Tesla Robotaxi: What we know

Tesla will unveil its Robotaxi on Aug. 8, and we’ll finally get answers to all of our burning questions. Will the company unveil a new car platform? Is this possibly the same platform as the long-rumored Model 2 or Project Redwood?

There are so many questions we are hoping for answers to, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at what we know so far about Tesla’s Robotaxi project, where we started with all this, and what it means for the future of Tesla.

“When Robotaxis are operational, car ownership will be as outdated as owning a horse”

Tesla has been thinking about this for a while

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long promised that fully autonomous driving would be a game-changer, and that it would become a reality sooner rather than later. During a fundraising call in April 2019, Musk said, “Tesla will have over a million Robotaxis on the road next year. No other company is close.”

He painted a vision of Tesla’s cars generating passive income for their owners, saying in 2019, “You could be at home asleep and your car could be out making money for you.” The idea here was that all Tesla models would be equipped with cameras and computing hardware capable of managing full autonomy, even if the software had not yet matured enough.

During this year’s Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting, Musk clarified that the Robotaxi program will function for owners similar to AirBnB, where Tesla owners can choose to participate in the Robotaxi program, and enter into a revenue sharing agreement. Tesla in the meantime, will have its own fleet of dedicated Robotaxi vehicles.

Related

Tesla’s $25,000 Model 2 crossover: What we know

Despite recent reports, Elon Musk insists that Project Redwood, Tesla’s effort to build its most affordable EV yet, is still on track.

While Musk is known for his lofty and often severely delayed promises, Tesla somewhat consistently delivers at least a version of these visions, so it remains to be seen if the Robotaxi will follow suit. Fast-forward five years from those statements, and we may be getting our first glimpse of this future he spoke of so highly.

All part of the plan

Part two

Musk wrote the original “Master Plan” for Tesla back in 2006, outlining how the company would design an electric sports car, then spend the following decade developing electric vehicles that became more affordable with each generation. This is exactly what Tesla did, releasing the Tesla Roadster in 2008, the Model S in 2012, and the Model 3 in 2017.