Tesla will unveil its much anticipated Robo Taxi on Thursday at Warner Bros. Discovery’s movie studio in Burbank, California. The event promises to be nothing short of spectacular, with doors opening at 5 p.m. PT and formal remarks beginning at 7 p.m. PT. In true Tesla tradition, the event, fittingly named “We, Robot,” will also be live-streamed on the company’s YouTube website and X (previously Twitter), guaranteeing that Tesla devotees worldwide do not miss out.
Tesla will confront a watershed moment on Thursday when CEO Elon Musk takes the stage at the Warner Bros Hollywood studio to present long-awaited plans for a robotaxi, a project that has revived the electric car maker’s stock amid cooling expectations for EV growth.
Musk has stated that Tesla’s robotaxi product, known as a Cybercab, will be a new style of car that can drive itself and operate on the Tesla ride-hailing platform. Tesla would also allow owners to profit from their vehicles by placing them on the ride-hailing network as autonomous cabs, which he has dubbed a “combination of Airbnb and Uber.”
CEO Elon Musk has been teasing the concept of an autonomous cab for years, and this announcement may finally deliver on some of his lofty promises. The Robo Taxi was supposed to make its debut in August, but a last-minute design tweak moved the date. Musk has frequently mentioned removing the traditional features of driving—steering wheels and pedals—and early glances,
Tesla uses cameras and artificial intelligence to control its existing vehicles, with driver supervision but without the pricey additional gear associated with radar systems and lidar technology used by other robotaxi companies. Musk believes that perfecting this technology will allow him to break into a still-developing and tightly regulated business that has cost others billions of dollars.
This announcement appears to have come at the expense of another project, the much-anticipated $25,000 next-generation electric vehicle, which appears to be on hold for now. Earlier this year, Musk stated unequivocally that Tesla was going all out on autonomy, even laying off more than 10% of its workforce to guarantee that this vision was prioritized.
Since initially discussing robotaxis in 2019, Musk has sold the idea that Tesla owners could one day put their vehicles to work for them, autonomously carrying passengers while they sit back and profit. Although the promise of having millions of self-driving Teslas on the road by 2020 never came true, Tesla’s development in autonomy has kept fans excited about the next steps.
The “We, Robot” event is intended to focus on the car rather than its autonomous capabilities. The Robo Taxi might be Tesla’s next major leap, transforming urban travel without the need for a driver or even a steering wheel. The event is taking place in a Hollywood studio.