Tesla to unveil autonomous taxi in August

An electric taxi without a driver: Tesla plans to present its robotaxi on August 8, its boss Elon Musk said this Friday, April 5 on the social network X, of which he also owns. The billionaire posted a very succinct message: “Presentation of the Tesla robotaxi on 08/08.” In the process, Tesla shares jumped 6% in electronic trading after the New York Stock Exchange closed.

Elon Musk never misses the opportunity to extol the merits of Tesla's technologies for autonomous driving of electric vehicles. He also hypothesized that owners of so-called “FSD” Tesla vehicles – for full self-driving, 100% autonomous driving – operate them as robotaxi when they are not using them, rather than leaving them at garage until needed.

“Most people still have no idea how freakishly good Tesla's FSD will be,” he posted in March on conceive) that humans have driven cars, even when tired and drunk,” he added.

But the development of the robotaxi has encountered some pitfalls, particularly related to concerns from regulatory authorities and the public about safety. The manufacturer announced disappointing sales in the first quarter on Tuesday, in a less dazzling electric vehicle market than expected in the United States in 2023 while competition from traditional manufacturers increases.

And Tesla is also struggling in China, with strong competition from local manufacturers and, above all, from BYD which took away the title of largest global seller of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Furthermore, Elon Mush half-heartedly denied press reports on Friday according to which Tesla had abandoned its long-standing project to produce a low-cost electric vehicle, around $25,000, intended to spread the adoption of this engine among of a wider audience.