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Tesla unveils Robotaxi at We, Robot event

Robotaxi Event

Tesla has started sending out tickets for its highly anticipated Robotaxi unveiling event. The event, called “We, Robot,” will take place on Thursday at a studio in Southern California. On Tuesday, Tesla emailed participants with the option to download their tickets.

The email also included the address of the Warner Brothers studio in Burbank, where the event will be held. The “We, Robot” event is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday. Tesla originally planned to unveil the Robotaxi on August 8.

However, Elon Musk requested a crucial design change to the vehicle’s front, which delayed the event to October. This change allows the company to present additional features. Analysts have made various predictions about what Tesla will reveal at the Robotaxi event.

Some speculate the launch of a ride-hailing app and mobile platform. Others believe it could mark the debut of Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD).

Many expect Tesla will offer rides in its driverless vehicle, but the exact details of the product lineup remain uncertain.

Gene Munster and Brian Baker of Deepwater Management anticipate that Tesla will reveal three distinct vehicle platforms on Thursday. These include a Robotaxi prototype without a steering wheel, an affordable future model, and an autonomous Cybervan. However, other analysts have more tempered expectations.

In the days leading up to the event, there have been various developments. Tesla executive Nagesh Saldi exited the company just before the Robotaxi event. There have also been unconfirmed reports about changes in insurance coverage for Tesla vehicles.

The Robotaxi Day is set to be a pivotal moment for Tesla. It could mark a new chapter in the company’s history. With the unveiling of innovative autonomous vehicle platforms, Tesla aims to redefine the future of transportation.

Elon Musk is ready to make his biggest pitch yet that Tesla is more than just a car company.

Tesla bets on driverless vehicles

The Tesla CEO will lead Tesla’s Robotaxi Day on Thursday and share updates on driverless cars.

This comes at a time when Tesla’s revenues have dipped. Musk has been positioning Tesla not just as a company focused on accelerating the clean-energy transition, but also as one with plans to lead in artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous vehicles. He has generated hype for the event, titled “We, Robot,” alongside claims that the day will be “one for the history books.”

However, as Musk prepares to unveil a major part of his vision for Tesla’s future, he faces a high-stakes situation.

Tesla has been unable to escape the sales pressure that has hit the wider EV market. In the first half of the year, while Tesla posted a 6.4% year-on-year jump in deliveries for its third quarter, its value remains over $600 billion short of the $1.2 trillion peak it hit in November 2021. Reactions to Musk’s overall brand have also become more visceral as Tesla’s shareholder base has split on his leadership following his controversial transformation of Twitter into X.

Some shareholders feel less confident about the robotaxi pivot, especially because competitors like Waymo, BYD, and Baidu have already made strides in the autonomous vehicle sector. Questions also remain over how confident regulators are about the safety of robotaxis. Incidents involving other self-driving companies have had a knock-on effect on how the wider autonomous-vehicle space is perceived, including Tesla’s robotaxis.

Experts think the fully realized version of Musk’s robotaxi ambitions presents technical challenges. Clearly, Musk has a big story to tell on Thursday. Under the Hollywood lights, he’ll be hoping investors are willing to believe in it as much as he is.

There’s some good news for robotaxi operators: People who have ridden in robotaxis really like them. According to a new study by automotive research firm J.D. Power, robotaxi passengers rated the experience an 8.53 out of 10, with the leading contributor being “vehicle technology.”

J.D. Power also found that consumer confidence when riding in a robotaxi was 56% higher among those who have ridden in one (76%), compared to those who have not (20%). In cities with robotaxis, non-riders had higher consumer confidence than the average non-rider, at 34%.

These are indications that “experience continues to be a main driver of trust and acceptance.”

The robotaxi market is small but growing. Companies like Waymo, Cruise, and Zoox are expanding their offerings and testing their vehicles. Tesla is also expected to reveal a fully autonomous cybercab EV based on its robotaxi ambitions at the “We, Robot” event.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has positioned Tesla as a bet on autonomous driving, AI, and robotics, claiming the robotaxi business could be a $5 trillion market. While this is ambitious, analysts at RBC Capital estimate the market could still be worth a robust $1.7 trillion globally by 2040, with margins much higher than the typical 5% to 10% seen in the automotive sector. This potential makes the robotaxi business an attractive prospect for Tesla, which aims to be more than just an automaker.

Overall, with positive user feedback and growing consumer confidence, the future looks promising for the burgeoning robotaxi market.

NewsReports Staff

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