August 8, 2024 is when Tesla reveals a production robotaxi.
by Wallace Wyss –
Elon Musk reminds me a little of the wizard in The Wizard of Oz the way he was putting on a big show and then Dorothy poked her nose in and saw he was just a little old man with a big microphone.
Well Elon Musk is not that old (I think around 50) but he’s been blabbing into that microphone for a couple years now about with his mis-named Full Self Driving option (which cost $12,000 above the price of a regular Tesla) will make autonomous vehicles possible.
A unveiling is being held Aug. 8th and it is that date he promises to have a FULL autonomous Tesla on display not only with the latest version of FSD being tested by anonymous BETA drivers (last I saw it was numbered 12.5) but no brake pedal or gas pedal on the car. So a human won’t be able to drive it, just ride in it.
According to the website The Verge,
Musk has long teased the possibility of a Tesla robotaxi, even showing off a completely covered vehicle during a 2023 event unveiling the company’s third Master Plan. Years earlier, he speculated that Tesla owners would be able to earn revenue from their autonomous cars by sending them out to pick up and drop off passengers.
This would be the so-called “Tesla Network,” as described in Musk’s Master Plan Part Deux. “You will also be able to add your car to the Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app,” he wrote, “and have it generate income for you while you’re at work or on vacation, significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost.
Sort of like being an UBER driver but not having to do the driving. As a reporter, I’ve been going to automaker previews since 1965 and seen many mishaps when a fledgling reporter (some assigned by their newspaper from some other department that day) decides to test a car to its fullest and smashes it up in front of the entire invited press corps. If that happens only the bear investors will rejoice because they were betting on the stock going down if such an incident happens.
I think if I was a stockholder, I wouldn’t be able to relax that day until the preview ends, because either it goes good, and Tesla stock rises with the good news on how FSD has improved or it goes bad when Johnny Would be Race Driver tries a stunt that goes wrong.
It seems to me that Musk is always pushing the envelope when he doesn’t have to because his cars are quite well engineered but he is very anxious to get that extra added attraction accepted by the American public, because then millions more Teslas could be sold.
Think of the millions of people not able to drive, including many in nursing homes, who could then order a Robotaxi any time they wanted.
If the US bans robotaxis, then I am sure Musk will go to another country and get the green light and we will hear mostly good news about how the accident rate in those countries dropped mightily.
Robotaxis may be inevitable, but the biggest promoter is foot to the floor to see it happen. Me, I”m a bit more cautious…
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
THE AUTHOR Wallace Wyss is a fine artist specializing in depicting exotic cars. He does not use a computer to make his art.
The recent news former Uber ceo & Elon Musk “txting each other” sent industry into a frenzy 2 wks ago.
Potentially this will have MUCH more of an impact…
Will be eventful either way
I think Musk is a “futurist” than, let’s say, most if not all of us here that love cars and grew up in the heyday of exotic Italian cars or Detroit muscle cars or just great (and some not so great) and unique automobiles of the last century. I think a lot of the young people coming up who will eventually take our place in the world are not into cars as much and would prefer not to own or drive cars, thus automated driverless cars fit their vision. No cost to purchase, no maintenance cost or insurance cost. However, I think there will always be a place in our world for the car enthusiast and the thought of not having full control of an automobile and enjoying the beautiful cars that exist in our world would be impossible to vision. Let’s hope that our world never fully goes “robo”.
Though I would never do it always liked that story of survival training where you are flown over a forest and parachute out with one match and 50 miles to safety. Every day in modern society we get further and further from young people ever having to cope with emergencies, where they can’t count on any electronic salvation. Not being able to drive a car I think is a basic skill they should learn even if they don’t plan on owning a car. I hope like Rob there’s always a space for car enthusiasts even when EVs rule the world.
full self driving will never happen
Flying cars will appear long before any form of self driving cars are viable .
FLASH! HA AUG. PREA NO-GO
https://www.notateslaapp.com › news
— In a report from Bloomberg, it is claimed that Tesla will be delaying its much-anticipated 8/8 Robotaxi event by two months to October 2024.