FSD) to unsupervised FSD, where a person could fall asleep and wake up at their destination. "This will be life-changing," Musk noted, "not only because of the safety improvements but also due to the time saved. Cars today are expensive, with insurance, payments, and storage costs. Autonomy will give you your time back and will be incredibly affordable." He predicted that autonomous vehicles would be 10 times safer than human-driven cars and emphasized the cumulative time people will save by not having to drive. Musk also introduced a new vision for autonomous transport, likening it to "individualized mass transit," where the cost could be as low as 20 cents per mile -- far below the current operating costs of traditional transport systems. Musk revealed that the Cybercab's cost would likely be under $30,000 and that fully autonomous, unsupervised FSD would launch in Texas and California next year, initially with the Model 3 and Model Y. Production of the Cybercab itself is expected by 2026, with the technology also available across Tesla's other models, including the Model S, X, and the Cybertuck. He underscored that Tesla's solution relies on AI and vision systems rather than expensive hardware, making their autonomous vehicles cost-effective. "Our autonomous future is here," he declared, adding that there are already 50 Teslas driving autonomously today. Tesla is also introducing inductive charging for the Cybercab, which eliminates the need for plug-in chargers. Instead, the Cybercab charges itself wirelessly by simply driving over an inductive charging platform. Musk then shifted to a broader topic: how autonomy will reshape cities. "Autonomous vehicles will transform parking lots into parks," he envisioned, joking, "We're taking the 'lot' out of 'parking lot.'" This will free up space in cities for green areas, improving the quality of urban life. For those needing larger vehicles, Musk introduced the "Robovan." This futuristic vehicle can transport up to 20 people or large amounts of goods. "Imagine this rolling down the street -- that would be amazing," he said with enthusiasm. The Robovan is designed to address high-density transport needs, incorporating all the advanced technologies developed for Tesla's cars. Tesla's ambitions extend far beyond vehicles. Musk introduced Optimus, Tesla's humanoid robot, powered by the same technology found in their cars: advanced motors, power electronics, AI, and batteries. "It's the same technology, just in a robot with arms and legs instead of wheels," he said. Optimus is designed to perform a wide range of tasks, from walking dogs to mowing lawns and even babysitting children. Musk predicted that Optimus would eventually cost less than a car and would be a product that "everyone could own at scale." "This will be the biggest product ever," he proclaimed, predicting a future of "abundance," where Optimus robots produce goods and services, revolutionizing the way we live and work.

Elon Musk unveils surprise 'robovan' at flashy Tesla event, says...

Elon Musk unveiled three new Tesla high-tech products -- including a surprise autonomous passenger van -- at a highly anticipated event in California Thursday night. Musk rode up to the stage in the long-awaited driverless "Cybercab" that Tesla was expected to showcase during the evening titled "We, Robot," at Warner Bros. Studio. But a never-before-seen 20-person "robovan" and the newest generation of Tesla's humanoid robots also made their debuts during the reveal, which was live-streamed with more than 3.6 million viewers at one point. Tesla deployed 20 two-door, fully autonomous "Cybercabs" to drive attendees around the studio while dozens of its Optimus humanoid robots served drinks and played rock-paper-scissors with guests. "The autonomous future is here," Musk said. "We have 50 fully autonomous cars here tonight. You'll see model Ys and the Cybercab. All driverless." Notably, the two-door "Cybercab" comes without a steering wheel, pedals or charging port. The electric vehicle features inductive charging capabilities and gull-wing doors. "There's no steering wheel or pedals so I hope this goes well," Musk joked on stage. The Tesla CEO said the self-driving taxis would be rolled out "before 2027" and would be available for under $30,000 apiece and an operating cost of 20 cents a mile. "We expect to be in production with the 'Cybercab' ... in probably -- well, I tend to be a little optimistic with time frames -- but in 2026. Before 2027, let me put it that way," Musk said, admitting his numerous broken promises of earlier roll-outs dating back to 2020. His idea for the Cybercabs is to make them available to hail through Tesla's own app, where owners of the taxis could rent out a whole fleet of the driverless EVs. But the prototypes unveiled Thursday are not yet road-ready since they still need to be supervised by a real human -- much like the self-driving modes available on current Teslas on the market. "We'll move from supervised full self-driving to unsupervised full self-driving, where ... you could fall asleep and wake up at your destination," Musk said of the company's hopes. Tesla's autonomous driving tech varies from its competitors which already operate driverless robotaxis in select cities today. The tech is more cost effective in the long run but experts say it's riskier and will take longer to get up and running. Tesla's strategy relies solely on a combination of cameras and artificial intelligence to make driving decisions, while competitors like Waymo, Amazon's Zoox, General Motors' Cruise and a host of Chinese firms use a similar strategy plus additional technology like radar, lidar and complex mapping. The robovans would run on the same technology. Musk also brought out the newest generation of Tesla's Optimus robots, as he tries to move Tesla's image away from solely being an auto manufacturer to that of an AI robotics company. He said he expects the faceless robot helpers to cost less than a car down the line at $20,000 to $30,000 so that anybody could own one. "So what can it do? It'll be able to do anything you want," Musk told the crowd. "So it can be a teacher or babysit your kids. It can walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks, whatever you can think of, it will do." "I think this will be the biggest product ever of any kind."

What to expect at Tesla's 'We, Robot' event

Tesla is about to reveal its self-driving robotaxi, a purpose-built autonomous vehicle that's supposed to reposition the company as a leader in AI and robotics. The new robotaxi will be revealed at Warner Bros. movie studios in Burbank, California, where Tesla has reportedly been collecting fresh mapping data in the lead-up to the event. Tesla has a lot of ground to cover to prove it can launch a driverless vehicle that can compete with robotaxi rivals like Waymo and Cruise. And Elon Musk is expected to outline his vision for the Tesla Network, in which Tesla owners can add their autonomous vehicles to a robotaxi fleet when they're not using them.