- Tesla's Robotaxi event was initially supposed to happen in August, but it was postponed to October 10.
- The event will happen at the historic Warner Bros. Discovery studio in the Los Angeles area.
- CEO Elon Musk has all but bet the farm on autonomous vehicles. Will it be able to deliver tomorrow?
After almost a decade of empty promises about self-driving cars, Tesla is finally ready to reveal its vision of a driverless taxi. Or, at least, that’s what everybody is hoping will happen during the Robotaxi event on Thursday, Oct. 10. Below are the links to watch it live on X and Youtube, along with our live blog. All times are in Pacific Time, as the event is being broadcast out of the Los Angeles, California area.
Live Blog
8:37 P.M.: That's all we have for now. Be sure to read our other Robotaxi event breakout stories below:
8:30 P.M.: That was both more and less than I expected. On the one hand, the Robovan and Cybercab both look far better than I expected them too, and I wasn't sure if the van would be on display tonight. Also, Optimus' dancing was genuinely impressive. It's a small thing, but fluid, human-esque movement from a robot is a really tough technical challenge. I absolutely do not buy that these are $20,000 consumer-grade goods arriving any time soon, but it showed that there is some institutional competency behind what has always seemed like an odd product.
Gallery: Tesla Cybercab
But despite these highs, I don't think Tesla solved any of its current issues. It has been heavy on autonomy promises for as long as I've been a journalist. Kids who were born the year Musk first promised the imminent arrival of coast-to-coast autonomous driving are now in fourth grade. And the timeline still hasn't changed: True self-driving will arrive "next year," same as it ever was. The Cybercab is further off. The Robovan and Optimus are coming God-knows when.
Gallery: Tesla Robovan
Musk is also putting a lot of faith in unproven ideas, like wireless-only charging, showing he hasn't learned the hard lessons from the Model X program. This thing is going to need a lot of infrastructure. And it looks like they're trying to skirt some fleet management liability by having private customers commit their vehicles to the network, rather than running their
So while Tesla and Musk's vision for the future remains compelling, it seems as loosely defined and subject to change as ever. The company needs to execute, to prove it's more than just another established brand riding the A.I. hype wave. Despite pitching itself as an A.I. company first, its lone A.I. product—"Full Self-Driving"—remains a niche option that few of its real, car-business customers select.
Even Tesla's promise of autonomy is no longer groundbreaking—companies like Waymo and Cruise already have autonomous ride-sharing in California and Texas, Tesla's first two markets. So Tesla needs to do it radically cheaper, or radically better, or really, truly, honestly next year. Otherwise, no amount of dancing robots will be able to satisfy increasingly agitated investors and increasingly skeptical consumers.
8:15 P.M.: Musk says Optimus robots will be mingling with the crowd and serving drinks. He says "let's get the party started," which may mean we've reached the end of the prepared remarks.
8:13 P.M.: A flock? fleet? herd? army of Optimus humanoid robots just walked out, a far cry from the person in a robot suit that it once was. Elon says it'll cost between $20,000 and $30,000 and will do everything from your laundry to "be your friend." I'm not going to take a cheap shot here, but I could. Anyway, he says it'll be the "biggest product ever," with that classic Musk humility. He says it will shepherd in an age of abundance.
8:12 P.M.: Musk just pulled out a big, big One More Thing. The Robovan. Musk says this larger autonomous vehicle will have seating for 20 and the ability to move cargo, too. Now, he's said "speaking of robots." That means we're moving on to Optimus, with no real details on the Robovan.
8:09 P.M.: Huge news here: The Tesla Cybercab will not have a charging plug. Elon Musk says it will use inductive charging only. That means wireless charging via a pad.
8:07 P.M.: The Cybercab will be a vision-only platform, like the current suite of Tesla vehicles. There will not be radar or lidar sensors for redundancy or increased vision in poor weather. Experts are dubious that full Level 4 and Level 5, eyes-off autonomous driving is possible without redundant overlapping sensor suites, but that's a huge part of why Tesla claims to have an advantage here. Cutting sensors means cutting cost.
8:04 P.M.: Musk says Tesla will start unsupervised full-self driving taxi rides next year, in California and Texas. But there's a catch. It won't be with Cybercabs. Musk says it'll be Model 3s and Model Ys primarily, though later added that the Model X, Model S and Cybertruck will also be capable of it.
As for the Cybercab? "Probably" 2026 he says. Again, take any Tesla autonomy timelines with two scoops of salt.
8:03 P.M: Three big, important details from Musk:
- It is called the Cybercab
- You will be able to buy one.
- It will cost under $30,000.
That's a big deal, if he can deliver it reasonably soon and at the price promised. But Musk usually misses on price and timelines.
8:01 P.M.: Musk says the Robotaxi is solving two problems. One that current Tesla "Full Self-Driving" is supervised. As we've covered, it is far from perfect and should not be trusted without constant supervision. He also says cars are too expensive. So the idea behind the Robotaxi is to save lives, save you money and make transportation more efficient. This is the same fundamental argument he's made for going on 10 years, and it's compelling. But the time has come for Musk to actually deliver something beyond promises. We'll see if the Robotaxi can do that, or if it's another "coming soon."
7:58 P.M.: Musk says the Robotaxi has no wheel or pedals, as expected. He says 20 of the vehicles are on hand, likely for demo rides. And he says it's a hopeful vision for the future, a future that you actually want rather than something dystopian. Big words from the creator of the Cybertruck.
7:56 P.M.: Elon walks out along a costumed spaceman and gets into what appears to be the Tesla Robotaxi. It looks similar to the render above, with a tapered rear end, two scissor doors and a gunmetal finish. It's now driving through the Warner Brother Studios setup that Tesla has prepared. Note that we believe Tesla extensively mapped the location with lidar, something that competitors also do. But the key advantage Tesla wants to deliver is a camera-based system that doesn't need perfect maps for every location. We probably won't know tonight whether the Robotaxi can deliver on that promise anytime soon.
7:54 P.M.: Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen was the first to take the stage, with a brief introduction before Elon comes out.
7:53 P.M.: And we're off! The event started as all glamorous events do: With a disclosure about the nature of forward-looking statements by publicly traded companies.
7:34 P.M.: Unsurprisingly, Tesla is running behind. The event was supposed to start at 7:00 P.M. and nobody has come out yet. While this is par for the course with Tesla events—the company abhors deadlines of any sort, especially those its sets itself—at least part of the delay appears to be due to a medical emergency in the crowd, according to Elon Musk's X account.
Watch Links:
In case that doesn't work, a YouTube link is also below:
What do you think of Tesla's reveal event? What are you expecting to see from the Robotaxi?
Iulian Dnistran contributed reporting.
