Elon Musk sets new date for Tesla robotaxi reveals, calls everything more than autonomy ‘noise’ | TechCrunch

Elon Musk said that he will show the “robotaxi” designed by Tesla during the October 10 event, after canceling the previous plan to reveal it on August 8. Musk said that Tesla will also show ” a few other things,” but he didn’t. t explain what that meant.

The comments, made on Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, largely corroborate Bloomberg’s original report on the delay, including that it was prompted by Musk’s desire to redesign certain parts of the model. . Musk confirmed earlier this month that he had requested a “significant change to the plan going forward.”

“Putting it back a few months allowed us to improve the robotaxi, as well as add a few more things for the product reveal,” Musk said during the call.

Tesla robotaxi — and the “unmanned driving software” that Musk says will drive them — are at the heart of the company’s future. Earlier this year, he let go of more than 10% of Tesla’s global workforce in order to restructure the company to develop artificial intelligence products, including “balls to the wall” to develop autonomy.

That AI-focused future is at odds with the company’s core profit center of selling EVs, however. Tesla reported Tuesday that it made a profit of $1.5 billion for the second quarter of 2024, down 45% from the same period last year. That profit was boosted by a record $890 million in sales of regulatory debt, although Tesla reported a $622 million restructuring charge that lowered its earnings. While total revenues were up 2% year-over-year, vehicle taxes fell 7% to $19.9 billion.

The move follows what has been a bad start to the year for Tesla, where it saw a 55% year-over-year drop in profits in the first quarter.

The company is now looking at the possibility of selling fewer EVs in 2024 than it did in 2023, which would represent a dramatic reversal of its previous growth. Tesla has played down this by telling investors that it is in the midst of “two big growth spurts,” pinning its hopes on increased sales of the new (but polarizing and expensive) Cybertruck, and surprising models of future that can be sold below MSRP.

That’s all “noise,” however, according to Musk. Tesla’s long-term value depends on independence and independence alone, he stressed on Tuesday’s call. That includes the company’s humanoid robot initiative, called Optimus, which was delayed this week. But it hinges on Musk’s longest unfulfilled promise: self-driving cars.

With that in mind, Musk tried to get investors’ attention at the October 10 event. Not much is known publicly about what Tesla will show, although there was a comparison of a small version of a robotaxi in Musk’s report written by Walter Isaacson in 2023.

Musk talked about making the car accessible to people through Tesla’s app, similar to how Uber and Lyft operate. He added that Tesla owners will be able to put their cars on a shared network once the company makes its Full Self-Driving software advanced enough to handle self-driving – something that which is still far from being achieved, even if it is a name.

Despite years of promises, Musk has struggled to realize the concept of fully self-driving cars, and as a result Tesla has been sued by homeowners and investigated by several government agencies.

Asked on the call when Tesla will be able to deliver its first unmanned robotaxi ride, Musk said he believes it could be possible by the end of this year. But he also said it could happen in 2025, and that he is “overly optimistic” about his predictions.

This story has been updated with additional information from Tesla’s second quarter earnings call. The article was published at 2:45 pm PT.

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